Section 138 legal notice: format and checklist

Short answer

The notice must demand payment of the cheque amount within 15 days, name the cheque clearly, and reach the drawer. Send it within 30 days of the bank's return memo, by speed post or registered post, and by email or WhatsApp as extra proof.

Checklist: eight things the notice must get right

1. Sent within 30 days of receiving the return memo.
2. Addressed to the drawer. For a company cheque, address the company and its directors or signatories.
3. Cheque details: number, date, amount, bank and branch.
4. Dishonour details: date returned and the bank's exact reason.
5. The debt: what the cheque was for, such as invoice numbers and dates.
6. Clear demand for the cheque amount within 15 days of receiving the notice. If you also want interest or costs, list them separately. Courts have rejected notices where the demand did not match the cheque amount.
7. Warning that you will take legal action under section 138 if payment is not made.
8. Proof of sending: postal receipt, tracking report, and email or WhatsApp screenshots.

Template

**[On advocate's letterhead, or your business letterhead]**

**BY SPEED POST / REGISTERED POST AD / EMAIL**

Date: __________

To,
[Drawer's name]
[Full address]
[If a company: through its Managing Director / Directors / Authorised Signatory]

**Subject: Legal notice under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 for dishonour of cheque no. ______**

Sir/Madam,

1. Under instructions from my client, [Payee name], [address] ("my client"), I state that you purchased goods / availed services from my client, for which invoice(s) no. ______ dated ______ amounting to ₹______ were raised.
2. Towards discharge of this liability, you issued cheque no. ______ dated ______ for ₹______ drawn on [Bank, Branch] in favour of my client.
3. My client presented the cheque through [its bank, branch] on ______. It was returned unpaid on ______ with the remark "________", as intimated by the bank on ______.
4. You are hereby called upon to pay the cheque amount of **₹______ (Rupees ______ only)** to my client **within 15 days of receiving this notice**.
5. If you fail to pay within this period, my client will initiate criminal proceedings against you under section 138 read with section 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and civil proceedings for recovery, at your risk as to costs and consequences.

A copy of this notice is retained in my office for further action.

[Signature]
[Name, Advocate / Authorised signatory]

Documents to keep ready for the complaint

• Original cheque
• Bank return memo
• Copy of the notice, postal receipt and tracking report
• Invoices, ledger extract, delivery challans or agreement showing the debt
• Board resolution or authority letter, if the payee is a company or firm

In Hisab Central

Print the customer's ledger for the period and the invoice copies as supporting documents. Add the notice date in the dishonour voucher's narration.

Sources

• India Code — Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

Last verified: 30 Sep 2026.