A crossed cheque looks like an ordinary cheque with two parallel lines drawn across its face, almost always in the upper-left corner and usually running diagonally from lower-left to upper-right. Those lines are the entire signal. They tell the paying bank the cheque cannot be cashed at the counter and must instead be routed through a bank account. Depending on what is written between the lines, or whether anything is written there at all, the restriction can be broad or very narrow.
The Two Parallel Lines
The lines are the defining feature. They run across the face of the cheque, typically diagonally in the upper-left corner, though horizontal lines work too. They need to be dark and obvious enough that a teller or an imaging system cannot miss them. Anything faint, thin, or drawn in pencil defeats the purpose.
An uncrossed cheque, sometimes called an open cheque, has no such lines. The bearer can walk into the paying bank and receive cash over the counter. That is exactly the vulnerability the crossing was designed to remove. Once the lines are on the cheque, the paying bank is restricted to paying another bank, and the money has to land in an account belonging to someone the banking system can identify.
What Appears Between the Lines
The space between the two lines is essentially a command field. What sits there determines how tight the restriction is.
- Nothing at all. Two blank parallel lines are enough on their own to create a valid crossing.
- “& Co.” or “and company.” A traditional marking that carries the same effect as blank lines. It is a general crossing.
- A specific bank’s name, such as “HSBC.” This turns the crossing into a special crossing directed to that named bank.
- “Not Negotiable.” Can appear alone between the lines or alongside a bank name. It changes the legal character of the cheque without changing where it can be paid.
- “Account Payee Only” (or “A/C Payee”). Directs the collecting bank to credit only the account of the named payee.
These notations often appear in combination. A cheque might carry two diagonal lines with “Account Payee Only” written between them and “Not Negotiable” alongside, all at once. Each addition tightens the instruction.
General Crossing
A general crossing is the simplest form: two parallel transverse lines on the face of the cheque, with or without “and company,” its abbreviation “& Co.,” or “not negotiable” written between them. Section 123 of India’s Negotiable Instruments Act sets out this definition,1India Code. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and Section 76 of the UK Bills of Exchange Act 1882 uses virtually identical language.2Legislation.gov.uk. Bills of Exchange Act 1882
The visual effect is what you would expect: two clean lines, sometimes bare, sometimes with a short phrase between them. The practical result is that the paying bank can only pay the cheque to another banker. The cheque has to move through the banking system into a verified account.
Special Crossing
A special crossing looks different because a specific bank’s name is written across the face of the cheque, with or without the words “not negotiable.” Under Section 124 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, that named bank is the only institution permitted to collect on the cheque.1India Code. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 Any other bank that presents it will be turned away.
This is the most restrictive visible form. It is common when a business wants certainty that funds reach a particular corporate account at a particular institution. The parallel lines are still there in most cases, but the bank name between them does the real work.
What “Not Negotiable” Adds to the Look
The words “Not Negotiable” written between the crossing lines do not stop the cheque from being transferred. What they do is remove the protection an innocent third party would normally receive. Under Section 130 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, anyone who takes a cheque marked this way cannot acquire a better legal title than the person who gave it to them.3Laws of Bangladesh. The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 If the cheque was stolen or obtained through fraud, that tainted title travels with it. A thief holding a “Not Negotiable” cheque cannot become a rightful holder no matter how many hands the cheque passes through.
What “Account Payee Only” Adds to the Look
“Account Payee Only,” often abbreviated “A/C Payee,” directs the collecting bank to credit the proceeds only to the account of the named payee. The strict legal enforceability varies by jurisdiction, but the practical effect is powerful. Banks treat the marking as a warning that accepting the cheque from anyone other than the named payee could expose them to liability. In India and the UK, this notation effectively prevents the cheque from being endorsed over to a third party, because no bank wants to collect it for someone whose name is not on the front.
Who Is Allowed to Draw the Lines
Crossing is not limited to the person writing the cheque. Section 125 of the Negotiable Instruments Act sets a hierarchy for who can add or tighten the marks:1India Code. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
- The drawer can cross the cheque at the time of writing, either generally or specially.
- A holder of an uncrossed cheque can add crossing lines before depositing it.
- A holder of a generally crossed cheque can upgrade it by writing a specific bank’s name between the lines, or by adding “Not Negotiable.”
- A collecting banker that receives an uncrossed or generally crossed cheque can cross it specially to itself.
Crossings only move in one direction: more restrictive, never less. Nobody is permitted to remove the lines or downgrade a special crossing back to a general one. Once the marks are on the cheque, they stay.
How the Marks Change What the Bank Can Do
The whole point of the visual is to constrain the paying bank. Under Section 126 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, a generally crossed cheque may only be paid to a banker, and a specially crossed cheque may only be paid to the named banker or that banker’s collection agent.1India Code. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 No form of identification will convince a teller to hand over cash. The payee deposits the cheque, the collecting bank sends it through clearing to the paying bank, the paying bank checks the signature and the crossing instructions, and the funds move between accounts.
When the paying bank follows the crossing correctly, Section 128 treats the payment as if it went to the true owner, protecting both the bank and the drawer.1India Code. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
Drawing the Lines So Scanners Can Read Them
Modern clearing relies on electronic imaging rather than physical transport of the paper. That has a practical consequence for how crossing marks should look on the page. Automated systems use optical character recognition to read the MICR line at the bottom of the cheque, and heavy handwritten markings across the face can interfere with those systems and trigger read errors that require manual processing. At the same time, faint or poorly drawn lines may not reproduce clearly in a scanned image, which can cause a collecting bank to miss the restriction entirely. If you are adding the marks by hand, use a dark pen, keep the lines confined to the upper-left area, and make sure they sit well above the MICR code line at the bottom.
A Note for U.S. Readers
The crossed cheque system is not used in the United States. U.S. banking law relies on restrictive endorsements written on the back of the check, such as “For Deposit Only” above the signature. Under UCC Section 3-206, a “for deposit” or “for collection” endorsement obligates the depositary bank to handle the proceeds consistently with that instruction, though payor and intermediary banks further along the clearing chain can generally disregard it.4Cornell Law School – Legal Information Institute. UCC 3-206 Restrictive Indorsement If you are looking at a U.S. check, you will not see parallel lines across the face; the equivalent instructions live on the back.