Cheque Bounce Notice — Section 138

The statutory demand notice, with all three deadlines handled.

Your ₹299 kit includes:

  • ✓ Statutory §138 demand notice drafted from your facts
  • ✓ Three-clock timeline computed from your memo date
  • ✓ How to serve: Registered Post plus email the same day
  • ✓ Evidence checklist: cheque, return memo, debt proof
  • ✓ Complaint-filing guide for the §142 stage
  • ✓ If-ignored next-steps playbook

Instant download · One-time fee · No subscription. Stamp paper is not required for a legal notice.

Not sure the deadline still applies? Read the free guide first — which date the clock actually runs from, the five documents to gather, and the demand-amount mistake that spoils good cases. No signup, nothing to buy on that page.

A statutory cheque-bounce demand under Section 138 — the mandatory step before you can file, and a hard deadline the drawer must meet. Sent by Registered Post A.D. with proof of delivery.

Agreements.co.in is a document service, not a law firm — we don't give legal advice or guarantee outcomes. You send the notice in your own name and confirm every detail before you pay.

What this costs, and what you get for it

How sending a legal notice actually works

The law this document is drafted against — sources last read 25 August 2026

We last opened the official published source for each provision below on 25 August 2026 and confirmed the text we cite is still there. That is a check of the source, not advice about your situation.

“But we never signed anything.”

A written contract is not what makes money owed to you. Bank transfers, UPI history, invoices, delivery proof, a bounced cheque, and WhatsApp or email where they accept the amount are all evidence, and a notice can be built on them. Most people who tell us they have “nothing in writing” turn out to have a payment trail. The form asks you for exactly what you do have.

You (the Sender)
The payee holding the dishonoured cheque.
The Drawer
Who signed the cheque, and where the notice will be delivered.

Where the notice will be posted — a deliverable postal address.

The cheque and the debt
The exact cheque details, why it bounced, and the debt behind it.

Optional — the date written on the cheque.

The notice can only demand the cheque's face value.

Optional.

Optional — as printed on the return memo.

This starts the 30-day clock to serve the §138 notice.

The drawer gets exactly 15 days — set by the Act

Once the notice is served, the drawer has 15 days to pay the cheque amount. This period is statutory and cannot be changed.

Optional. Mention calls, emails, or messages already sent.

Optional but worth filling. Usually the town or city where the cheque was given to you or presented. Note that which court hears a Section 138 complaint is fixed separately by Section 142(2) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, and turns on the bank branch — your kit explains it. Left blank, the notice says nothing about it.

We have filled this in from the cheque details you gave us. Read it, and change it if it is not exactly right — what you leave here is what gets served.

Choose delivery
Pick the notice kit only, or have the notice sent for you.

Evidence & Supporting Documents

Add anything that supports your claim — an invoice, a WhatsApp chat, a payment screenshot, even a handwritten notebook. This is optional, but a notice backed by proof carries far more weight.

Your evidence: Nothing added yet

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You have not added any evidence yet. You can still send the notice — but the items below are what a lawyer asks for first, and gathering them now is far easier than later.

What to gather

  • The dishonoured cheque itselfMost importantThe demand must be for the exact cheque amount. Without the cheque there is nothing to demand under Section 138.You need at least a photograph or scan of both sides. Your bank can supply a copy if you no longer hold it.
  • The bank's cheque-return memoMost importantIt starts the 30-day clock for serving this notice, and it is the document that proves the cheque bounced and why.Ask your bank for the return memo before sending — the deadline for this notice is counted from it.
  • Proof of the debt the cheque was given forMost importantSection 138 protects a cheque given for a legally enforceable debt. The drawer's usual defence is that no debt existed.An invoice, agreement, loan record, or the messages that recorded the obligation all establish it.

This is a checklist of what a lawyer usually asks for first — not a judgement about your case, and never a reason you cannot send the notice. We go by how you describe each item; nobody opens your files to check them, so tick things off honestly — the list is only useful if it is true. You can add more evidence at any time, and only you and our team can see what you upload.

No evidence added yet

Evidence & Supporting Documents — FAQ
Most people hesitate simply because they don't know what documents are needed. Here are the answers.