# How to Void a Check: 5 Steps, and When You Need a Stop Payment Instead

**By Justin McKelvey** · Published September 26, 2026 · Updated September 26, 2026 · 6 min read

> Write VOID in large letters across the front in blue or black ink, without covering the routing and account numbers, then record the check number as void. As of September 2026, that only works on a check you still hold: a mailed check needs a stop-payment order, which lasts six months.

**Category:** Payments
**Tags:** Buyer's Guide, Accounts Payable, Payments
**Canonical URL:** https://superdupr.com/blog/how-to-void-a-check

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## How to void a check: the short answer

**To void a check, write "VOID" in large letters across the front in blue or black ink, covering the payee line, the amount and the signature line, but not the routing and account numbers printed along the bottom. Then record the check number as void in your register or accounting software, and either keep the check with your records or shred it. That works only for a check still in your hand. A check you already mailed cannot be voided with a pen; you need a stop payment from your bank.**

Sourcing note: the steps below follow Chase's own "How to void a check" guide, read September 26, 2026. The stop-payment rules come from the Uniform Commercial Code, sections 4-403 and 4-404, read the same day on Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. The fee example is BILL's public pricing page, also read that day.

## Step by step: voiding a check you still have

1. **Use a blue or black pen.** Chase's guide says another color "may not show up correctly or be accepted by the recipient." Never use pencil or erasable ink.
2. **Write "VOID" across the front.** Make the letters large enough to cross the payee name, the amount box and the signature line. Leave the MICR line at the bottom readable, because whoever asked for the voided check usually needs those numbers.
3. **Do not sign it.** A voided check should carry no signature. If you signed it before deciding to void it, write VOID across the signature too.
4. **Record it.** Mark the check number as void in your check register, QuickBooks, Xero or whatever holds your books. A missing number in a check sequence is exactly what a bank reconciliation, or an auditor, will ask about.
5. **Keep a copy, then store or shred it.** Photograph or scan it for your records. Then shred it, or file it somewhere locked. Chase is blunt about why: even a correctly voided check "still contains sensitive information, such as the account holder's name, bank, address and account number."

## What is a voided check, and why do people ask for one?

A voided check is a blank check from your checkbook with "VOID" written across it, so it can never be cashed, used only to hand someone your bank details in a format that is hard to mistype. The two most common requests:

- **Direct deposit.** An employer or payroll provider asks for one to set up paychecks. Chase lists this as one of the two main reasons to void a check.
- **Vendor and customer ACH setup.** On the business side, this is the bigger one. A customer paying you by ACH, a lender setting up autopay, or a platform paying out to you may ask for a voided check to confirm the routing and account numbers belong to your business name.

The check matters because of the line of numbers at the bottom: the nine-digit routing number, then your account number, then the check number. Printed by the bank, those numbers are less likely to carry a typo than something typed into a form.

## If you do not have a checkbook

Plenty of businesses never ordered checks. Chase's guide lists the alternatives it says could be accepted instead:

- A voided deposit slip with your name and account details on it.
- The completed and signed direct deposit or ACH authorization form, with the routing and account numbers written in.
- A voided or starter check from your bank, which some banks let you print from online banking.
- Setting up the payment directly in online banking or the payer's portal.

For a business, the cleanest substitute is usually a **bank letter** (sometimes called a direct deposit letter or account verification letter) on bank letterhead showing the legal business name, routing number and account number. Most business banks can generate one in online banking. Ask the requester which of these they accept before you order checks just to void one.

## Voiding vs stopping payment: the part most guides skip

Writing VOID only works on paper you control. Once a check has left your hands, the only tool is a **stop-payment order** with your bank, and the rules for it are set by the Uniform Commercial Code, not by the bank's marketing page:

- **It has to reach the bank in time.** Under UCC 4-403(a), the order must describe the check "with reasonable certainty" and arrive in time for the bank to act on it before the check is paid. Have the check number, date, amount and payee ready.
- **It lasts six months.** A written stop-payment order is effective for six months. An oral one, made by phone, lapses after 14 calendar days unless it is confirmed in writing. Either can be renewed for another six months, in writing, while it is still in effect (UCC 4-403(b)).
- **A stale check is not a dead check.** UCC 4-404 says a bank is under no obligation to pay a check presented more than six months after its date, but it "may charge its customer's account for a payment made thereafter in good faith." In plain terms: after six months the bank *may* refuse the check, not *must*.

