Code of Alabama - Title 7: Commercial Code - Article 3 - Negotiable Instruments
- Part 1 General Provisions and Definitions.
- Section 7-3-101 Short title
This article may be cited as Uniform Commercial Code - Negotiable Instruments.
- Section 7-3-103 Definitions
(a) In this article: (1) "Acceptor" means a drawee who has accepted a draft. (2) "Drawee" means a person ordered in a draft to make...
- Section 7-3-102 Subject matter
(a) This article applies to negotiable instruments. It does not apply to money, to payment orders governed by Article 4A, or to securities governed by...
- Section 7-3-104 Negotiable instrument
(a) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), "negotiable instrument" means an unconditional promise or order to pay a fixed amount of money, with...
- Section 7-3-105 Issue of instrument
(a) "Issue" means the first delivery of an instrument by the maker or drawer, whether to a holder or nonholder, for the purpose of giving...
- Section 7-3-106 Unconditional promise or order
(a) Except as provided in this section, for the purposes of Section 7-3-104(a), a promise or order is unconditional unless it states (i) an express...
- Section 7-3-107 Instrument payable in foreign money
Unless the instrument otherwise provides, an instrument that states the amount payable in foreign money may be paid in the foreign money or in an...
- Section 7-3-108 Payable on demand or at definite time
(a) A promise or order is "payable on demand" if it (i) states that it is payable on demand or at sight, or otherwise indicates...
- Section 7-3-109 Payable to bearer or to order
(a) A promise or order is payable to bearer if it: (1) States that it is payable to bearer or to the order of bearer...
- Section 7-3-110 Identification of person to whom instrument is payable
(a) The person to whom an instrument is initially payable is determined by the intent of the person, whether or not authorized, signing as, or...
- Section 7-3-111 Place of payment
Except as otherwise provided for items in Article 4, an instrument is payable at the place of payment stated in the instrument. If no place...
- Section 7-3-112 Interest
(a) Unless otherwise provided in the instrument, (i) an instrument is not payable with interest until dishonor, and (ii) interest on an interest-bearing instrument is...
- Section 7-3-113 Date of instrument
(a) An instrument may be antedated or postdated. The date stated determines the time of payment if the instrument is payable at a fixed period...
- Section 7-3-114 Contradictory terms of instrument
If an instrument contains contradictory terms, typewritten terms prevail over printed terms, handwritten terms prevail over both, and words prevail over numbers.
- Section 7-3-115 Incomplete instrument
(a) "Incomplete instrument" means a signed writing, whether or not issued by the signer, the contents of which show at the time of signing that...
- Section 7-3-116 Joint and several liability; contribution
(a) Except as otherwise provided in the instrument, two or more persons who have the same liability on an instrument as makers, drawers, acceptors, indorsers...
- Section 7-3-117 Other agreements affecting instrument
Subject to applicable law regarding exclusion of proof of contemporaneous or previous agreements, the obligation of a party to an instrument to pay the instrument...
- Section 7-3-118 Statute of limitations
(a) Note payable at a definite time. Except as provided in subsection (e), an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a...
- Section 7-3-119 Notice of right to defend action
In an action for breach of an obligation for which a third person is answerable over pursuant to this article or Article 4, the defendant...
- Part 2 Negotiation, Transfer, and Indorsement.
- Section 7-3-201 Negotiation
(a) "Negotiation" means a transfer of possession, whether voluntary or involuntary, of an instrument by a person other than the issuer to a person who...
- Section 7-3-202 Negotiation subject to rescission
(a) Negotiation is effective even if obtained (i) from an infant, a corporation exceeding its powers, or a person without capacity, (ii) by fraud, duress,...
- Section 7-3-203 Transfer of instrument; rights acquired by transfer
(a) An instrument is transferred when it is delivered by a person other than its issuer for the purpose of giving to the person receiving...
- Section 7-3-204 Indorsement
(a) "Indorsement" means a signature, other than that of a signer as maker, drawer, or acceptor, that alone or accompanied by other words is made...
- Section 7-3-205 Special indorsement; blank indorsement; anomalous indorsement
(a) If an indorsement is made by the holder of an instrument, whether payable to an identified person or payable to bearer, and the indorsement...
- Section 7-3-206 Restrictive indorsement
(a) An indorsement limiting payment to a particular person or otherwise prohibiting further transfer or negotiation of the instrument is not effective to prevent further...
- Section 7-3-207 Reacquisition
Reacquisition of an instrument occurs if it is transferred to a former holder, by negotiation or otherwise. A former holder who reacquires the instrument may...
- Part 3 Enforcement of Instruments.
- Section 7-3-301 Person entitled to enforce instrument
"Person entitled to enforce" an instrument means (i) the holder of the instrument, (ii) a nonholder in possession of the instrument who has the rights...
- Section 7-3-302 Holder in due course
(a) Subject to subsection (c) and Section 7-3-106(d), "holder in due course" means the holder of an instrument if: (1) The instrument when issued or...
- Section 7-3-303 Value and consideration
(a) An instrument is issued or transferred for value if: (1) The instrument is issued or transferred for a promise of performance, to the extent...
- Section 7-3-306 Claims to an instrument
A person taking an instrument, other than a person having rights of a holder in due course, is subject to a claim of a property...
- Section 7-3-304 Overdue instrument
(a) An instrument payable on demand becomes overdue at the earliest of the following times: (1) On the day after the day demand for payment...
- Section 7-3-305 Defenses and claims in recoupment
(a) Except as stated in subsection (b), the right to enforce the obligation of a party to pay an instrument is subject to the following:...
