Employers ask for a voided check when you set up direct deposit because it’s the most reliable way to capture your bank’s routing number and your account number without a transcription error. Those two numbers are what the payroll system needs to send your wages electronically, and a printed check reproduces them exactly as your bank encoded them. The check also gives payroll staff a physical reference to cross-check against whatever you wrote on the direct deposit authorization form.
What the Numbers on the Check Actually Do
Every personal check has a string of numbers printed along the bottom in magnetic ink. The leftmost nine-digit number is the American Bankers Association routing number, which identifies your bank. Your individual account number comes next, directing the deposit into your specific account.1American Bankers Association. ABA Routing Number The face of the check also shows the bank’s name and branch address, which gives payroll a secondary way to confirm the money is heading to the right place.
That combination of routing number, account number, and bank name is everything the payroll system needs to build an electronic payment instruction. The routing number tells the network which bank to deliver to. The account number tells the bank which customer gets the funds. Get either one wrong and your paycheck goes nowhere, or into someone else’s account.
Why a Printed Check Beats a Handwritten Form
Most employers also hand you a direct deposit authorization form where you write out your routing and account numbers. The voided check exists so a payroll specialist can compare what you wrote against what the bank actually printed. This sounds like overkill until you consider that account numbers can run anywhere from 9 to 17 digits, and a single transposed digit sends the payment to the wrong destination.
When digits don’t match, the receiving bank rejects the transfer and the money bounces back to the employer. You miss a payday and wait for the next cycle while the mistake gets sorted out. The voided check is cheap insurance against that scenario, and most payroll departments treat it as their primary verification tool rather than the handwritten form.
How to Void a Check Correctly
The goal is to make the check unusable as a payment while keeping the printed numbers at the bottom fully readable. Take a pen with permanent blue or black ink and write “VOID” in large capital letters across the face of the check. Make the word big enough that no one could fill in a payee name, dollar amount, or signature around it. Don’t write over the routing and account numbers along the bottom edge.
Leave the signature line blank. A signed check, even one marked void, introduces unnecessary risk. If you use duplicate checks that create a carbon copy, make sure “VOID” shows through on the copy as well. Once you’ve marked it, tear the check out and note the check number in your register so your records stay clean. What you’re left with is a piece of paper that carries your banking details and nothing else, which is exactly what payroll needs.
What to Submit if You Don’t Have Paper Checks
Plenty of people don’t keep a checkbook anymore, and many online-only banks never issue checks at all. Payroll departments know this and accept other documents that carry the same verified information.
- A bank-generated direct deposit form. Most banks let you download or print a pre-filled form through their online banking portal or mobile app. It shows the routing number, account number, and the bank’s official branding. Digital-only banks like Chime and Ally typically offer this through their direct deposit settings.
- An account verification letter. You can request a formal letter from your bank confirming your name, account number, and routing number. Some banks generate these instantly online; others require a branch visit or a phone call.
- A payroll card. If you don’t have a bank account at all, many employers offer a prepaid payroll card. Your wages get loaded onto the card each pay period, and you use it like a debit card. Federal consumer protections under Regulation E apply to payroll card accounts the same way they apply to regular bank accounts.2eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1005 Electronic Fund Transfers Regulation E
Any of these works. The payroll department just needs verified routing and account numbers from a source more trustworthy than your handwriting.
Protecting the Information on a Voided Check
A voided check contains everything someone would need to set up an unauthorized withdrawal from your account: routing number, account number, and your name. Treat it that way. Hand it only to the specific HR representative or upload it through the company’s secure payroll portal. Don’t email it unencrypted or leave a copy sitting on a shared printer.
If your employer’s payroll portal lets you enter the routing and account numbers directly and pulls verification from your bank electronically, you may not need to submit a physical or scanned check at all. Ask whether that’s an option before creating a paper trail. When you do submit a voided check, consider redacting anything payroll doesn’t need, like your home address or phone number if they’re printed on the check. The routing number, account number, and bank name are the only fields payroll actually uses.
Your Right to Choose Your Own Bank
Federal law prohibits anyone from requiring you to open an account at a specific bank as a condition of employment. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act is explicit: no person may require a consumer to establish an account for receipt of electronic fund transfers with a particular financial institution as a condition of employment.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693k Compulsory Use of Electronic Fund Transfers Your employer can require direct deposit generally, but you get to pick the bank or credit union that receives your pay.4Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Laws and Regulations EFTA
There’s one wrinkle. An employer can limit direct deposit to a single institution of the employer’s choosing only if the employer also offers an alternative payment method such as a paper check. If no alternative is offered, you must be free to designate your own account.4Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Laws and Regulations EFTA If your employer pressures you to open an account at a bank you didn’t choose and won’t pay you any other way, that violates the implementing regulation under Regulation E.5eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.10 Preauthorized Transfers So while the voided check makes setup accurate, the choice of account behind it is yours.