Voided check: what it is, and how to get one
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
A voided check is a blank check from your account with VOID written across the front, so it cannot be cashed. It gives an employer or company your routing and account numbers for direct deposit or ACH payments. No checkbook? Most banks let you download a direct deposit form from online banking with the same numbers.
This page in other languages: Español
What is a voided check?
At the bottom of a check, the routing number (nine digits, identifying the bank) sits on the left, followed by the account number and the check number. Writing VOID in large letters across the front keeps those numbers readable while making the check unusable.
Employers ask for one to set up direct deposit of your pay, and companies ask for one to set up ACH payments to or from your account. A bank direct deposit form, or a bank letter showing the account holder, routing number and account number, usually does the same job.
Who sends it, and when
You make it yourself, from a check printed by your bank or credit union for your checking account. If you have no checks, the bank provides a direct deposit form or letter instead, and a branch can often print a single counter check for the account.
Where to get a voided check
- Your checkbook: take a blank check, write VOID in large letters across the front with a pen, and do not sign it.
- Online banking or the bank’s app, often under Account details or Direct deposit, where you can download a pre-filled direct deposit form.
- A branch, which can print a counter check or a letter with your routing and account numbers.
- Your employer’s payroll portal, which may let you enter the numbers yourself instead of sending a check.
Wrong files people send instead
- VOID written over the numbers at the bottom, so the routing or account number can no longer be read.
- A deposit slip instead of a check: it may not carry the same routing number.
- A check from a savings account or an old, closed account.
- A signed check, or one with an amount filled in.
- A photo with the bottom line cut off or blurred.
Questions people ask
What is a voided check?
It is one of your checks marked VOID across the front so it cannot be used, sent only to share your routing and account numbers for direct deposit or ACH.
How do I get a voided check without a checkbook?
Download a direct deposit form from your online banking or app, or ask a branch for a counter check or a letter with your routing and account numbers. Ask the requester if they accept it.
Is it safe to send a voided check?
It shows your routing and account numbers, so send it only to the employer or company that needs them, through a secure channel rather than plain email.
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a voided check or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.