Certified check.

In plain English

A certified check is a personal check from your account that the bank stamps as certified. When the bank certifies it, it confirms your signature is genuine and that the money is in your account, then it holds that exact amount aside so it cannot be spent on anything else. The check still draws on your account, but the bank now backs it, so the recipient can trust it more than an ordinary personal check. Certified checks are less common than cashier's checks today, and some banks no longer offer them.

01Why it matters

A certified check lets you pay a wary seller from your own account while giving them the bank's assurance that the funds are real and reserved, which a plain personal check does not.

02The math, step by step

A landlord wants a guaranteed payment for first month's rent. You write a check from your account, take it to your bank, and the bank certifies it after confirming the funds, freezing that amount in your account. There is usually a fee, set by the bank (often a flat charge of roughly $15 or so, as an illustration only).

03What this is NOT

04Receipts

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