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How to Write a Top Stub Check

The bank will be processing your top stub checks according to the information written on the checks. Ensure your handwriting is legible on all checks you write so that errors are not made during processing. Also, always use a pen to write your top stub checks, never a pencil.

1. Begin by writing in the date on your check. Most checks are printed with a Date_____ format. You can write in the date using any format such as August 5, 2005 or 8/5/05.
2. Write the company name or the name of the person you are writing the check to on the Pay to the Order of line.
3. In the box to the right of the Pay to the Order of line, beside the $ sign, write in the numerical amount of the check. For example, $18.31.
4. On the line under Pay to the Order of, write the same amount, but in words: Eighteen and 31/100-----. The line is already pre-printed with the word Dollars. The fractional number will represent the number of cents and the line will prevent handwritten to the check.
5. Sign the check on the line in the bottom right corner.
6. If you wish to make a special note as to what the check was written for, use the line printed on the bottom left corner of the check, typically with printed with For in front. If you wrote the check for utilities, you could put a notation in this field.
7. Be sure to note the transaction on your check stub. Your top stub checks have a unique stub with room for up to three (3) separate entries for a balance forward, credits and deposits, your total before writing the check and your balance once the check has been deducted.

Top stub checks feature the ability to record all of your transactions without flipping through a check register. Your ‘register’ is conveniently located at your fingertips – at the top of each check you write!