Money Basics
Managing a Checking Account
Writing a check
Checks are convenient when you don't want to carry around a lot of cash or when you need to pay bills through the mail. Take a few minutes to review the parts of a check:
To write a check:
- Enter the date at the top of the check.
- Write the name of the company or person you are paying money to in the Pay to the Order of line.
- At the end of the Pay to the Order of line, write the number amount of the check (for example, $25 or $48.28).
- On the dollars line, write the check amount in words. This confirms the number amount (for example, forty-eight dollars and 28/100). Note that you can write the cents as a fraction.
- If there is blank space left after you write in the amount, draw a line out to the end—stopping before the word "dollars"—so no one can add to the amount (for example, forty-eight dollars and 28/100-----------------------dollars).
- Write your signature on the line at the lower-right corner of your check.
- In the Memo or For section in the bottom-left corner, write what the check is for (for example, "jeans for John" or "rent").
