How long a cheque stays valid in Morocco: the deadlines that matter

Twenty days to present it, six months to sue. Two different deadlines that almost everyone confuses.

By BelloCommerce

September 8, 2026

A cheque has been sitting in a drawer for two months. Can it still be paid in? The answer rests on two deadlines that must not be confused: twenty days to present it to the bank, and six months from the expiry of that period to bring an action if there are no funds. Missing the first does not void the cheque; missing the second strips you of most of your remedies.

Paying a cheque in at a bank counter.

The essentials in five points

The presentation period is twenty days for a cheque issued and payable in Morocco.
After that the cheque remains payable while funds exist: the bank is simply no longer obliged to pay it.
The action prescribes after six months, counted from the expiry of the presentation period.
A cheque is payable on sight: a future date does not stop it being cashed on the day it is presented.
The real risk is not the date but the funds, which can disappear while you wait.

1. Two deadlines, two different effects

The confusion comes from speaking of “validity” when the Commercial Code distinguishes the moment the bank must pay from the moment you can still sue. These are not the same clock.

The presentation period, twenty days: The period during which the drawee bank is obliged to pay the cheque if funds exist. It runs from the issue date written on the cheque.
After those twenty days: The cheque is not void. The bank may still pay it if funds exist, but it is no longer obliged to, and the holder loses certain remedies against endorsers.
Prescription, six months: The court action prescribes six months after the presentation period expires. This is the deadline that genuinely matters if you have to litigate.
What never disappears: The debt itself. Even with the cheque prescribed, the underlying commercial claim survives and is pursued by ordinary means.

Hold on to the logic: a cheque is a payment instrument, not a credit instrument. The longer you keep it, the less it is worth as an instrument, without the debt disappearing for that.

2. The post-dated cheque, a false comfort

A customer hands you a cheque dated next month and asks you not to bank it before then. The arrangement is common, and it rests on a complete legal misunderstanding.

What people believe	What is actually so
T	h	e		c	h	e	q	u	e		c	a	n	n	o	t		b	e		c	a	s	h	e	d		b	e	f	o	r	e		i	t	s		d	a	t	e
A		c	h	e	q	u	e		i	s		p	a	y	a	b	l	e		o	n		s	i	g	h	t	:		p	r	e	s	e	n	t	e	d		e	a	r	l	i	e	r	,		i	t		m	u	s	t		b	e		p	a	i	d		i	f		f	u	n	d	s		e	x	i	s	t

The practical consequence runs both ways. If you receive a post-dated cheque, you have no guarantee the funds will be there on the agreed date. If you issue one, you have no guarantee it will not be presented tomorrow. In both cases the verbal arrangement is worth exactly as much as the trust between the parties.

A real payment term is written on the invoice with a due date, which is both clearer and legally far sturdier.

3. What to do when you receive a cheque

The rule is short: bank it quickly. Every day of waiting raises the risk that the funds have been spent in the meantime, and the law does not protect you from your own slowness.

Check on receipt that the amount in words matches the figures: the words prevail if they diverge.
Check the date, the signature and the absence of alterations, which are the grounds for rejection on formal defects.
Note the cheque reference and the drawer’s name in your records before depositing it, or a rejection arrives with no context.
Deposit it without delay, ideally within days of receiving it.
Allow for the value date: cheques paid in are credited with a J+1 value date.

The first point costs the least effort and avoids the most trouble: a rejection for a formal defect is fixed by asking for a fresh cheque, provided you notice it straight away rather than after a week in the banking system.

If the cheque comes back unpaid for want of funds, the procedure and the deadlines that follow are set out in our guide to the bounced cheque.

A post-dated cheque guarantees you nothing

A cheque is payable on sight: the date written on it neither prevents it being presented and paid earlier, nor guarantees that funds will exist on the announced date. Accepting a post-dated cheque means granting a payment term without any of the protections of one. If you want to grant a term, write it on the invoice.

4. Tracking cheques received without a parallel register

Cheque tracking almost always fails the same way: the cheque is deposited, nothing is noted, and six weeks later a rejection arrives with nobody knowing which sale it belongs to. Recording the sale with its payment method solves that upstream.

BelloPOS records every sale and its associated settlement, letting you find the operation matching a rejected cheque. The software does not track the banking side: it does not know whether the cheque was paid or returned. Reconciliation happens from the statement, but it then concerns an identified sale rather than an orphan amount.

BelloPOS

All the features

Mistakes to avoid

Believing a cheque “expires” after twenty days — It stays payable if funds exist. What changes is that the bank is no longer obliged to pay and some remedies lapse.
Holding a cheque for weeks out of courtesy — The funds can vanish in that time. Courtesy belongs on the invoice, not in delaying collection.
Not noting the reference before depositing — A rejection arriving six weeks later becomes impossible to attach to a particular sale.
Accepting an alteration to the amount — It is a ground for rejection on a formal defect. Ask for a fresh cheque rather than a corrected one.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do with a cheque received three months ago?

Present it: it remains payable if funds exist. You are past the presentation period but still inside the six-month prescription, so not all your remedies are lost.

Does the period run from the date written on the cheque?

Yes, the presentation period runs from the issue date shown on the cheque. That is also why a future date mechanically shifts that starting point.

Does a prescribed cheque cancel the debt?

No. Prescription affects the action founded on the cheque, not the commercial claim itself, which is pursued by ordinary means with its own evidence.

Can I bank a cheque whose words differ from the figures?

The words prevail. It is better to ask for a correct cheque, though, since the discrepancy draws attention and can delay processing.

What to take away

Twenty days to present, six months to sue: two distinct deadlines, and neither cancels the debt. Because a cheque is payable on sight, a post-dated one offers no guarantee at all. Check the form on receipt, note the reference, and deposit without waiting.