HRS §490:3-407
What counts as changing a check and what happens if it is changed
This section explains what an alteration is and what happens when a check or other payment document is changed without permission. A fraudulent change can cancel the duty of the person affected, but honest buyers or banks can still enforce the document as originally written.
creditorsdebtorsfinancial institutions
The statute, as written — Alteration
(a) "Alteration" means (i) an unauthorized change in an instrument that purports to modify in any respect the obligation of a party, or (ii) an unauthorized addition of words or numbers or other change to an incomplete instrument relating to the obligation of a party. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), an alteration fraudulently made discharges a party whose obligation is affected by the alteration unless that party assents to or is precluded from asserting the alteration. No other alteration discharges a party, and the instrument may be enforced according to its original terms. (c) A payor bank or drawee paying a fraudulently altered instrument or a person taking it for value, in good faith and without notice of the alteration, may enforce rights with respect to the instrument (i) according to its original terms, or (ii) in the case of an incomplete instrument altered by unauthorized completion, according to its terms as completed.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.