LOST OR DESTROYED AGENCY CHECKS - 8044

Lost or destroyed checks for which the amount has not been remitted to an escheat revenue account (see SAM Section 8042) may be replaced with new checks at the request of and made payable to either:

• The payee of the lost or destroyed check who has requested replacement of the check.
• A person other than the original payee who has requested the issuance of a new check in lieu of the lost or destroyed check and who has certified that they are the legal owner or were in legal possession of the check at the time it was lost or destroyed.

Agencies/Departments shall perform the following steps upon receipt of a request for the issuance of a check to replace a lost or destroyed check:

1. Prepare a Stop Payment Request form, STD 432, and submit it to the State Treasurer’s Office (STO), as described in SAM Section 8045, Stop Payments.
2. a. If the agency/department has received a letter from the owner or custodian of the check containing all facts required by the State Agency Trust Check Replacement Application form, STD 805A or STD 805B, and the request is for $100 or less, proceed to Step 3.
   
   b. If the agency/department has not received a letter from the owner or custodian of the check containing all the pertinent facts, or the request is for more than $100, the agency/department shall complete the applicable sections of the STD 805A or STD 805B and forward it to the person requesting a new or replacement check for completion of the certification or deposition section of the form.
   
   Note: The STD 805A shall be used if it is to be executed within the State of California. The STD 805B shall be used if it is to be executed outside the State of California.
   
   
3. Release a new or replacement check to the person requesting such check only after the agency/department:
   
   1. Receives the duplicate of the STD 432 acknowledging the STO has received the stop payment notice.
   2. Confirms the check was not paid prior to the effective stop payment date shown on the duplicate of the stop payment form received from the STO. See SAM Section 8045.
   3. Receives the application form required by Step 2 and reviews it to ensure the form has been completed properly.
      
      1. Reasonable variations between the signature and the inserted name or reasonable substitution of an initial for a first name will not necessarily invalidate the instrument. The owner or custodian of the check and the declarant or affiant signing the application must be the same person.
      2. If the STD 805B is used, it must bear the seal of a notary public.
      3. All spaces provided in the form must be completed or lined through.
      4. All erasures, corrections, additions, or deletions must be initialed by the person making such changes or preferably by the notary public if the STD 805B is used.
         
         
4. Cross-reference the accounting records between the original and the new or replacement checks. The agency/department shall retain the completed application form as a fiscal record.