Penal Law § 190.15

Issuing a bad check; defenses · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 190.15 Issuing a bad check; defenses.

In any prosecution for issuing a bad check, it is an affirmative defense that:

1. The defendant or a person acting in his behalf made full satisfaction of the amount of the check within ten days after dishonor by the drawee; or

2. The defendant, in acting as a representative drawer, did so as an employee who, without personal benefit, merely executed the orders of his employer or of a superior officer or employee generally authorized to direct his activities.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/190.15

In plain English

In a bad-check prosecution, it is an affirmative defense that:

(1) the defendant or someone acting for the defendant fully paid the check within 10 days after dishonor; or
(2) a representative drawer was an employee who received no personal benefit and merely followed orders from an employer or authorized superior. ★

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.