Lost or damaged cheque: the newspaper publication that stops it being paid
Losing a cheque you were meant to bank, or finding one damaged beyond deposit, is not a matter you settle quietly with your bank alone. UAE law gives you a specific, public route to protect yourself: you oppose payment with the bank the cheque is drawn on, and that bank publishes the cheque's details in an Arabic daily newspaper so the world is on notice that this particular instrument has been stopped. This guide walks through that process step by step — the police report, the opposition, the newspaper notice, and what it does — and then sets out, in a table, the mistakes that leave a holder exposed despite doing part of the process right. It is general information under the Commercial Transactions Law, not legal advice on your cheque, and the drawee bank and the competent court have the final word.
- The right to stop a lost or damaged cheque comes from the Commercial Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022)
- The drawee bank publishes the cheque number, amount and drawer in a UAE Arabic daily — at the opponent's expense
- Any act taken on the cheque after the date of publication is null and void
- A police report and a written opposition come before the bank stops the cheque — order matters
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What the publication does, in one paragraph
If a cheque made out to you is lost, stolen or damaged, UAE law lets you oppose its payment with the bank the cheque is drawn on. Once you file that opposition, the bank must refrain from paying the cheque and set aside the funds behind it, and it publishes the cheque's details — its number, its amount, the drawer's name, and your name and address as the opponent — in one of the daily newspapers issued in the UAE in the Arabic language, at your expense. The purpose is protective and public: from the date that notice appears, any act taken on the cheque is null and void, so a person who later turns up holding the physical cheque cannot quietly cash it. This mechanism sits in the Commercial Transactions Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022).
Two things follow from that, and both matter. First, the newspaper notice is not a formality you can skip; it is the moment the stop becomes effective against everyone, not just a private instruction to your branch. Second, the notice does not, by itself, decide who owns the money. If someone genuinely holds the cheque and disputes your opposition, the law channels that disagreement into a defined path — the holder delivers the cheque to the bank, you are notified, and entitlement is settled by agreement or by the court, with the bank holding the funds in the meantime. The sections below take the process in order and then flag the errors that most often leave a holder unprotected.
Why a cheque is stopped in public, not in private
A cheque is a negotiable instrument. That is its strength and, when it goes missing, its danger: whoever lawfully holds it can present it for payment, and it can pass from hand to hand. A quiet phone call asking your branch to hold a cheque does not bind the world, and under the current law a general stop-payment instruction is not something a customer can impose at will — banks are required to pay a valid cheque against available funds. The law therefore provides a narrow, controlled exception for loss, theft and damage, and it makes that exception public precisely because the instrument itself circulates in public.
Publishing the cheque's particulars in an Arabic daily does the work that a private note cannot. It tells any bank, any endorsee and any would-be holder that this specific cheque — identified by number, amount and drawer — has been reported and stopped, so nobody can later claim to have taken it in good faith without notice. That is why the law fixes the legal effect to the date of publication: it is the point at which the whole market is deemed to know. The cost of that public protection falls on the person who benefits from it — the opponent — which is why the bank publishes at the opponent's expense.
How the stop is put in place, step by step
Report the loss to the police
File a report in the emirate where the cheque was lost, stating the cheque number, amount, date, the drawer and the beneficiary. The police report is your dated proof that the cheque was reported missing, and banks generally expect it before they will act on a stop — it also underpins any later application for a replacement.
File the opposition with the drawee bank
Give the bank the cheque is drawn on a written opposition to payment, attaching the police report and your identification. On receiving it, the bank must refrain from paying the cheque and set aside the provision — the funds — until entitlement is resolved.
The bank publishes the notice
The drawee bank publishes the cheque number, its amount, the drawer's name, and the opponent's name and address in a daily newspaper issued in the UAE in Arabic, at the opponent's expense. This is the public step that makes the stop effective against everyone.
Post-publication acts are void
From the date the notice appears, any action taken on the cheque is null and void. A presentation or endorsement made after publication has no legal effect, which is the whole point of putting the market on notice.
A holder may dispute the opposition
A genuine holder can contest your opposition by delivering the cheque to the bank against a receipt; the bank then notifies you, the opponent, of the holder's name and address. The opponent is expected to raise an entitlement claim within thirty days of that notification, and the bank pays only whoever produces a final judgment or a certified settlement establishing ownership.
Resolve ownership and seek a replacement
Where no holder comes forward and the entitlement is clear, the drawer can be asked to issue a replacement cheque — with the police report and bank confirmation supporting it. If a genuine dispute persists, the competent court decides who is entitled to the value while the bank holds the funds.
What the published notice must identify
| Element | Why the law requires it |
|---|---|
| The cheque number | Identifies the exact instrument that is stopped, so a bank or holder can match it against the physical cheque. |
| The amount | Fixes the sum at stake and helps distinguish the cheque from others drawn on the same account. |
| The drawer's name | Names the person who issued the cheque, tying the notice to a traceable account holder. |
| The opponent's name and address | Identifies who stopped the cheque and where any holder disputing the stop can direct their claim. |
| An Arabic UAE daily newspaper | The law requires publication in Arabic in a daily issued in the UAE, so the notice reaches the market it is meant to warn. |
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The words used in a lost-cheque stop
- Drawee bank
- The bank the cheque is drawn on — the one that would pay it. The opposition and the publication are handled by this bank, which may not be the bank where you hold your own account.
- Provision for payment
- The funds behind the cheque. On a valid opposition the bank sets this amount aside and does not release it until entitlement is settled.
- Bearer / order cheque
- A bearer cheque is payable to whoever holds it, which makes loss especially risky; an order cheque is payable to a named person or their endorsee. The opposition route protects the holder of a cheque that is lost, whether bearer or order.
- Damaged cheque
- A cheque so torn, defaced or spoiled that a bank will not accept it for deposit. The same publication mechanism is used to stop it and clear the way for a replacement, so a spoiled cheque cannot be reconstructed and presented by someone else.
The errors that leave a holder exposed
The mistakeRelying on a phone call to the branch instead of a written opposition, so nothing is formally on the record.
The fixFile a written opposition with the drawee bank and keep the acknowledgement; the stop and the publication run off that formal notice, not a call.
The mistakeSkipping the police report, then finding the bank will not act and there is no dated proof the cheque was reported missing.
The fixReport to the police first, capturing the cheque number, amount and drawer; the report is what banks expect before stopping the cheque and what supports a later replacement.
The mistakeTreating the newspaper notice as optional, so the stop never becomes effective against a third party who later presents the cheque.
The fixEnsure the drawee bank actually publishes the notice in an Arabic UAE daily; the legal effect — voiding later acts — attaches to the date of publication.
The mistakeGetting a detail wrong in the notice — a mistyped cheque number or amount — so it does not clearly identify the stopped instrument.
The fixCheck the number, amount and drawer against the cheque record before publication; an inaccurate notice may fail to fix the stop to the right cheque.
The mistakeIgnoring the notification that a holder has come forward, and letting the entitlement window pass without acting.
The fixWhen the bank notifies you of a disputing holder, raise your entitlement claim within the period the law allows — the bank pays whoever proves ownership, not whoever waits.
The mistakeAssuming the cheque is gone and asking the drawer for cash instead, while the original stays in circulation unstopped.
The fixStop the original through opposition and publication first; only then arrange a replacement, so you are not exposed to the old cheque resurfacing.
Situations that commonly arise
A cheque made out to you was lost in the post before you could bank it.
What is usually neededReport the loss to the police, file a written opposition with the drawee bank, and have the bank publish the cheque details in an Arabic UAE daily; then arrange a replacement with the drawer.
A cheque in your possession was torn and the bank refused to deposit it.
What is usually neededTreat it as a damaged cheque: oppose payment on the damaged instrument and publish, so it cannot be reconstructed and presented, then obtain a clean replacement.
After you stopped the cheque, someone appears at the bank holding it.
What is usually neededThe holder delivers the cheque to the bank against a receipt and you are notified; entitlement is then settled by agreement or by the court, with the bank holding the funds meanwhile.
You are the drawer and the beneficiary tells you the cheque was lost.
What is usually neededSupport the beneficiary's opposition and confirm the details to the bank; issue a replacement only once the original is stopped, so you are not paying the same debt twice.
The bank and the court have the final word
This guide describes the mechanism the Commercial Transactions Law provides for a lost, stolen or damaged cheque — opposition, publication, and the resolution of any dispute over who is entitled to the value. It does not replace the drawee bank's own procedures or the decision of the competent court, and it is not legal advice on your cheque. Banks may ask for specific documents and forms, and the entitlement of a disputing holder is ultimately a matter for agreement or judgment, not for the opponent to decide alone.
The safe habit is to act in order and keep every step on paper: the police report first, the written opposition second, the newspaper notice with accurate details third, and the replacement last. Where a foreign-language document supports your claim — an assignment, a settlement or a foreign judgment about ownership of the cheque — it will generally need a certified Arabic translation before it is used before a UAE bank or court.
If a cheque has been lost, stolen or damaged and you need the publication and supporting documents prepared correctly, tell us the cheque details and the bank it is drawn on.
See publication noticesQuestions about publishing a lost-cheque notice
To stop a lost, stolen or damaged cheque effectively, yes — the process runs through publication. You oppose payment with the drawee bank, and the bank publishes the cheque's details in an Arabic UAE daily. That published notice is what makes the stop effective against third parties, because from the date of publication any act on the cheque is void. A private request to hold a cheque, without the opposition and publication, does not give you the same protection.
The mechanism sits in the UAE Commercial Transactions Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022, in its provisions on lost and damaged cheques. Those provisions give the owner of a lost, stolen or bearer cheque the right to oppose payment, require the drawee bank to set the funds aside, and require it to publish the cheque's particulars in a daily Arabic newspaper issued in the UAE.
The opponent — the person who stopped the cheque — bears the cost. The law states that the drawee bank publishes at the opponent's expense. That reflects the logic of the rule: the publication protects the person who lost the cheque, so its cost falls on them, not on the bank or the drawer.
Yes. The law calls for publication in one of the daily newspapers issued in the UAE in the Arabic language. Arabic is the language of official notice, so a stop published only in another language would not meet the requirement. If your supporting documents are in another language, they are translated for the bank and court, but the public notice itself is in Arabic.
No. The law provides that any act taken on the cheque after the date of publication is null and void. That is the core effect of the notice: it fixes a public date after which the cheque cannot be validly presented, endorsed or paid, so a later holder cannot rely on it. Acts before publication are a separate question, which is why acting quickly matters.
In practice, yes. Banks generally expect a police report of the loss or theft before they act on an opposition, and the report is your dated evidence that the cheque was reported missing. File it in the emirate where the cheque was lost, with the cheque number, amount, date and the drawer's name, then present it with your written opposition. The report also underpins any later request for a replacement cheque.
A genuine holder can dispute your opposition by delivering the cheque to the drawee bank against a receipt, and the bank then notifies you of the holder's name and address. From that point the disagreement is about entitlement: you are expected to raise a claim within the period the law allows, the bank keeps the funds set aside, and it pays only whoever produces a final judgment or a certified settlement establishing ownership of the cheque.
Official sources
- UAE Legislation portal — Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022 promulgating the Commercial Transactions Law (lost and damaged cheque provisions)
- Central Bank of the UAE — cheques FAQ under the Commercial Transactions Law
- Khaleej Times — file a police complaint if a cheque is lost
- Legal Advice Middle East — a police report is crucial before a replacement of a lost cheque is issued
- Gulf News — stop payment orders on cheques are no longer valid in the UAE except in defined circumstances
This content is for general awareness and is based on the official sources available at the time of the last update. Publication-notice requirements and steps differ by the type and stage of the case and the direction of the competent court or authority. It is not legal advice. MANJAZ is a service provider that helps prepare and coordinate publication-notice requirements — it is not a court, does not decide whether a case qualifies for service by publication, and does not issue judicial notices.
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