N.Y. UCC Law § 3-404
This is the official text of N.Y. UCC Law § 3-404, part of New York’s UCC Law — part of the compiled statutory law of New York, published by the state as "UCC Law." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Unauthorized Signatures
Official statutory text
Section 3--404. Unauthorized Signatures.\n (1) Any unauthorized signature is wholly inoperative as that of the\nperson whose name is signed unless he ratifies it or is precluded from\ndenying it; but it operates as the signature of the unauthorized signer\nin favor of any person who in good faith pays the instrument or takes it\nfor value.\n (2) Any unauthorized signature may be ratified for all purposes of\nthis Article. Such ratification does not of itself affect any rights of\nthe person ratifying against the actual signer.\n
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in New York?
Find a New York lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.