① Full endorsement. Full endorsement is also called registered endorsement or formal endorsement. According to the provisions of the Bills of Exchange Law, full endorsement needs to record the words “pay to the designated person named by the endorsee”, and the endorsee needs to sign and seal. For example:
Pay B (endorser), A (signature) x year x month x day
or
Pay to the order of F (endorser), A (signature) x year x month x day
The above is the first endorsement. The endorsee B can continue to transfer the bill of exchange by endorsement and delivery. The continuity of endorsement can be seen from a series of special endorsements. If B transfers it to C, then
Pay C (endorser), B (signature) x year x month x day
This is the second endorsement.
Endorsement in form can also be used.
When the holder of a fully endorsed bill of exchange retransfers it, it must be transferred by endorsement, either by registered endorsement or blank endorsement, but it cannot be transferred by delivery alone without endorsement.
②Blank endorsement. Blank endorsement refers to an endorsement that does not record the name of the endorsee, and only the endorser’s own name (or seal) is signed on the back of the bill of exchange. Therefore, it is also called incomplete endorsement, abbreviated (simplified) endorsement or bearer endorsement. There is only one item that must be recorded in a blank endorsement, that is, the endorser’s signature.
In international trade, bills of exchange are mostly endorsed in blank endorsements. This endorsement is different from a registered endorsement in that the holder can retransfer it by delivery alone without signing, making the bill of exchange easy to circulate. Since there is no endorsement, there is no need to bear the endorser’s responsibilities. When the payee refuses to pay, it is easy to exercise the right of recourse. At present, the bill of exchange laws of most countries or regions in the world recognize the validity of blank endorsements, but my country’s Bill of Exchange Law does not recognize the validity of blank endorsements.
The recording method (format) of blank endorsement can also be in the form of sentences or tables, for example
Pay to the order of (blank), A (signature) x year x month x day
The holder of a blank endorsed bill can also transfer the bill by blank endorsement, such as A transfers it to B by blank endorsement, and B can also transfer it to C by blank endorsement with just signature. The holder of a blank endorsed bill or a bill whose last endorsement is a blank endorsement can record himself as the endorsee in the endorsement blank of the original blank endorsed bill and transfer it again. In this way, the blank endorsement becomes a named endorsement, and the endorsee of the named endorsement can continue to use the blank endorsement method when transferring the bill again, and the bill becomes a blank endorsed bill again. For a bill that has been endorsed multiple times, the previous endorsements include both named endorsements and blank endorsements, but the last endorsement is a blank endorsement, which is still a blank endorsed bill. However, the holder can record himself as the endorsee in the last endorsement blank, firstly for the purpose of re-transfer (name endorsement or blank endorsement); secondly, to prevent the bill from being lost as a safeguard.
In addition, the holder can transfer the blank endorsement again without the responsibility of endorsement, that is, directly deliver the bill to the transferee (or record someone else as the endorsee in the blank column), and he does not need to endorse to complete the transfer procedure. At this time, although the bill has actually changed hands, since it has not been endorsed in form, the holder is not responsible for endorsement.