On a check, the amount goes in two places: the small box on the right, written in digits, and the long line below the payee, written in words with the cents shown as a fraction over 100. That written line is what the bank treats as the official amount, so it needs to match the box exactly. Here is how to write the amount on a check, with examples for the amounts that trip people up.
The Numeric Box
The small box next to the pre-printed dollar sign is for digits. Start your first number as close to the dollar sign as possible so no one can slip an extra digit in front of it. Use a decimal point to separate dollars from cents, and always write both cent digits, even when the amount is round. A check for twelve hundred fifty dollars goes in the box as 1,250.00, not 1,250.
The Written Line
The long line under “Pay to the order of” is where you spell the amount out. A few conventions govern this line:
- Spell the whole-dollar portion in words. For $142, write “One hundred forty-two.”
- Use the word “and” only at the boundary between dollars and cents. Don’t insert it between hundreds and tens: it’s “One hundred forty-two,” not “One hundred and forty-two.”
- Write the cents as a number over 100. Seventy-five cents becomes 75/100. A round dollar amount with no cents becomes 00/100.
- Hyphenate compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine: forty-two, sixty-seven, eighty-nine.
- Draw a solid horizontal line from the end of your writing all the way to the printed word “Dollars” at the right edge. That line closes off empty space where someone could add words.
Put together, a check for $236.79 reads: “Two hundred thirty-six and 79/100,” followed by a line to “Dollars.”
Examples for the Amounts That Cause Trouble
Round Dollar Amounts
Even with no cents owed, you still write the fractional portion. A $500 check reads “Five hundred and 00/100.” The 00/100 signals that no cents are owed and blocks anyone from writing a cent value in later.
Large Amounts
For a thousand dollars or more, spell each grouping in order. A check for $2,575.50 reads “Two thousand five hundred seventy-five and 50/100.” A comma after “thousand” is fine for readability but not required. Compound numbers keep their hyphens no matter how large the total gets, so “seventy-five” stays hyphenated.
Amounts Under One Dollar
Checks under a dollar are unusual but valid. Write “Zero and” and then the cent fraction, for example “Zero and 45/100.” In the numeric box, enter 0.45. You can skip the “Zero and” and write only the fraction, but including the zero makes your intent unmistakable.
Single-Digit Cents
When the cents are below ten, put a leading zero in the fraction. For $300.05, write the cents as 05/100, not 5/100. That leading zero keeps a five from being turned into a fifty.
When the Box and the Line Disagree
The written line is the amount that legally controls. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, if a check contains contradictory terms, words override numbers.1Cornell Law School. Uniform Commercial Code 3-114 – Contradictory Terms of Instrument If you enter $50.00 in the box but write “Fifty-five and 00/100” on the line, the bank will pay fifty-five dollars. Words are harder to alter than digits, so they’re treated as the more deliberate expression of what you meant to pay.
That rule is also why the written line deserves a careful second look before you sign. Read the box and the line together; if they don’t match, don’t try to fix it in place.
Protecting the Amount from Alteration
Two habits make the amount you wrote harder to change after the check leaves your hand. Start digits and words as far left as they’ll go in each field, and draw a firm line through any empty space after the written amount so nothing can be added. And use a gel ink pen, ideally black. Gel ink bonds tightly to paper fibers and resists check washing, the practice of using chemicals to lift ordinary ink so the payee and amount can be rewritten. Attempts to wash gel ink usually leave visible damage on the paper.
Check fraud has climbed sharply. Financial regulators tracked roughly 682,000 check-fraud-related suspicious activity reports in 2024, nearly double the volume of a few years earlier.
If You Make a Mistake
Don’t scratch out an error and write over it. Banks can refuse altered checks, and corrections often look like tampering. Write “VOID” in large letters across the front, covering the payee, amount fields, and signature area. Note the voided check number in your register and start over on a fresh check. Keep the voided check until you no longer need it for your records, then shred it, since it still shows your routing and account numbers.