In some cases, you can use a preprinted deposit slip to verify your banking information. A preprinted deposit slip has the same information as a voided check, including your name, routing number, and account number. For example, setting up autopay for your rent, utility bills, or phone bills may require a voided check if you choose to use a direct debit from your bank account.

1. Consider using a password-protected PDF if sending your information by email.
2. Take steps to hide your account information from thieves and hackers.
3. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
4. Unless it’s one of the usual reasons, you should never provide a voided check to anyone.
5. This is a seldom-discussed aspect of voided checks, but it’s critically important for protection from identity theft.

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A voided check has the word “VOID” written across it, indicating that it cannot be used for payment. Voiding a check ensures it won’t be used by anyone, such as thieves who may write in a large amount for themselves. Then, it can provide key information like your routing number and account number to be used in electronic transactions. An online checking account still uses checks, but if you’re out of checks, you may be able to send yourself a small check through your online bank’s bill payment service. Instead of using forms, which require you to void a traditional check, try logging into your account (or ask if there’s an online system).

How to Void a Check in 3 Steps

Direct deposit will be the preferred way for those institutions to make payments and for you to receive them quickly. Much like with a direct deposit paycheck, you can set up direct deposit and have your benefit payments sent to your bank account electronically. While you’ll be asked to provide your bank routing number and account number on a form, your employer’s human resources department free donation invoice template will probably need a copy of a voided check as well. Certain types of transactions might require a voided check to verify your banking information. If you need to provide this info, you’ll often be asked to include your routing number and account number on a form but also to include a copy of a voided check. Once you have the voided check you need, consider scanning or photocopying it.

These numbers contain your bank’s routing number and your account number, both of which are needed for verification. Note the check in your checkbook or finance software, indicating that the check has been voided. A voided check is a check that has the word VOID printed on it, whether handwritten or printed. The check cannot be presented for payment but still has information that can be used to verify your account and which bank holds your account.

Payment services may also require a voided check when setting up an account. A creative solution is to have a check printer to generate an image of a voided check for you. This method won’t work if you need to mail the check, but it can help you get an electronic image of a check containing your account information. Start the process of ordering checks, and when it’s time to “preview” your order, you’ll have a customized check image that you can void. You may also be able to set up deposit or withdrawal instructions using a deposit slip instead of a voided check. A pre-printed deposit slip might be required—not the blank ones you grab at the bank and fill out by hand.

You may have a payment arrangement set up with another person, such as a family member, a friend, or even a landlord/tenant to make recurring payments electronically. Our writers and editors used an in-house natural language generation platform to assist with portions of this article, allowing them to focus on adding information https://www.quick-bookkeeping.net/ that is uniquely helpful. The article was reviewed, fact-checked and edited by our editorial staff prior to publication. You may need to void a check if you wrote a check and made a mistake. If you write the wrong dollar amount, then you’d have to void the check to keep anyone from cashing it or depositing it.

We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and expense: definition types and how expenses are recorded dependable information. Reach out to your human resources department to ask which alternatives they offer. For example, they might accept a bank letter or a voided preprinted deposit slip as verification of your banking information. It’s possible that some employers or payment providers might accept this form by itself.

To err is human and if you make a mistake when writing a check, voiding the check is often the best way to fix the error. Be aware, however, that voiding a check happens before the check has changed hands or is presented for payment at a bank. You may have to get creative, wait for checks, or find an alternative way to link your bank account. This is a seldom-discussed aspect of voided checks, but it’s critically important for protection from identity theft.

The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. When an employer or another entity requests a preprinted voided check, they are probably referring to a standard check that you have voided by writing VOID on the check. If you don’t have any checks, one of the simplest ways to get a voided check is to visit https://www.quick-bookkeeping.net/a-board-member-s-guide-to-nonprofit-overhead/ your local bank and request a counter check. You may have other alternatives, such as sending a copy of a check that has already cleared your bank. You can then void this check by writing VOID across the front and send it to the entity that requested a voided check. Alternatively, you may be able to print a check at home and then follow the same process.

There’s no need to sign a voided check and it may be safer if you don’t. A voided check is simply used for verification of your banking information. If you don’t have a checkbook, you may be able to use your bank’s online bill pay service to send a small payment to yourself. Often, a direct deposit authorization form is the first part of the process when getting set up with direct deposit through an employer or for other types of payments. Many times, you’ll need a voided check to set up automated loan payments such as a mortgage payment, student loan, or auto loan. You must first contact your bank and see if that particular check has already been cashed.

Employers often use voided checks to set up direct deposits for their payroll, and service providers may need them to set up direct debits. This is because a blank check has all the information they need, such as routing or account numbers. Using a voided check reduces the likelihood of a transcription or other type of error. If you’re setting up direct deposit or setting up payments from your bank account, you may be asked for a voided check. Here’s how to void a check and the steps to consider before voiding a check.