 |
 |
The use of the signature stamp on your check is determined legally by the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted by your state. Generally the signature stamp is considered to be a "writing," and therefore a legal signature. The last year or so I worked as a trial attorney, I had two signature stamps, I used one, primarily for court documents, and the secretaries used the other one, primarily for correspondence. No one questioned this use of my signature stamps. I never used the signature stamps for personal checks, although, at times, I have substantial difficulty writing and signing checks. I often ask others, the cashier or people with me, to write out the check for me and then, somehow, I sign it. I think most cashiers and clerks, and their immediate supervisors, in grocery stores, in retail stores, and even in banks have no idea what to do with a check with a signature imprinted by a stamp. This is a real oddity for them and they suspect, albeit incorrectly, that the stamp's use is illegal. They probably ask exactly the same questions you have asked here, but the bottomline for them is they do not want to, and probably will not, take your check imprinted with the signature stamp. I think that you would have to go ahead of time to the grocery store, or wherever you intend to write checks; get permission from the store to use the signature stamp; and get a writing, by the manager, or appropriate person in charge, which is signed and states that your signature stamp is accepted as a legal signature at that store. And, after all that, you would have to safeguard your stamp and never lose it or misplace it. You should also consider the practicalities of introducing the stamp into your check writing procedures and whether the stamp is actually more appropriate for you-- you can do some playacting beforehand. For me the stamp would be another object to handle, along with the checkbook, pen, and identification: I would have to find the stamp and take it out of its container, I would have to get the stamp in the same place as the checkbook, I would have to line up the stamp and manipulate it, I would have to put the stamp back in its container and put it away,etc. And, at the same time, I would have to handle the other objects as well. If my hands aren't working and I can't sign my name very well, my hands aren't working and I can't manipulate these objects very well either. My choice has been not to use the signature stamp when I write checks; my choice has been to struggle with my "written" signature. You will need to experiment with your checkbook and your stamp to determine what your choice willl be. FYI: these stamps usually come from a printer's, but they can be found elsewhere. Look in the Yellow Pages. Get the new, self-inking kind: they are slightly more expensive but much more practical to use, particularly if you are going to take the stamp out and use it on a check in a store. I paid about $20 per stamp about four- five years ago.