It’s usually safe to accept a certified check as payment for a car. Although an individual writes the certified check, their bank confirms that the check is valid and that there are enough funds in the account. The bank also places a hold on the funds it would use to pay the check. You could confirm the validity of a certified check by contacting the issuer. You could also choose to request a cashier’s check instead. This would be a check written directly by a bank or a financial institution. As with certified checks, you could contact the issuing bank to confirm its validity and avoid fraudulent checks.