Bad Check Laws in Tennessee: Criminal Penalties and Civil Recovery

Bad check laws in Tennessee run on two separate tracks. Writing a check with fraudulent intent is a crime, graded the same way as theft: a Class A misdemeanor when the check is $1,000 or less, and rising through the felony classes up to a Class A felony for checks of $250,000 or more. Independently, the person who received the check can sue in civil court to recover the face amount plus interest, fees, and in some cases treble damages. The holder has to pick one path or the other for the same check.

When a Bounced Check Becomes a Crime

A bounced check by itself is not a crime. Tennessee’s worthless check statute requires that the writer either knew the account lacked sufficient funds or acted with intent to defraud.¹ A checkbook math error does not qualify. The statute also reaches a second scenario: stopping payment on a check after receiving goods or services that were exactly as promised, which catches people who try to keep both the payment and what they bought.²

Because intent is difficult to prove directly, the law lets prosecutors presume it in two situations. The first is when the bank refuses payment within 30 days for insufficient funds or a closed account and the writer fails to pay within 10 days of receiving written notice. The second is when the writer had no account at all with the bank when the check was written.²

Two categories of check fall outside the criminal statute entirely. Post-dated checks are excluded, since they function as a promise to pay later rather than a representation that funds are on hand now. And the statute does not apply when the recipient knew or had reason to know the account could not cover the check; in that case the recipient effectively extended credit. Genuine disputes about the quality of goods or services also stay on the civil side, because the stop-payment provision only reaches transactions where what was delivered was as represented.²

Criminal Penalties by Check Amount

Tennessee grades bad check offenses as theft, using the face amount of the check rather than any shortfall in the account. A $5,000 check drawn on an account with $4,900 is treated as a $5,000 offense.²

$1,000 or less: Class A misdemeanor, up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine up to $2,500.³⁴
Over $1,000 to under $2,500: Class E felony, one to six years in prison and a fine up to $3,000.
$2,500 to under $10,000: Class D felony, two to twelve years and a fine up to $5,000.
$10,000 to under $60,000: Class C felony, three to fifteen years and a fine up to $10,000.
$60,000 to under $250,000: Class B felony, eight to thirty years and a fine up to $25,000.
$250,000 or more: Class A felony, fifteen to sixty years and a fine up to $50,000.³⁴

How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges

The clock runs from the date the check was written, not the date it bounced or was discovered. For a bad check of $1,000 or less, treated as a Class A misdemeanor, Tennessee generally allows 12 months to bring charges. Felony bad check offenses follow the felony class deadlines: two years for a Class E felony, four years for a Class C or D felony, eight years for a Class B felony, and fifteen years for a Class A felony.⁵

The Notice the Recipient Must Send

Written notice sits at the center of both the criminal and civil paths, and the rules differ.

For a Criminal Case

To trigger the presumption of fraudulent intent, the check must be presented to the bank within 30 days of being written. If the bank refuses payment, the holder sends written notice by certified mail with return receipt requested, to the address printed on the check or the address on file with the bank. Tennessee presumes the notice was received within five days of mailing, and the writer then has 10 days from receipt to pay the full amount. Missing that window is what allows fraudulent intent to be inferred.²

Notice can be skipped when the bank is outside Tennessee, when the writer is not a Tennessee resident or has left the state, or when the writer had no account at all with the bank.

For a Civil Claim

The civil statute treats notice as given the moment it is dropped in regular U.S. mail, addressed to the address on the check or an address the writer provided in writing during the transaction. That is enough for the basic 10-day safe harbor described below. To seek treble damages, however, the notice must go by certified mail and must explicitly state that the check was dishonored and that treble damages will be sought. The writer then has 30 days from that certified mailing to pay in full and avoid the enhanced penalty.⁶

Civil Recovery for a Dishonored Check

Anyone who receives a check that bounces for insufficient funds, a closed account, or a missing signature, or who is the target of a fraudulent stop-payment, can sue the writer directly. The civil bad check statute lets the holder recover the face amount of the check, ten percent annual interest running from the date the check was written until paid, the bank’s returned-check fee, and reasonable court costs and attorney’s fees.⁶ The payee can also assess a handling charge of up to $30 against the writer.⁷ Most of these cases begin in General Sessions Court, which handles disputes up to $25,000.⁸

Treble Damages and the $500 Cap

When fraudulent intent is established in civil court and the writer fails to pay within 30 days of the certified notice, the court must award three times the face amount of the check. The extra amount above the face value is capped at $500. On a $100 check, three times the face value is $300, all of which is within the cap. On a $400 check, three times the face is $1,200, but the extra $800 above the face is reduced to $500, so the total award is $900.⁶

The 10-Day Safe Harbor

If the check writer pays the full face amount within 10 days after the holder sends notice, the civil liability statute stops applying altogether. No interest, no attorney’s fees, no treble damages. For someone who bounced a check unintentionally, this is the most important deadline in the entire scheme.⁶

Criminal or Civil, Not Both

The holder of a bad check has to choose. Tennessee does not allow the same check to be pursued through both a criminal complaint and a civil lawsuit.⁶ Civil action tends to be quicker and more focused on recovering the money. Criminal prosecution can produce jail time and a record, but it does not guarantee the recipient is repaid.

Diversion for First-Time Offenders

A first-time defendant charged criminally may qualify for pretrial diversion. Under a written agreement with the district attorney, prosecution is suspended while the defendant meets set conditions, which for bad check cases usually include full restitution and administrative fees. If the conditions are met, the charge is dismissed and there is no conviction. If not, the case resumes.⁹ Eligibility depends on the defendant’s criminal history and the circumstances of the offense.

Bankruptcy Usually Will Not Erase the Debt

Filing bankruptcy rarely wipes out what is owed on a bad check. Federal law excepts from discharge any debt obtained through false pretenses, false representation, or actual fraud, and writing a check known to be bad fits that exception.¹⁰ A prior civil finding of fraudulent intent will likely carry over into bankruptcy court. Criminal restitution is harder still to escape; federal courts treat it as a penalty rather than a civil debt, so a Tennessee criminal restitution order generally survives a bankruptcy discharge.

1
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-14-121 – Worthless Checks
2
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 39-14-121 – Bad and Worthless Check Laws
3
Justia. Tennessee Code 39-14-105 – Grading of Theft
4
Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines
5
Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Statutes of Limitations Appendix B
6
Justia. Tennessee Code 47-29-101 – Liability for Dishonored Check – Damages
7
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 47-29-102 – Handling Charge
8
Justia. Tennessee Code 16-15-501 – General Jurisdiction
9
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Judicial Diversion or Pretrial Diversion
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge