A bounced check will not directly affect your credit score. Banks do not report bounced checks to the major credit bureaus, so if one returns marked "insufficient funds," it won’t show up on your credit report from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion—and won’t hurt your credit score.

But a bounced check can damage your financial standing—and eventually your credit score—in several other ways.

A Bad Mark With the Banks

Banks have the option to report bounced checks to ChexSystems, a consumer reporting agency for banking activity. This company helps banks identify customers who present a risk because of a history of mishandling their accounts. Bouncing a check falls under that definition of risk.

If your bank reports you to ChexSystems, the negative mark will remain on your record there for five years. This mark could prevent you from opening a new bank account during that period.

You can find out if ChexSystems has any negative information about you by ordering a complimentary ChexSystems consumer disclosure report. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) you can request one free report every 12 months. Information on how to request your report is available on the ChexSystems website.

As with a credit report, you can dispute any information you think is incorrect, and you may be allowed to submit a statement for your file presenting your side of the dispute.

Another Bad Mark, With Merchants

Writing too many bounced checks may also prevent you from paying merchants by check in the future. Many merchants use a verification system called TeleCheck to help them determine if a customer's check is good. If this system connects the check you’ve just presented for payment to a history of unpaid checks, the merchant will decline your check and ask you for a different form of payment.

The Potential Risks to Your Credit Score

A bounced check can indirectly affect your credit score if you used it to pay a debt to a company that routinely reports your payment history to the credit agencies. That includes mortgage and student loan payments, and credit card issuers. In this case, it would show up on your credit report as a late payment, not a bounced check. If you correct the problem within a month of the payment due date, the bounced check won’t affect your credit score.

Similarly, if you bounce a check and don’t deposit sufficient money to cover it, your bank could sue you or send your account to a collection agency. The collection agency may then report your unpaid debt to the credit bureaus, damaging your credit score. But if you immediately deposit enough money to cover the bounced check, the bank will not send your account to collections and the bounced check will not affect your credit score.

The Legal Risks of Writing Bad Checks

People don't usually get jailed for writing the occasional bounced check. If they did, most of us would be behind bars. But if it looks like you wrote a check knowing that it was no good, and you fail to cover your bad check and the bank overdraft fee, you could be in real trouble. The laws vary by state, but generally writing a bad check can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the size of the check. In either case, it can lead to jail time or a fine, or both.