A Check or a cheque is a paper document, requesting the bank to pay the mentioned amount of money from the your account to the person whose name is the check has been issued. It is essential life skill for everyone to know how to fill out a check.
You can fill a check in following easy steps. Okay let’s begin….
Table of Contents
How To Fill Out A Check
(1) First you have to write the date –
Look at the top right corner of your check. You will see a box or a line with empty space named as ‘Date’. Write the date you signed your check on that space.
(2) Write the recipient’s name –
You will find a line that has written ‘Pay’ or ‘Pay To’ before it, On that line you have to write the full name of payee. That could be a name of a person, a company or an organization make sure to write the full name.
You can also Write ‘Cash’ on the recipients name line. This will allow anyone to withdraw the amount written in the check just by handing over it to the bank.
But if you write a name of recipient, only that person or company representative (in case if it is a company) can withdraw money with it
(3) Write the amount in numeric form
In your write hand side you will find a small box with the currency sign. Write the amount you want to pay the recipient in figures inside the box.
Lets take an example if you want to pay one 120 dollars and 30 cents Write 120.30 inside the box. If you want to pay an amount like 20$ make sure to indicate no amount in cents by writing 20.00
(4) Write the amount in words.
You may make a mistake while writing the amount in numeric form. So the amount in word is the official value of the check. Under the ‘pay to’ line you can find another line. Write the amount using only capital letters and make sure you make no mistakes while writing. At the end you can use the word ‘only’ so no one can change the value later.
For example if the amount is 120.20$ you can write ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLARS AND TWENTY CENTS ONLY.
Why would you need to write the amount twice. Okay, since checks are written by us, there is always a chance for mistakes but when the mistake is about money… You know “that really hurts”.
(5) Sign the check
In the right corner of the bottom of your check you will find a signature line or a box. Sign in there and make sure you put the exact sign which you gave to the bank. Otherwise the check will be returned.
Your sign is the most important important part of the check. Without the sign the check has no value. So make sure not to put signs on any empty checks to avoid unnecessary risk.
(6) Fill the memo section
This is optional. The memo section is the small part left after you tear away your check. Write down the reason and to whom you issued the check. Also write the amount. So you will have a record about your transactions.
You will receive a statement from the bank regarding your check payments. (Most banks send it monthly) So now you can compare your memos with the statement to make sure everything is okay.
