A bank deposit form, usually called a deposit slip, is the short paper document you fill out when you add cash or checks to your account. It records what you’re depositing, ties the transaction to your account number, and gives you and the bank a written record. You can grab a blank one at any branch, or use the pre-printed slips in the back of your checkbook that already carry your account details.
How to Fill Out a Deposit Slip
Write your full legal name and the date on the lines at the top. If the slip came from the lobby rather than your checkbook, fill in your account number by hand. Get this number right. An incorrect account number can send your money to someone else’s account, and unwinding that mistake takes time and paperwork.
The body of the slip has separate lines for different kinds of deposits:
- Cash goes on the first line as a single total.
- Checks are listed individually on the lines below, usually with the check number or the issuing bank’s routing number written next to each amount.
- If you have more checks than the slip has room for, flip it over. Most forms carry an overflow section on the back.
Add the cash and check amounts together to get your subtotal. If you want some cash back from a check deposit, write that amount on the “less cash received” line and subtract it from the subtotal. What’s left is your net deposit, the figure the bank will actually credit to your account. Check the arithmetic before you hand the slip over. A math error won’t lose your money, but it will slow things down while someone sorts out the discrepancy.
You’ll usually sign the slip only if you’re taking cash back. Pass the completed slip, the cash, and the endorsed checks to the teller together. You’ll get a receipt showing the date, amount, and your updated balance. Keep it. If a dispute ever comes up about whether a deposit was made or how much was credited, that receipt is your proof.
Counter Slips and Business Slips
If you don’t have a pre-printed slip from your checkbook, pick up a blank “counter slip” from any branch. The layout is identical; you just fill in the account number yourself. Businesses that handle a lot of cash and checks often use multi-part slips with carbonless copies in duplicate, triplicate, or quadruplicate. The original goes to the bank and the copies stay with the business for bookkeeping. These are ordered through the bank or a check-printing company and come pre-printed with the business name and account number.
Endorsing the Checks You’re Depositing
Every check listed on the slip needs your signature on the back before the bank will process it. The endorsement area is usually a small box or gray-shaded strip marked “Endorse here.” Your signature authorizes the bank to collect the funds on your behalf.
A plain signature is called a blank endorsement. It works, but if you lose the check after signing it, anyone who picks it up could potentially cash it. A safer approach is a restrictive endorsement: write “For Deposit Only” and your account number below your signature. The check can then only be deposited into that specific account, and the Uniform Commercial Code makes the restriction legally enforceable. Anyone other than a bank who tries to cash a check endorsed this way can be held liable for the full amount.
If you’re depositing a check originally written to someone else, the original payee has to sign the back and write “Pay to the order of” followed by your name. You then endorse below their signature. Many banks are reluctant to accept these, and some require both parties to appear at the branch with government-issued ID. Call your bank about its policy before anyone signs anything, because once a check has been endorsed to a third party, reversing that is complicated.
Mobile and ATM Deposits
Most banks now let you skip the paper slip entirely by depositing checks through a mobile app. You endorse the back of the check, photograph the front and back, and submit them electronically. The important difference from an in-person deposit is the endorsement wording: many banks require you to write “For Mobile Deposit Only” beneath your signature, and some also want your account number or the bank’s name. Missing or incorrect endorsements are the most common reason mobile deposits get rejected.
No single federal rule dictates the exact wording, but Regulation CC’s commentary uses “for mobile deposit only” as its example of a restrictive endorsement for remote deposits, and banks have broadly adopted that language. The restriction helps prevent someone from depositing a check electronically and then also cashing the paper original. If a check carries that endorsement and the paper version is later presented at a teller window, the bank that accepted the paper check bears the loss.
ATM deposits are another option. At your own bank’s ATM, deposits are generally treated the same as deposits made at a teller window. At an ATM owned by a different bank, all deposits are treated like non-local checks, which means longer hold times before your funds become available.
Whichever method you use, save the confirmation. ATMs print a receipt; apps show a confirmation screen with a reference number. Screenshot it and keep it until the deposit clears.
When Your Funds Become Available
Handing over a deposit slip doesn’t mean you can spend the money immediately. Federal law, specifically Regulation CC, sets maximum hold times banks must follow. Spending against money that isn’t yet available is what triggers overdraft fees, so the schedule is worth knowing:
- Cash deposited with a teller: available by the next business day.
- Direct deposits and wire transfers: available by the next business day.
- Government checks, cashier’s checks, and certified checks deposited in person into the payee’s account with a teller: available by the next business day.
- Local checks: the first $275 by the next business day; the remainder by the second business day.
- Non-local checks: the first $275 by the next business day; the remainder by the fifth business day.
- Non-proprietary ATM deposits: available by the fifth business day, regardless of deposit type. The $275 next-day rule does not apply.
The $275 next-day threshold applies to your total daily deposit of checks that aren’t already subject to next-day availability, not to each individual check.1eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 Local checks beyond that $275 must be fully available by the second business day, and non-local checks by the fifth.2eCFR. 12 CFR 229.12 – Availability Schedule
Banks can place longer holds in certain situations, including deposits over $5,525, accounts open less than 30 days, accounts with a history of repeated overdrafts, and checks the bank has reasonable cause to believe won’t clear. When a bank extends a hold, it generally must notify you and explain why.3eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks
Catching and Fixing Mistakes
Review your bank statement or online transaction history within a few days of every deposit and compare it against your receipt. If the credited amount doesn’t match what you deposited, contact the bank immediately. For a misdirected deposit caused by a wrong account number, the bank will typically start a reversal once you show the receipt with the correct information.
Bounced checks are a different problem. The bank will debit the deposited amount back out of your account, and you may face a returned-item fee. If you already spent against those funds, you can also trigger overdraft charges. The practical rule: don’t spend a large check deposit until the hold period has passed and the money has fully cleared.
A Note on Large Cash Deposits
If you deposit more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction, your bank is required by federal law to file a Currency Transaction Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5313 – Reports on Domestic Coins and Currency Transactions The paperwork is the bank’s responsibility, not yours, and the report itself doesn’t mean you’re in trouble. What is a federal crime is deliberately splitting deposits to stay under the threshold, so if you legitimately need to deposit a large amount of cash, deposit it in one go.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5324 – Structuring Transactions To Evade Reporting Requirement