How to Write a Check (Step-by-Step Guide)

Before you write anything, look at the blank check. Your name and address sit in the top-left. The date line runs along the top-right, with the amount box just below it. 'Pay to the order of' is the long line down the middle. The dollar-amount line is below that, and the memo and signature lines sit at the bottom.

Along the bottom edge you'll see two long numbers. The one on the left is your bank's routing number. The one on the right is your account number. The shorter number above the line (and again in the top-right corner) is the check number, which keeps your records in order.

Write today's date on the date line. Use the full four-digit year (2026, not '26). Abbreviating the year makes it easier for someone to change it later, so banks and accountants prefer the long form.

Want the check cashed later? Post-date it by writing a future date. Your recipient can hold it until then, though a post-date isn't a guarantee the bank will wait.

On the 'Pay to the order of' line, write exactly who the money is going to. For a company, use the legal business name - ask if you're not sure. For an individual, use their first and last legal name, not a nickname or middle name.

Why the fuss? When your recipient tries to deposit the check, their bank matches the name on the check to the name on their ID. 'Mike' and 'Michael' can trip it up. Getting this right saves them a trip to the bank.

In the small box with the dollar sign, write the amount as a number with dollars and cents. For one hundred thirty dollars and sixty-nine cents, you'd write 130.69.

Start right up against the dollar sign. Any space you leave is room for someone to slip in a digit and turn 130.69 into 1,130.69.

On the long line below the payee, write the dollars out in words and put the cents as a fraction over 100. One hundred thirty dollars and sixty-nine cents becomes One hundred and thirty dollars and 69/100. Banks treat the written amount as the official figure if the number and words ever disagree.

After the fraction, draw a straight line through any empty space on the line. That blocks anyone from tacking on extra words.

The memo line in the bottom-left is optional, but worth using. Write what the check is for: 'Invoice 332', 'April rent', 'birthday gift'. If you ever need to look back at your records, you'll thank yourself.

Some businesses ask you to put an account number in the memo so they can credit the payment correctly. If they ask, that's where it goes.

Sign your name on the signature line in the bottom-right, exactly as it appears on your bank's records. An unsigned check isn't valid, so this is the step that turns a piece of paper into money.

Hand it over, and you're done. If you made a mistake anywhere along the way, don't just cross it out - void the check by writing 'VOID' in large letters across the front, and start again on a fresh one.