Put those two six-month rules side by side and there is a trap. The stop order expires at about the same time the check goes stale, and stale does not mean void. If a lost or disputed business check matters, renew the stop order in writing before it lapses, or ask your bank about closing the account the check was drawn on. Banks charge a fee for a stop payment; it is on your account's fee schedule.

## What "void a check" costs inside AP software

If you pay vendors through accounts payable software that prints and mails checks for you, "void" is not a pen stroke. The software has to stop a check that is already in the mail, and it charges for that. BILL's public pricing page, read September 26, 2026, lists mailing a check at **$1.99** and **"Void a Check" at $25.00**. Voiding one mailed check costs about twelve times what sending it did.

That is a useful number when you decide how to pay vendors. An ACH payment on the same page is $0.59, and a mistaken ACH payment is handled through a different process. If your team voids and reissues checks every month because of wrong amounts or wrong addresses, the fix is upstream: approval before payment, and vendor bank details collected once and verified. Our [BILL review](/blog/bill-com-review) walks through the full fee table, and [the AP automation software guide](/blog/best-accounts-payable-automation-software) compares the tools that handle vendor onboarding for you.

## Is it safe to send someone a voided check?

Only to someone you have reason to trust, over a channel you trust. A voided check cannot be cashed, but the routing and account numbers on it are the same two numbers used to set up ACH debits and, in check fraud, to print counterfeit checks. A few habits that cost nothing:

- Send it through the payer's secure portal rather than as an email attachment when you can.
- Confirm by phone, using a number you already have, before you send bank details to anyone who emailed you asking for them. Changed-bank-details emails are a classic vendor payment scam.
- Ask your bank about ACH debit blocks or filters on accounts that should never be debited by outsiders.

For how long money takes to land once the account is set up, see [how long it takes for a check to clear](/blog/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-check-to-clear) and [what ACH payments cost](/blog/ach-fees).

## Stop re-keying bank details by hand

Most voided-check requests exist because a person is about to type your routing and account numbers into another system. That hand-off is where typos and fraud get in. If your team still collects vendor W-9s, bank letters and invoices by email and keys them into your books, [SuperDupr's AI document processing](/solutions/ai-document-processing) reads those documents, extracts the fields and flags mismatches before anyone pays a bill.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do you void a check?

Write VOID in large letters across the front of the check in blue or black ink, covering the payee line, amount and signature line but not the routing and account numbers at the bottom. Do not sign it. Record the check number as void in your register or accounting software, keep a copy, and shred or securely file the original.

### What is a voided check?

A blank check with VOID written across it so it can never be cashed. People ask for one to set up direct deposit or ACH payments, because the routing number and account number printed at the bottom are harder to mistype than numbers typed into a form.

### Can I void a check I already mailed?

Not with a pen. Once a check has left your hands you need a stop-payment order from your bank. Under UCC 4-403 a written stop order lasts six months, an oral one lapses after 14 calendar days unless confirmed in writing, and either can be renewed in writing for another six months.

### Does a check expire after six months?

Not exactly. UCC 4-404 says a bank does not have to pay a check presented more than six months after its date, but it may pay it in good faith and charge your account. A stop-payment order also lapses at six months, so renew it in writing if the check still matters.

### What can I use instead of a voided check?

Chase lists a voided deposit slip, a signed direct deposit authorization form with the routing and account numbers written in, a voided or starter check from your bank, or setting the payment up in online banking. Businesses can usually download a bank letter showing the business name, routing number and account number.

### How much does it cost to void a check in BILL?

BILL's pricing page, read September 26, 2026, lists Void a Check at $25.00, against $1.99 to mail the check in the first place and $0.59 for an ACH payment. Voiding a mailed check costs about twelve times what sending it did.


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*Originally published at [https://superdupr.com/blog/how-to-void-a-check](https://superdupr.com/blog/how-to-void-a-check) by SuperDupr.*