Non-Prosecution

• Missouri laws only protect you from bad checks drawn on funds held at banks located inside Missouri. You cannot press charges against someone who gives you a bad check from another state. Third party checks are checks made payable to someone else that are signed over to you, and under Missouri law you cannot file charges when these checks bounce. You cannot take someone to court for writing a bad check if that person has paid or has agreed to pay some or all of the funds owed. You cannot sue for incomplete checks that lack a date or signature. You cannot sue for checks that are returned unpaid and marked either "refer to maker" or "uncollected funds."
  
  

Filing a Complaint

• Due to the statute of limitations in Missouri, you must file your criminal complaint within one year of the date the check was written or received. You must complete a complaint form and turn it in at the local office of the Missouri Bad Check Unit. The Unit will send out a letter demanding full payment of the check plus any administrative fees. The check writer must settle the debt within 10 days of the letter being sent.
  
  

Criminal Prosecution

• If a check writer fails to respond to the 10 day demand letter, the criminal prosecution service can file charges. As of March 2011, bad checks written with a face amount of less than $500 that are returned due to insufficient funds or a stop payment are classified as a misdemeanor and punishable with a $500 fine. A person found guilty of a misdemeanor can face a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
  
  

Felony

• Someone who writes a bad check for a larger amount, creates a fake check or writes a check on a closed account commits a class C felony. The statute of limitations on felonies extends to three years from the date the check was written or received. Someone found guilty of a class C felony can face up to three years in prison and a fine of either $5,000 or double the amount of money the amount of the victim's monetary loss.