Deposit Ticket Requirements

Question: Are there any requirements / procedures / rules, UCC or otherwise, regarding the use of deposit tickets? We allow our tellers to just put "Deposit to Account # ___ " on the back of checks and not use deposit tickets, and our auditors are objecting to this practice - they say there has to be a deposit ticket used. Does there have to be one?

Answer: There are no requirements/procedures on the federal level, and nothing to my knowledge in the UCC. An individual state might have something about it, but I don't know of any that do.

The deposit slip is a mechanism which conveys the depositor's wishes to the institution, as far as what they want done with the checks - all deposited, cash back, where deposited, etc. It also provides a record, if completed properly of what the deposit consisted of (multiple items, just checks, cash and checks, etc.). It provides a good audit trail, in the event records need to be reconstructed. I think it provides an important record, but I know of no law that mandates its use.

As a matter of fact, if a check is deposited into an ATM or through a lockbox, there is no deposit ticket used other than an envelope at the ATM and that is usually quickly discarded and not recorded. Your records will indicate where the deposit was credited, with the transaction numbers proving the deposit. I'm afraid we'll have to disagree with your auditors on this one.

Copyright © 2002 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 12, No. 9, 12/02