Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 440.3203 (2026)

Transfer of instrument; delivery; rights of transferee; effect of transfer of less than entire instrument.

✓ current as of July 2026

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UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE

Act 174 of 1962

440.3203 Transfer of instrument; delivery; rights of transferee; effect of transfer of less than entire instrument.

Sec. 3203.

(1) An instrument is transferred when it is delivered by a person other than its issuer for the purpose of giving to the person receiving delivery the right to enforce the instrument.

(2) Transfer of an instrument, whether or not the transfer is a negotiation, vests in the transferee any right of the transferor to enforce the instrument, including any right as a holder in due course, but the transferee cannot acquire rights of a holder in due course by a transfer, directly or indirectly, from a holder in due course if the transferee engaged in fraud or illegality affecting the instrument.

(3) Unless otherwise agreed, if an instrument is transferred for value and the transferee does not become a holder because of lack of endorsement by the transferor, the transferee has a specifically enforceable right to the unqualified endorsement of the transferor, but negotiation of the instrument does not occur until the endorsement is made.

(4) If a transferor purports to transfer less than the entire instrument, negotiation of the instrument does not occur. The transferee obtains no rights under this article and has only the rights of a partial assignee.

History: 1962, Act 174, Eff. Jan. 1, 1964 ;-- Am. 1993, Act 130, Eff. Sept. 30, 1993

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2011–2025 · leading case: First Am. Title Ins. v. Pazdzierz (In Re Pazdzierz), 459 B.R. 254 (E.D. Mich. 2011).

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First Am. Title Ins. v. Pazdzierz (In Re Pazdzierz), 459 B.R. 254 (E.D. Mich. 2011). · cites it 4× “at a definite time”; “[a]n instrument is a ‘note’ if it is a promise”), that may be transferred to another, Mich. Comp. Laws § 440.3203 (1). “Transfer of an instrument .”

Pazdzierz v. First Am. Title Ins. (In Re Pazdzierz), 718 F.3d 582 (6th Cir. 2013). “Compare Mich. Comp. Laws § 440.3104 (1), (5), with § 440.”

Alter Domus (US) LLC v. Winget (E.D. Mich. 2025). · cites it 4× “As this Court has explained: A promissory note is a negotiable instrument, Mich. Comp. Laws § 440.3104 (1), (5) (stating that “‘negotiable instrument’ means an unconditional promise or order to pay a fixed amount of money, with or without interest or other charges described in…”

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