Indorsements

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

II. INDORSEMENTS

MARYLAND CODE ANNOTATED, COMMERCIAL LAW § 3-204(a) (2013 & Supp. 2020) (hereinafter COM. LAW § ) defines an indorsement¹⁸ as "a signature, other than that of a signor or a maker, drawer, or acceptor, that alone or accompanied by other words is made on an instrument for the purpose of (i) negotiating the instrument, (ii) restricting payment of the instrument, or (iii) incurring indorser's liability on the instrument. . . ." Section 3-204(a) further provides that "regardless of the intent of the signer, a signature and its accompanying words is an indorsement unless the accompanying words, terms of the instrument, place of the signature, or other circumstances unambiguously indicate that the signature was made for a purpose other than indorsement." This code section also clarifies that "[f]or the purpose of determining whether a signature is made on an instrument, a paper affixed to the instrument is part of the instrument," i.e. an "allonge."

There are two primary types of indorsements utilized on debt instruments: a special indorsement and a blank indorsement. A special indorsement is an indorsement "made by the holder of an instrument, whether payable to an identified person or payable to bearer, and the indorsement identifies a person to whom it makes the instrument payable."¹⁹ Section 3-205(a) provides that "[w]hen specifically indorsed, an instrument becomes payable to the identified person and may be negotiated only by the indorsement of that person." However, "[i]f an indorsement is made by the holder of an instrument and it is not a special indorsement, it is a 'blank indorsement.'"²⁰ Section 3-205(b) provides that "[w]hen indorsed in blank, an instrument becomes payable to bearer and may be negotiated by transfer of possession alone until specifically indorsed."

MARYLAND CODE ANNOTATED, REAL PROPERTY § 7-105.1(e)(2)(iii) (2015 & Supp. 2020) (hereinafter REAL PROP. § ) provides that any Order to Docket a foreclosure action in the...