An endorsement (or indorsement) is the writing of one’s name on the back of an instrument as an authentication or transfer of an interest. Nowadays, the term endorsement is used to describe a writing anywhere on a negotiable instrument, contract, receipt, or other document requiring validation and authentication to signify that the endorser has received the document as presumably valid and authentic.
If an endorsement is made to another, the endorser effectively puts the endorsee into the endorser’s place. A common example is a third-party check.
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]