How to Write a Check. Filling out a check is pretty easy and straightforward. This blank check shows the six spaces that should be filled out before it is cashed. Five are mandatory, while the memo line bottom left is optional. Date the check. This goes on the topmost line, where it says "date. You may have heard that you can post-date a check — that is, write it for a date in the future — if your account is low on funds, with the idea that you'll replenish your account before the check clears.
Usually, that's not true. The check recipient and the bank can cash the check immediately even if it's post-dated. On the Pay to the Order of line, write the name of the business or individual you're paying. The content that we create is free and independently-sourced, devoid of any paid-for promotion.
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Credit score ranges are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Learn how to write a personal check properly to avoid any problems for the depositor, including how to fill the payee details, check amounts, and memo lines.
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Many of us send money electronically these days. Every now and then, we may write physical checks to make a payment to a person or business.
Here are the steps to write a check. Write the current date on the line at the top right-hand corner. This information will notify the financial institution and the recipient of exactly when you wrote it. The back of a check, which isn't pictured here, includes a space for endorsements. A check is supposed to be endorsed, or signed by the recipient, before it is deposited or cashed.
The upper-left corner of a check typically shows personal identifying information about the account owner, and it is almost always pre-printed on checks. This section generally includes:. This information is usually either the contact information associated with the bank account or the contact information you choose to have printed when you order checks from your bank. If you're concerned about privacy, you can limit the amount of information on your checks or take steps such as using a post office box instead of your home address.
It's not uncommon for retailers to require certain details to accept a check. They may handwrite your phone number on the check, for example. This makes it easier for them to protect themselves in case of check fraud. In this section, you specify who will receive funds from your checking account. Write the name of the person or organization that you wish to pay, also known as the payee.
Only the payee is allowed to deposit the check, cash it, or endorse it to someone else. Use the recipient's full name, rather than a nickname, to avoid any confusion or difficulty for the person depositing the check. If you don't want to name a specific person or organization, it is possible to pay your check to the order of "Cash.
Write the amount of your check in numerical format for example, "1, For security, you want to make it as difficult as possible for someone to alter the number you write in this box. This box is sometimes called the "courtesy box" because it appears on the check as a courtesy or convenience. The number in this box is not used to determine the legal amount of your check. In theory, both amounts should match, but sometimes they don't. In those cases, the written words take precedence over the numbers in the dollar box.
On this line, write the amount of your check using words as opposed to using numerals. If there is space either before or after the amount you write out, you may want to strike through it with a single line in order to prevent anyone from altering the value of your check.
On this line, cents are written as fractions of a dollar, rather than as full cents. Since there are cents in every dollar, put the number of cents above the number If there's any difference between the dollar box and the amount written in words, the bank is supposed to ignore the dollar box.
That's because words are harder to alter than numbers. The memo line can be used to write an unofficial note on your check. This is entirely optional and it can be written in informal terms. Use the memo line to:. You don't necessarily need to get everything on the memo line.
You can write additional information just about anywhere on the front of a check, as long as it doesn't cover up any important information. However, you should not use the back of the check for writing any memo information. Enter the date in this space.
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