Cathy DesmetShort Answer: You can make a money order out to yourself, but you can’t alter a money order after it’s been made out to someone else. To write a money order to yourself, you’ll write your name as both the purchaser and the recipient. For more details, see below.
Can I Make a Money Order Out to Myself?
Regardless of the issuer, you can make a money order out to yourself and cash it. We contacted MoneyGram, Western Union, the U.S. Postal Service, Continental Express Money Order Company, and North American Money Order Company, and US Express Money Orders. Representatives for all of these companies told us that this is an accepted and common practice.
Money orders are typically available for up to $1,000 (as previously reported). Fees may apply and vary by the retailer; see our lists of places that offer free money orders and the cheapest places to buy money orders.
Can You Alter a Money Order?
Note that you can’t alter a money order after making it out to someone else. That means you can’t change the recipient to yourself after filling out the money order to a different recipient.[1][2][3] Instead, see our instructions on how to request a money order refund.
How to Write a Money Order to Yourself
To write a money order to yourself, you’ll follow the same process as filling out a money order to someone else. Simply fill in your own information as both the recipient and the purchaser. You can then cash or deposit the money order as you wish; see our list of places where you can cash a money order.
Note that it’s best to fill out the money order soon after purchase in case it gets lost or stolen. If someone finds your blank money order, they can fill it out for themselves and cash it.
Joseph Cho
Maria R. Riegger, Esq.
Lindsey Desmet
Loren Eaton
William Lipovsky
Erika Crawford
Kait Scirri