- Section 7-3-307 Notice of breach of fiduciary duty
(a) In this section: (1) "Fiduciary" means an agent, trustee, partner, corporate officer or director, or other representative owing a fiduciary duty with respect to...
- Section 7-3-308 Proof of signatures and status as holder in due course
(a) In an action with respect to an instrument, the authenticity of, and authority to make, each signature on the instrument is admitted unless specifically...
- Section 7-3-309 Enforcement of lost, destroyed, or stolen instrument
(a) A person not in possession of an instrument is entitled to enforce the instrument if: (i) the person seeking to enforce the instrument: (A)...
- Section 7-3-310 Effect of instrument on obligation for which taken
(a) Unless otherwise agreed, if a certified check, cashier's check, or teller's check is taken for an obligation, the obligation is discharged to the same...
- Section 7-3-311 Accord and satisfaction by use of instrument
(a) If a person against whom a claim is asserted proves that (i) that person in good faith tendered an instrument to the claimant as...
- Section 7-3-312 Lost, destroyed, or stolen cashier's check, teller's check, or certified check
(a) In this section: (1) "Check" means a cashier's check, teller's check, or certified check. (2) "Claimant" means a person who claims the right to...
- Part 4 Liability of Parties.
- Section 7-3-401 Signature
(a) A person is not liable on an instrument unless (i) the person signed the instrument, or (ii) the person is represented by an agent...
- Section 7-3-402 Signature by representative
(a) If a person acting, or purporting to act, as a representative signs an instrument by signing either the name of the represented person or...
- Section 7-3-403 Unauthorized signature
(a) Unless otherwise provided in this article or Article 4, an unauthorized signature is ineffective except as the signature of the unauthorized signer in favor...
- Section 7-3-404 Impostors; fictitious payees
(a) If an impostor, by use of the mails or otherwise, induces the issuer of an instrument to issue the instrument to the impostor, or...
- Section 7-3-405 Employer's responsibility for fraudulent indorsement by employee
(a) This section applies to fraudulent indorsements of instruments with respect to which an employer has entrusted an employee with responsibility as part of the...
- Section 7-3-406 Negligence contributing to forged signature or alteration of instrument
(a) A person whose failure to exercise ordinary care substantially contributes to an alteration of an instrument or to the making of a forged signature...
- Section 7-3-407 Alteration
(a) "Alteration" means (i) an unauthorized change in an instrument that purports to modify in any respect the obligation of a party, or (ii) an...
- Section 7-3-408 Drawee not liable on unaccepted draft
A check or other draft does not of itself operate as an assignment of funds in the hands of the drawee available for its payment,...
- Section 7-3-409 Acceptance of draft; certified check
(a) "Acceptance" means the drawee's signed agreement to pay a draft as presented. It must be written on the draft and may consist of the...
- Section 7-3-410 Acceptance varying draft
(a) If the terms of a drawee's acceptance vary from the terms of the draft as presented, the holder may refuse the acceptance and treat...
- Section 7-3-411 Refusal to pay cashier's checks, teller's checks, and certified checks
(a) In this section, "obligated bank" means the acceptor of a certified check or the issuer of a cashier's check or teller's check bought from...
- Section 7-3-412 Obligation of issuer of note or cashier's check
The issuer of a note or cashier's check or other draft drawn on the drawer is obliged to pay the instrument (i) according to its...
- Section 7-3-413 Obligation of acceptor
(a) The acceptor of a draft is obliged to pay the draft (i) according to its terms at the time it was accepted, even though...
- Section 7-3-414 Obligation of drawer
(a) This section does not apply to cashier's checks or other drafts drawn on the drawer. (b) If an unaccepted draft is dishonored, the drawer...
- Section 7-3-415 Obligation of indorser
(a) Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d) and to Section 7-3-419(d), if an instrument is dishonored, an indorser is obliged to pay the amount...
- Section 7-3-416 Transfer warranties
(a) A person who transfers an instrument for consideration warrants to the transferee and, if the transfer is by indorsement, to any subsequent transferee that:...
- Section 7-3-417 Presentment warranties
(a) If an unaccepted draft is presented to the drawee for payment or acceptance and the drawee pays or accepts the draft, (i) the person...
- Section 7-3-418 Payment or acceptance by mistake
(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), if the drawee of a draft pays or accepts the draft and the drawee acted on the mistaken...
- Section 7-3-419 Instruments signed for accommodation
(a) If an instrument is issued for value given for the benefit of a party to the instrument ("accommodated party") and another party to the...
- Section 7-3-420 Conversion of instrument
(a) An instrument is converted under circumstances which would constitute conversion under personal property law. An instrument is also converted if it is taken by...
- Part 5 Dishonor.
- Section 7-3-502 Dishonor
(a) Dishonor of a note is governed by the following rules: (1) If the note is payable on demand, the note is dishonored if presentment...
- Section 7-3-503 Notice of dishonor
(a) The obligation of an indorser stated in Section 7-3-415(a) and the obligation of a drawer stated in Section 7-3-414(d) may not be enforced unless...
- Section 7-3-501 Presentment
(a) "Presentment" means a demand made by or on behalf of a person entitled to enforce an instrument (i) to pay the instrument made to...
- Section 7-3-504 Excused presentment and notice of dishonor
(a) Presentment for payment or acceptance of an instrument is excused if (i) the person entitled to present the instrument cannot with reasonable diligence make...
- Section 7-3-505 Evidence of dishonor
(a) The following are admissible as evidence and create a presumption of dishonor and of any notice of dishonor stated: (1) A document regular in...
- Part 6 Discharge and Payment.
Last modified: May 3, 2021