Yes, you can throw away old checks from a closed bank account, but never throw them directly into the trash or recycling intact. Because checks contain sensitive information like your account number and routing number, they must be properly destroyed to avoid fraud or identity theft.
Bottom line: Dispose of unused checks from a closed account, but do so by voiding and securely destroying them to eliminate the risk of forgery or identity theft.
Once you have deposited the check successfully, you should keep the check in a safe place for 30 days. After the 30 days and you have confirmed the deposited funds have been credited to your account correctly, shred and dispose of the check.
Unused checks can be discarded as soon as you no longer need them. No need to return them to the bank, just tear/shred and dispose of as paper.
However, some banks do accept checks older than six months. And some issuing banks will honor expired checks as well. That means if you find a stale check made out to you, contact your bank and the check-issuing bank and find out their policies.
While many banks have moved to digital formats for canceled checks, if you have physical copies or reprints from your bank, shred them. They contain a lot of personally identifiable information that could put you at risk. Stop those canceled checks from posing a risk by having them shredded.
Checks which are at least 180 days old (6 months) are considered stale. Tellers in banks will sometimes reject a check if the date is over that limit.
Keep canceled checks for one year unless you need them for tax purposes. Refer to them when you reconcile your accounts each month so you know what has cleared.
Secure Disposal: How to Properly Destroy Checks
Unlike personal shredders that typically use strip-shredding, which may be less secure, Shred-it® employs industrial cross-cut shredders that produce small, confetti-like pieces of paper that cannot be reconstructed. These pieces are then bundled and recycled.
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a collection of laws and regulations meant to harmonize the laws of sales and regulations across the U.S. The UCC tells banks that they are under no obligation to accept personal or business checks that are older than 180 days (6 months).
Writing bad checks can be classified as a misdemeanor offense, punishable by imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of $1,000. In certain circumstances, writing bad checks can escalate to a felony offense, potentially leading to imprisonment for up to three years and a $1,000 fine.
Books cannot usually be recycled at kerbside along with other paper recycling because of the glue that's used to bind them. However, unwanted books can be recycled at some recycling centres. They can also be passed on to someone else or donated to a charity shop - find your nearest reuse and recycling location below.
Banks don't have to accept checks that are more than six months (180 days) old. After those six months — or longer, depending on the specific bank's policy — the check is considered stale, making it no longer valid. Banks are still allowed to process a stale check as long as the institution deems the funds are good.
Bank of America's 2/3/4 rule is an unwritten guideline limiting approvals for new personal credit cards: you can get 2 new cards in a 30-day (or rolling 2-month) period, 3 in 12 months, and 4 in 24 months, with applications for other banks generally not counting, though having a BofA checking account might help. It's a rolling limit, meaning it's based on your application history over specific timeframes, not calendar dates, and applies only to Bank of America-issued cards, not business cards.
Realize that information is already there. Even if they took the paper checks to the bank after digging through that garbage site, bank laws will prevent them from accessing that CLOSED account without valid ID. Don't waste your time shredding or burning, etc. Just throw them out.
Based on the three-year rule, in late April 2025, you'll generally be able to discard most records associated with your 2021 return if you filed it by the April 2022 due date.
Documents you can toss after one year
Depositing a stale-dated check could lead to the check being returned and incurring a fee. Contacting the issuer for a replacement or checking bank policies can help avoid issues with stale checks. Stale checks may be subject to escheatment laws, where unclaimed funds are turned over to the state.
If they're older than six months they are stale dated and the bank won't deposit them. Checks don't need an expire date printed on them unless it's shorter than 6 months. You must contact the places that wrote you these checks and inform them. They should issue you new checks.