The concept of endorsement refers to the act of partially or totally assigning the property or power over a document. It can be applied to any title of credit or property. The main documents that can be endorsed are checks, promissory notes, bills of exchange o bills.
What is an endorsement?
The endorsement is when a person gives another the power to do acts of domain in their name or transfers ownership of a document. It would be the endorser who by means of a signature made on the back of the document allows this transfer to be granted.
The endorsement must be made only on the back of the document, except for automotive invoices, where it is necessary to do it on the front. The most common are endorsements on checkbook, where the endorser assigns the precise rights so that the endorsee can make the change.
Types of endorsements
It is necessary to differentiate between three types of endorsements applicable to credit titles:
- Ownership endorsement: through this format absolute power is transferred over the document in question. This implies that it becomes the property of the endorsee, who will be the one who assumes the obligations and rights over it.
- Proxy endorsement: this does not transfer ownership of the document. This means that the endorsee only gets the power to present or collect the document.
- Guarantee endorsement: the power of the document is transferred as a pledge.
The only mandatory requirement that is valid before judicial, public or private instances is the signature of the endorser. Sometimes other data of interest are also added, such as the name of the person who obtains the power of attorney, the type of endorsement and the place and date of the transfer.
An example of very frequent endorsing is found in checks. In order for another person to collect it, it must be written on the back: "I assign the rights to collect this check to Mr. Manuel Quintana RodrÃguez", with the pertinent signature.