How to Write a Check: A Step-by-Step Guide

To write a check, fill six fields: the date (top right), the payee on the "Pay to the order of" line, the amount in numbers in the box, the amount in words on the line below, an optional memo, and your signature. The words and the numbers must match, and you write the cents as a fraction over 100.

Throughout this guide one example check is carried all the way through: a check to City Power & Light for the amount shown below.

How do you write a check step by step?

Work top to bottom, left to right, and fill every field before you sign. A check is the same layout at every U.S. bank, so once you know the six fields you can fill any of them. Use blue or black ink, never pencil, and never sign first.

The rest of this guide takes each field in turn, then handles cents, round amounts, and voiding.

1. Write the date

Put today's date in the top-right corner. This tells the bank and the payee when the check was written. Either format works, spelled out or numeric, so write the month in words or as digits.

Avoid post-dating (writing a future date) unless you have a reason. Many banks will cash a check before its written date anyway, so a future date is no guarantee the money waits.

2. Write the payee on "Pay to the order of"

Write the exact name of the person or business you are paying. This line decides who can cash the check, so spell it correctly. For our example, the payee is the utility company.

If you are paying a person, use their full name. If you are paying a company, use the business name they gave you on the bill. Do not leave this line blank, because a blank payee line means anyone holding the check can fill in their own name.

3. Write the amount in numbers (the box)

Put the dollars-and-cents figure in the small box on the right. Start writing hard against the left edge of the box so no one can squeeze an extra digit in front of your number.

Use a decimal point for the cents and keep the digits tight. The box and the written line on the next field have to agree, so write this number first and then spell out the same value.

4. Write the amount in words (the line)

This is the field people get stuck on, so it gets its own walk-through. Write the dollar amount in words, then the cents as a fraction over 100, then strike out the empty space. Banks treat this written line as the legal amount, so if the words and the box disagree, the words usually win.

Take the dollars first and write them in plain words, then add the word "and," then the cents as a number over 100.

The word "and" marks the decimal point, so use it only there. Do not sprinkle "and" through the dollar part. Twelve hundred fifty is "one thousand two hundred fifty," not "one thousand two hundred and fifty." The single "and" belongs in front of the cents.

Fill the leftover space with a line. After the fraction, draw a horizontal line to the printed word "Dollars" so no one can add words after yours.

If spelling long numbers in words slows you down, our number-to-words converter will turn the amount into words automatically, so you can copy the exact phrasing onto the line. It also helps you double-check that your box figure and your words line say the same thing.

How do you write the cents on a check?

Write the cents as the cent amount over 100, not as a decimal. The line is for words, so the cents become a fraction. Two cents is "02/100," and seventy-five cents is "75/100."

The fraction is always over 100 because there are 100 cents in a dollar, which is the same idea as turning any cents figure into its decimal place value. If you want to see how a fraction like 75/100 becomes the decimal .75, our fraction-to-decimal calculator shows the conversion. Some banks accept "and 75 cents" spelled out instead of the fraction, but the fraction form is standard and never ambiguous.

How do you write a check for a round dollar amount?

Write "and 00/100" even when there are no cents. The zeros close the line so no one can add cents after you. Keep the box at the round figure with a decimal and two zeros.

Some people write the word "even" after a round amount instead of "00/100." Either reads clearly, but "00/100" matches the cents format you use the rest of the time, so it is the safer habit.

5. Write the memo (optional)

Use the memo line to record what the payment is for. The bank ignores it, but it is the note you will thank yourself for later. For a bill, write the account or the month.

If a company asks you to put an account number on the check, the memo line is where it goes. This field is never required for the check to clear.

6. Sign the check

Sign your name on the bottom-right line, last. Your signature authorizes the bank to pay, so a check without it is not valid. Use the same signature the bank has on file from when you opened the account.

Sign only after every other field is filled. An unsigned blank check is just paper, but a signed blank check is a gift to whoever finds it.

How do you void a check?

Write "VOID" in large letters across the front, in ink. Voiding cancels the check so it cannot be cashed, while leaving the printed account and routing numbers readable. People often void a check to hand those numbers to an employer or biller for direct deposit.

Use a blank, unsigned check to void. Once voided, record it in your register so the check number is accounted for.

Fill the six fields in order, make the box and the words agree, write the cents over 100, and sign last. If spelling the amount is the slow part, the number-to-words converter writes the words line for you so the check matches every time.