Bounced cheques in Morocco: procedure, deadlines and remedies

A cheque comes back unpaid. Twenty days then open, and what happens next is no longer up to you.

By BelloCommerce

·

September 8, 2026

Your bank tells you a cheque has come back unpaid. The instinct is to call the customer and wait. That is precisely the moment not to wait: the rejection triggers a legal mechanism with its own deadlines, and the certificate of non-payment handed to you is the document that opens the fast procedures. Without it you start from scratch, as with any unpaid invoice.

Cheque rejection notice and a recovery file.

The essentials in five points

The certificate of non-payment is your key document: it lets you start accelerated proceedings with no prior formal demand.
The drawer has twenty days to regularise, counted from their bank’s notification of the rejection.
Failing that, the incident is reported to Bank Al-Maghrib and entered in the central payment incident file.
The consequences for the drawer are heavy: a ban on issuing cheques, account closure, and referral to the Public Prosecutor.
The rejection costs you money too: your bank charges for the rejection, the incident declaration and the protest.

1. What is set in motion, and in what order

A rejection is not the end of an operation but the start of a regulated procedure. Knowing the sequence tells you when you can act and when the law acts in your place.

The drawer’s bank refuses payment for absent or insufficient funds.
It issues the holder a certificate of non-payment, recording the default.
It invites the account holder to regularise within twenty days of notification.
If regularisation happens, the ban on issuing cheques is lifted.
Failing that, it closes the account or withdraws the cheque forms, reports the incident to Bank Al-Maghrib and informs the Public Prosecutor.

The point to hold on to is that the pressure on the drawer comes not from you but from the system: the banking ban and the central file entry usually weigh far more than your chasing. Many regularisations happen for that reason, not out of regard for the creditor.

2. The certificate of non-payment, and why it changes everything

An unpaid invoice obliges you to establish the debt, its date, its amount and a formal demand. An unpaid cheque with its certificate already records the essentials, which shortens the road considerably.

What it records: The refusal of payment, its date, the reason and the drawer’s identity. It is an official finding, not a statement of yours.
What it allows: Starting accelerated recovery proceedings without waiting for a further formal demand.
What it does not do: It does not recover the money. It gives you a solid title, which you still have to use in time.
Where to get it: From your bank, which issues it at the rejection. Ask for it as a matter of course, rather than waiting until you need it.

That last line is a frequent mistake: the certificate is asked for at the moment of rejection. Requesting it three months later, once amicable talks have failed, wastes time that counts against the prescription period.

3. The deadlines, and what the rejection costs

Two clocks run at once: the regularisation clock, which concerns the drawer, and the prescription clock, which concerns you. They are not the same.

Item	Deadline or amount
R	e	g	u	l	a	r	i	s	a	t	i	o	n		b	y		t	h	e		d	r	a	w	e	r
2	0		d	a	y	s		f	r	o	m		n	o	t	i	f	i	c	a	t	i	o	n

The amounts above come from a tariff schedule published in 2026 and vary between banks: check your own. Above all they are a reminder that the rejection has a cost for you although you did nothing wrong, which argues for acting quickly rather than piling up charges on a doubtful debt.

The presentation and prescription periods framing all of this are set out in our guide to how long a cheque stays valid.

Do not re-present a bounced cheque before understanding why it bounced

Reflexively re-presenting a cheque returned for want of funds usually produces a second rejection, and so a second set of charges at your expense. Call the customer first: if the funds have been restored, re-presenting makes sense; if not, it only deepens your loss.

4. What to do in practice, and what the till adds

The course of action is simple and decided in the first week: ask for the certificate of non-payment, contact the customer in writing with a date, and decide quickly whether to start proceedings or accept instalments. Do not re-present the cheque blindly: a second rejection adds fees without changing anything.

BelloPOS records every sale with its payment method, letting you attach the unpaid item to the original operation and see the customer’s history. The software receives nothing from your bank: it does not know a cheque has bounced. What it gives you is the commercial context — which sale, which amount, which customer — without which a rejection notice stays an isolated line.

BelloPOS

All the features

Mistakes to avoid

Not asking for the certificate of non-payment — It is the document that opens accelerated proceedings. Without it you fall back to the regime of an ordinary unpaid invoice.
Waiting in the hope of an amicable settlement — Prescription runs meanwhile. Negotiate if you wish, but do not let the deadlines slip.
Re-presenting the cheque blindly — A second rejection costs fees again and proves nothing beyond the first.
Forgetting the debt survives the cheque — Even with the cheque prescribed, the commercial claim remains due and is pursued with the invoice and delivery note.

Frequently asked questions

Does the customer really risk criminal proceedings?

The system provides for informing the Public Prosecutor where no regularisation occurs. That prospect, together with the banking ban, explains most rapid regularisations.

Can I accept a part payment?

Yes, nothing prevents it. Put the agreement in writing, with the balance and the instalment dates, and keep the certificate of non-payment: it retains its value if the agreement is broken.

Will the rejection fees be refunded to me?

Not automatically. They are yours as against the bank; you may claim them from the customer as a loss, but that means having quantified and documented them.

What if the cheque was post-dated?

Post-dating does not change your legal position: the cheque is payable on sight and the rejection follows the same regime. It does weaken the commercial relationship, since the arrangement was not honoured.

What to take away

A bounced cheque opens a procedure, not a negotiation. Ask for the certificate of non-payment at the moment of rejection, let the twenty-day regularisation period do its work, and watch the six-month prescription. Never re-present the cheque without checking the funds are there.