Where Is the RTN on a U.S. Treasury Check? The 000000518 Code

On a U.S. Treasury check, the RTN is 000000518, and it appears in the middle of the magnetic-ink line printed along the bottom of the check, set off by a pair of transit symbols that look like small vertical bars with dots. Every Treasury check carries the same nine-digit routing number, because it identifies the federal government’s disbursing account rather than a particular bank.

Reading the MICR Line From Left to Right

The bottom half-inch of a Treasury check is printed in Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) font, which banks and mobile apps use to read the check automatically.¹ Three separate numbers sit on that line, each divided by distinctive symbols. Reading from the left edge:

The account symbol number comes first, identifying the government disbursing account.
The routing transit number, 000000518, sits in the middle, framed by two transit symbols.¹
The check serial number is the group on the right, unique to that individual check.

This is different from a personal check, where the routing number is usually the leftmost block. On a Treasury check, the account symbol occupies that spot, so if you start scanning at the left edge you have to skip past it before you reach the routing number in the middle.

Why the Routing Number Is 000000518 on Every Treasury Check

Commercial bank routing numbers vary by institution and Federal Reserve district, and the first four digits normally identify a processing center. The Treasury’s routing number starts with a run of zeros because the check is drawn on the federal government rather than a commercial bank.² The digits 00000051 are preprinted in MICR ink, and the final 8 is the check digit, a built-in error-detection value that banking software uses to catch misreads.¹

The upshot: whether the check is a tax refund from the IRS, a Social Security payment, or a veterans’ benefit, the routing number is the same. If the number printed on the check you’re holding doesn’t match 000000518, the document may not be a genuine Treasury check.

Verify the Check Before You Deposit It

Locating the RTN is one authenticity check. The Treasury builds several others into every check, and any of them can be checked in seconds:

Hold the check up to a light. “U.S. TREASURY” should appear as a watermark visible from both sides. A photocopier cannot reproduce it, so a check without the watermark should be treated as suspicious.³
Dab moisture on the black Treasury seal to the right of the Statue of Liberty vignette. The security ink bleeds red.³
Look closely at three microprinted areas. To the naked eye, they read as thin lines; under magnification, the text is legible. A photocopy renders microprinting as a solid line or scattered dots.³
Under a black light, a “FISCALSERVICE” pattern with agency seals glows across the payee and amount area. Gaps in that pattern can indicate the check has been altered.³

You can’t test the ink or UV features through a phone camera, but confirming the watermark and matching the RTN against 000000518 are both quick steps you can take before you start a mobile deposit.

How Mobile Deposit Uses the RTN

You don’t type the routing number into your banking app. When you photograph the front and back of the check, the app’s optical character recognition reads the entire MICR line and extracts the routing number, serial number, and account symbol automatically. Usually the only figure you enter by hand is the dollar amount, which the app cross-checks against what it read from the check.

If the app rejects the deposit and asks you to retake the picture, the MICR line is the usual reason. A blurry image, glare, poor lighting, or a fold running through the bottom edge can all keep the software from reading the routing number cleanly. Flattening the check on a dark, high-contrast surface and framing the whole bottom edge normally fixes it. Torn or heavily creased checks may have to be deposited in person.

Endorsing the Check Correctly

Most banks reject a mobile deposit without a restrictive endorsement on the back. The standard version is your signature followed by “For Mobile Deposit Only.” Some banks also want your account number or the bank’s name written underneath. This requirement traces to Regulation CC and is meant to prevent someone from depositing the same check a second time somewhere else. The exact wording varies by institution, so check the endorsement instructions inside your bank’s mobile deposit screen before you sign.

If the Number Doesn’t Match or the Check Isn’t Usable

If the routing number on your check isn’t 000000518, or if the check is expired, lost, or stolen, don’t try to force the deposit. Treasury checks are printed with “VOID AFTER ONE YEAR” above the disbursing officer’s signature, and under the Competitive Equality Banking Act a check that isn’t cashed within a year of its issue date is automatically canceled and the funds return to the issuing agency.⁴

Replacement goes through the federal agency that issued the payment. For a tax refund, that’s the IRS; for benefits, the Social Security Administration or the relevant agency.⁵ If you don’t know which agency issued your check, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service Call Center at 1-855-868-0151 can help identify it.

For a missing tax refund, the IRS suggests checking “Where’s My Refund?” at IRS.gov before starting a trace. Single, head-of-household, and married-filing-separately filers can call the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954 to initiate the trace; joint filers submit Form 3911 (Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund) by mail.⁶

If a Treasury check was cashed by someone who forged your signature or otherwise took it without permission, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service handles the claim through its Check Claims Branch at 800-304-3107.⁶ You’ll complete Fiscal Service Form 1133 in black ink. If the check was issued to two payees, both must sign.⁷ The completed form and any check copies go to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Check Resolution Division, P.O. Box 51318, Philadelphia, PA 19115-6318.

1
Treasury Financial Experience (TFX). Chapter 5000 Requisitioning, Preparing, and Issuing Treasury Checks
2
Bureau of the Fiscal Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Routing Transit Number (RTN)
3
Bureau of the Fiscal Service. U.S. Treasury Check Security Features
4
TFX: Treasury Financial Experience. Chapter 7000 Cancellations, Deposits, Reclamations, and Claims for Checks Drawn on the U.S. Treasury
5
USAGov. Government Checks and Payments
6
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Lost or Stolen Refund
7
Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Claim Against the United States for the Proceeds of a U.S. Treasury Check