Anyone eligible to enter into contract as per the Law of Contract can write an option irrespective of the fact whether one owns the underlying stock or not.
If the writer of a call option owns the stock that he is obliged to deliver upon exercise of the call he has written, he is called a covered call writer.
On the other, if the writer of the call option does not own the stock he has written the option for, he is called an uncovered or naked call writer and the option is called an uncovered or naked call option.
3 Comments