Yes, you can often print a voided check online by logging into your bank’s website or mobile app and downloading a check image with a “VOID” watermark already applied. Not every bank offers this, but the ones that do usually place it under a menu like “Account Services,” “Account Details,” or “Direct Deposit.” If yours doesn’t, a bank-issued direct deposit form, a verification letter, or even a screenshot of your account numbers will usually satisfy whoever is asking.
Where to Look in Your Online Banking
Sign in to online banking or your mobile app and open the account you want to use. The download option, if your bank offers one, tends to live in one of these places:
- Account Services or Account Details
- Direct Deposit or Set Up Direct Deposit
- Customer Service or Statements
Banks that offer the feature generate a PDF that looks like a check, pre-filled with your name, the bank’s name, your routing number, and your account number, with “VOID” printed across the face. Save the PDF, then upload it to your employer’s payroll portal or print a copy. If you don’t see anything like this after a few minutes of looking, your bank probably doesn’t provide it, and one of the alternatives below will do the job.
What the Recipient Actually Needs
A voided check is just a delivery format. The information on it that matters is the routing number, a nine-digit code assigned by the American Bankers Association that identifies your bank,1Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Routing Transit Number (RTN) and your account number, typically 8 to 12 digits, though some banks use as few as 5 or as many as 17. The check number printed alongside them is not needed to set up direct deposit.
The rules governing ACH direct deposits do not require a voided check specifically. They require that whoever is sending money to your account have your authorization and accurate account details.2Nacha. The Importance of Compliant ACH Authorizations Any document that carries the two numbers accurately can meet that need, which is why most employers accept several formats.
Alternatives If Your Bank Doesn’t Offer a Downloadable Check
Online-only banks and many newer checking accounts don’t come with paper checks at all, and plenty of traditional banks skip the downloadable check feature. Any of the following typically works:
- A direct deposit authorization form from your bank. Many banks publish a pre-filled PDF on letterhead in the same online banking menus where a check image would live. Employers accept these because the details come straight from the bank.
- A bank verification letter listing your account and routing numbers on official letterhead. Many banks issue these for free through online banking or at a branch.
- The routing and account numbers displayed inside online banking. Some employers accept a screenshot or printout of that screen, but confirm with payroll first.3Nacha. Direct Deposit Without a Voided Check? Absolutely!
- A deposit slip from your account. It contains the same routing and account numbers and, because it’s designed for incoming funds, carries slightly less risk than a check.
- A call to your bank’s customer service line. They’ll verify your identity and read out the numbers.3Nacha. Direct Deposit Without a Voided Check? Absolutely!
- Direct entry in your employer’s payroll portal. Many self-service systems let you type the routing and account numbers in and skip the paper document entirely.
Before you go to any trouble, ask the employer, biller, or agency which formats they accept. Most are flexible.
Voiding a Paper Check If You Have One
If you keep a checkbook and prefer to void a physical check, it takes about ten seconds. Take a blue or black pen and write “VOID” in large letters across the front of the check. Make the letters big enough to be obvious, but not so big that they cover the routing number, account number, or bank name.
Don’t sign it. Don’t fill in a payee or amount. The point is to make the check unusable for payment while keeping the banking details readable. Once voided, hand it over, scan it, or photograph it. Note the check number in your register so you know it wasn’t spent.
Saving and Sending the Document
Save the file as a PDF before you print anything. Most browsers offer “Print to PDF” or “Save as PDF” from the print menu, which gives you a clean digital copy you can upload to a payroll portal or attach to a secure message. Keep the backup so you don’t have to repeat the process the next time someone asks.
If you need to print a hard copy, use your printer’s highest quality setting and check that your name, routing number, and account number are all legible. If the document carries a “VOID” watermark, make sure it doesn’t obscure the numbers underneath.
Protecting Your Account Information
Anything showing your name, routing number, and account number gives someone enough to try to withdraw money from your account. Handle it accordingly.
- Avoid unencrypted email. If your employer asks you to email a voided check, ask whether they have a secure upload portal instead.
- Shred any check you void but don’t end up using.
- Watch your account for unfamiliar transactions in the weeks after you set up a new direct deposit or ACH connection. Electronic fund transfers are covered by Regulation E, which gives you the right to dispute unauthorized transactions.4eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1005 – Electronic Fund Transfers (Regulation E)
- Share the document only with parties you trust and can verify: your employer’s payroll department, your bank, a government agency. If a company you don’t recognize asks for one, verify the request through a channel you already trust before you send anything.
If unauthorized withdrawals do show up, call your bank right away. Under Regulation E, you generally have 60 days after your statement is sent to report errors or unauthorized transfers and keep your full dispute rights.4eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1005 – Electronic Fund Transfers (Regulation E)