What if the numbers and words I wrote on my check don't match?

Question

I accidentally submitted a check today where I put the wrong cents amount in the written portion, i.e. "Two hundred nine and 00/100", and put the correct amount in the number portion, "209.53". The check is being paid to the state department; will the correct amount get accepted, or will it be rejected?

Answer 1

If the check is paid, the written words would take precedence. So if it is paid, it should be paid for 209.00 as written. However, it may take some time for the bank to notice the discrepancy. It is possible that it would be paid for 209.53 and then a 53 cent correction would subsequently be made.

It is also possible that the recipient would reject the check because the amounts don't match rather than cashing it and spending time dealing with any corrections that are made. Conceivably, the bank might reject the check but that would generally only happen if they thought the discrepancy was the result of attempted fraud (i.e. someone added the "53" to the courtesy line) and it seems unlikely anyone would commit check fraud to add 53 cents to a check amount.