2016 California Code
Commercial Code - COM
DIVISION 3 - NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS
CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions and Definitions
Section 3103.

3103. (a) In this division:

(1) Acceptor means a drawee who has accepted a draft.

(2) Drawee means a person ordered in a draft to make payment.

(3) Drawer means a person who signs or is identified in a draft as a person ordering payment.

(4) [Reserved]

(5) Maker means a person who signs or is identified in a note as a person undertaking to pay.

(6) Order means a written instruction to pay money signed by the person giving the instruction. The instruction may be addressed to any person, including the person giving the instruction, or to one or more persons jointly or in the alternative but not in succession. An authorization to pay is not an order unless the person authorized to pay is also instructed to pay.

(7) Ordinary care in the case of a person engaged in business means observance of reasonable commercial standards, prevailing in the area in which the person is located, with respect to the business in which the person is engaged. In the case of a bank that takes an instrument for processing for collection or payment by automated means, reasonable commercial standards do not require the bank to examine the instrument if the failure to examine does not violate the bank s prescribed procedures and the bank s procedures do not vary unreasonably from general banking usage not disapproved by this division or Division 4 (commencing with Section 4101).

(8) Party means a party to an instrument.

(9) Promise means a written undertaking to pay money signed by the person undertaking to pay. An acknowledgment of an obligation by the obligor is not a promise unless the obligor also undertakes to pay the obligation.

(10) Prove with respect to a fact means to meet the burden of establishing the fact (paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 1201).

(11) Remitter means a person who purchases an instrument from its issuer if the instrument is payable to an identified person other than the purchaser.

(b) Other definitions applying to this division and the sections in which they appear are:

Acceptance	Section 3409
Accommodated party	Section 3419
Accommodation party	Section 3419
Alteration	Section 3407
Anomalous endorsement	Section 3205
Blank endorsement	Section 3205
Cashier s check	Section 3104
Certificate of deposit	Section 3104
Certified check	Section 3409
Check	Section 3104
Consideration	Section 3303
Demand Draft	Section 3104
Draft	Section 3104
Holder in due course	Section 3302
Incomplete instrument	Section 3115
Indorsement	Section 3204
Indorser	Section 3204
Instrument	Section 3104
Issue	Section 3105
Issuer	Section 3105
Negotiable instrument	Section 3104
Negotiation	Section 3201
Note	Section 3104
Payable at a definite time	Section 3108
Payable on demand	Section 3108
Payable to bearer	Section 3109
Payable to order	Section 3109
Payment	Section 3602
Person entitled to enforce	Section 3301
Presentment	Section 3501
Reacquisition	Section 3207
Special indorsement	Section 3205
Teller s check	Section 3104
Transfer of instrument	Section 3203
Traveler s check	Section 3104
Value	Section 3303

(c) The following definitions in other divisions apply to this division:

Bank	Section 4105
Banking day	Section 4104
Clearinghouse	Section 4104
Collecting bank	Section 4105
Depositary bank	Section 4105
Documentary draft	Section 4104
Intermediary bank	Section 4105
Item	Section 4104
Payor bank	Section 4105
Suspends payments	Section 4104

(d) In addition, Division 1 (commencing with Section 1101) contains general definitions and principles of construction and interpretation applicable throughout this division.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 254, Sec. 44. Effective January 1, 2007.)