A person with a bank account writes a bad check (also known as a non-sufficient funds or NSF check) when he deliberately or with knowledge writes a check for an amount of funds he knows are not available in the account. The crime of writing a bad check may also occur when a person writes a check on an account that has been closed. Another bad check scheme that may result in criminal charges occurs when an account holder writes a check for an amount in excess of the funds in the account, and deposits the check in a second account (often at a different bank)—and then withdraws the funds from the second account before the check is presented to the first bank for payment.

Bad check laws vary from state to state, and are usually located in the state’s penal or criminal code (statutes). Banks and criminal prosecutors recognize that a person can inadvertently write a check for more than the funds on deposit in their account, and not every instance will result in criminal charges. But many state laws have an expansive definition of the required knowledge or deliberate intent to write a bad check, and a criminal prosecutor does not have to prove a defendant charged with a bad check offense knew exactly how much money was in the account when the defendant wrote the check to prove the defendant knew he was writing a bad check or deliberately wrote a bad check.

In Georgia, writing a bad check, also known as issuing a check with non-sufficient funds (NSF), is addressed under Georgia's criminal statutes, specifically O.C.G.A. § 16-9-20. A person commits the offense of deposit account fraud when they knowingly make, draw, utter, execute, or deliver a check for the payment of money when the funds are not available in the account, or when the account is closed. The law also covers situations where an individual writes a check with the intent to defraud, such as writing a check from one account and withdrawing the funds from another before the check clears. While accidental overdrafts may not lead to criminal charges, the state's definition of intent does not require the prosecutor to prove the exact knowledge of the account balance at the time the check was written. Instead, the prosecutor must show that the individual had knowledge that the funds were insufficient at the time of the transaction or that there was an intent to defraud. Penalties for writing bad checks in Georgia can range from misdemeanor to felony charges, depending on the amount of the check and the circumstances of the offense.