How to fill out a check, step by step

A check is a written order telling your bank to pay a set amount from your account to a named person or business. It works because the details are clear and hard to change once it leaves your hands.

There are six things you fill in. The part that trips people up is that the amount goes on twice, in numbers and in words, and the two have to agree.

Here is each field, what belongs in it, and the habits that keep a check from coming back.

The parts you fill in, and the parts already printed

A blank check already carries the details that identify the account: your name and address, a check number, and a line of numbers along the bottom that tells the banking system which bank and account the money comes from. You never write those.

Everything else is yours to complete:

• The date
• The line that reads "Pay to the order of"
• The amount in numbers, in the box marked with a dollar sign
• The amount written out in words
• The memo line
• Your signature

Step by step

Use a pen with blue or black ink. Pencil and erasable ink can be erased and written over. A check in pencil is not automatically invalid, but you are handing someone a document they can change.

Work through the fields in this order.

1. Date it. Write today's date in month, day, year order, for example March 4, 2026, or 3/4/2026.
2. Write who it is for. On the "Pay to the order of" line, put the full name of the person or business, spelled the way they use it; ask if you are unsure. Only write "Cash" if you mean that anyone holding it can cash it.
3. Write the amount in numbers. Put the figure in the box with the dollar sign, including cents: 125.40, or 125.00 for a whole-dollar amount.
4. Write the amount in words. Spell out the dollars, then write the cents as a fraction over 100: 125.40 becomes "One hundred twenty-five and 40/100", and 125.00 becomes "One hundred twenty-five and 00/100".
5. Fill in the memo, or leave it blank. This is a short note, like "October rent" or an invoice number.
6. Sign it. Sign the way your bank has it on file. An unsigned check is not a valid payment order, so a missing signature sends it straight back. Checks also come back for a plainer reason: not enough money in the account.

Why the written amount governs

When the numbers and the words disagree, long-standing US banking rules say the amount in words generally counts. Words are harder to alter than a figure.

That does not make a mismatch harmless. Check processing is largely automated, and the numeric amount is what the systems usually key on, so a discrepancy tends to pull the check out for a person to look at. It may then be paid for the written amount, held, or returned unpaid. Treat the two amounts as one figure you write twice.

Closing off the empty space

Anywhere you leave blank space, someone could add to it.

After writing the amount in words, draw a straight line through the leftover space. Do the same after the payee's name if there is a long gap, and leave no gap in front of the first digit of the numeric amount.

Checks pass through several hands, and a filled line is simply a closed door.

What the memo line is, and is not

The memo line is a note for humans. It helps you remember what a payment was for, and helps whoever receives it apply the money to the right account or invoice. Utility companies and landlords often ask for an account number there.

It is not an instruction to the bank. Writing "void after 30 days" or "do not cash until Friday" there does not make either happen: the bank processing the check is not reading your note. A note like "paid in full" is different. The bank still ignores it, but where the amount owed is genuinely in dispute, wording like that can carry weight between the two people involved, so do not write or deposit one lightly. Whatever you write travels with the check, so keep it short.

Post-dating, and what it really does

Post-dating means writing a future date, hoping the check cannot be cashed until then. On its own it is weaker protection than people assume: a check is generally treated as payable on demand, and an early deposit may simply be paid, because the date is not what the systems key on.

You can give your own bank notice that a specific check is post-dated. A notice that reaches them in time, with enough detail to identify the check, is generally what makes the date stick. What varies is the form, the details they want, how long it lasts, and whether there is a fee. If timing matters, holding the check until the day you want it paid is simpler.

Mistakes, and how to fix one

The checks that come back are often let down by something small: no signature, the two amounts disagreeing, a missing or wrong year, a payee name that does not match the account it was deposited into, or writing in pencil. Banks vary in how closely they compare a signature to the one on file, and a close look is likelier on larger or unusual checks, but a clear mismatch can stop a check. Not having the funds in the account is its own problem, and the cost varies: some banks have dropped both the charge for returning a check unpaid and the charge to the person who deposited it, while others still apply them.

Do not cross out and rewrite. A visible alteration makes a check look tampered with, and banks vary in whether they accept one even when the correction is honest. Write VOID in large letters across the check instead, keep it or shred it, and write a new one. Then mark that number as voided in your records. A check register is just the list where you note each check you write, and it is how you spot one that goes missing.

One time you do want a voided check: an employer or payroll service setting up direct deposit, covered in How to set up direct deposit with your employer. If you would rather not spend a real check, the free tool at free voided check page makes one in your browser. What is accepted varies: some employers and payroll providers take any voided check, others want one from your checkbook or a form from your bank, so ask first.

Last updated 2026-09-16. General information about how checks and US bank payments usually work — not legal, tax or financial advice.