How to Read a Cheque in Canada in 10 Steps [With Pictures]

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With the increasing popularity of electronic payment methods, cheques are now a distant alternative. 

As such, it could be easier to forget how to read a cheque after getting used to electronic payment networks.

But one thing is for sure, cheques provide a maximum transaction limit than most electronic payment options.

According to Payments Canada, the total number of cheques being used in Canada every year is up to one billion. 

This underscores the continued relevance of cheques in the country. 

Whether you are learning about cheques for the first time or you have forgotten how to read them properly, this article will teach you how to read a cheque in Canada. 

Let’s get started.

How to Read a Cheque in Canada: A Step-By-Step Guide

Reading a Canadian cheque is very easy once you understand the main parts of a cheque. 

In general, most Canadian cheques have the same components. This means that if you can read a TD cheque, you can likely read a BMO cheque or other Canadian banks’ cheques.

However, there might be slight differences when you compare the cheques issued by different Canadian banks. 

Regardless of such differences, the following are the main components of Canadian cheques:

• Personal information 
• “Pay to the Order Of”
• Dollar Amount line 
• Dollar Amount Box 
• Memo Line
• Endorsement space 

Let’s now take a look at the main components of a Canadian cheque, using a CIBC void cheque as an example.

1. Account Holder’s Name

The upper left-hand section of Canadian cheques usually contains the account holder’s name.

This part of the cheque is where your legal name should be written and the name must match that of your government-issued ID. 

If you’re issuing the cheque through a business bank account, then make sure the name written on the cheque is your legal business name. 

In case you changed your business name at some point, make sure you notify your bank to reflect such a change. 

2.  Account Holder’s Address

When you look under the “Name” line of most Canadian cheques, you should see another line designated to the Address of the account holder. 

The address line on Canadian cheques can sometimes take up to two lines depending on your type of residence. 

If you are presenting a cheque as an individual, then your primary residence address should be written under the address section. 

Bear in mind that your cheque address must match the address on your bank file.

Also, if the cheque is meant for a business, the address line should display the primary mailing address of your business and your bank file.

The address line on a Canadian cheque should not have errors because that often leads to a cheque being mailed to the wrong address.

This is why it is highly recommended that you update your bank address and chequebook whenever you move into a new residence in Canada. 

3.  Cheque Number

The cheque number is often located at the extreme top-left of a Canadian cheque. 

The cheque number often ranges between 1 and 100. It represents the position of each cheque leaf on a chequebook.

For every cheque number less than 100, one or two preceding zeros are added to make such a number become three digits. See the examples below:

• First cheque leaf – 001
• Third cheque leaf – 003
• Twentieth cheque leaf – 020
• Last cheque leaf – 100

4. Date

At the top-left side of the cheque is the date box. This box contains the day the cheque is issued.

Here you will see the day, month and year that the cheque is issued, usually located below the cheque number.

Note that you’re required to deposit the cheque within six months of writing them. Else the cheque expires. There’s an exception for government and certified cheques in Canada. 

5. Pay to the Order Of

This line indicates the legal name of the person or business cashing out the cheque. 

It is often required that the name of the recipient matches the name of the individual, business or organization that is depositing the cheque at the bank. 

While some Canadian banks might accept that you use a nickname on the cheque, others would decline such usage as a spelling error. 

Note that the “Pay to the Order Of” line can sometimes be left blank if it is a bearer cheque. Such types of cheques are usually deposited to whoever presents them to a bank. 

6. Dollar Amount Line

This line specifies the amount payable to the cheque recipient.  

You are expected to write the dollar amount in words under this line. This is to avoid inconsistency between the dollar amount line and the dollar amount box. 

Assuming a cheque has “Three hundred dollars” on the dollar amount line while the dollar amount box has the number “400″.

If the amount wasn’t written in words, there wouldn’t be a way to detect such an error and the bank would have likely paid out $400 to the cheque recipient. 

When writing the dollar amount in words, it is expected you include any applicable cent.  However, you’re not expected to write cents in words.  

Assuming you’re sending $200.40, you’re expected to write “two hundred dollars and 40/100” in words. 

7. Dollar Amount Box 

The Dollar Amount box is located on the right-hand side of a cheque beside the dollar amount line.

This is where you’re expected to write the amount you’re paying in numerical form. 

To avoid error, the number written on the Dollar Amount Box should match the written words on the Dollar Amount Line of a cheque. 

That being said, you’re expected to include applicable cents to the Canadian Dollar Amount Box.

If there are no cents involved, you should add two zeros to the amount you’re paying as shown below:  

• $100 should be written as $100.00
• $100.2 should be written as $100.20
• $85.5 should be written as $85.50  

8. Account Holder’s Bank Details

Below the dollar amount and box lines are the account holder’s bank details. This includes the bank name and branch name of the bank that issued the cheque. 

Under this section, you will find the full address of the bank including the civic number, street name, postal code and province. 

As a cheque recipient, knowing the bank details will help know where to deposit the cheque

9. Memo

This part of a cheque is not compulsory to fill out because it’s optional.

For personal accounting purposes, it is good to write a short description or note on the Memo line of a Canadian cheque. 

Similarly, you can add a short memo by yourself whenever you receive a cheque with a blank (unfilled) Memo line. 

Below are good examples of short memo descriptions for cheques.

• “Holiday trip refund”
• “Rent payment for Unit 1D”
• “Furniture Payment”
• “Payment for Invoice #456”

It is also a good practice to write the same memo of a cheque on the back pages of your chequebook when writing a cheque out. 

Such memo descriptions will help you remember exactly what you used each cheque to pay for.

10. Endorsement Line/Space

The Endorsement Line or Space is often found on the back of a Canadian cheque. It is usually an empty line that is meant to be signed by whoever is depositing the cheque. 

The cheque payer is not supposed to fill out the Endorsement Line or space at the back of the cheque.

Most Canadian banks will never allow a cheque to be deposited until the receiver endorses it with a personal signature on the back.

This is to ensure that the payee Endorsement signature matches the one on their file. This process helps to detect discrepancies or possible instances of cheque fraud.

How to Read the MICR Encoding Line on a Canadian Cheque

This bottom part of a Cheque usually contains a series of numbers that make up what is called the MICR Encoding Line. 

The MICR Encoding Line often comprises some important identification data which includes: 

• Designation/Institution number
• Bank account number
• Transit/Branch number

These numbers are important when it comes to setting pre-authorized deposits or direct deposits.

Let’s discuss each of these numbers one after the other.

Designation/Institution Number

At the right side of the transit/branch number is the designation or institution number of a cheque.

The designation/institution number on a Canadian cheque is usually a 3-digit number that identifies with the banking institution that issued the cheque. 

This simply means that all the branches of a particular Canadian bank will have the same 3-digit designation number. 

Learn about the full list of banks in Canada here.

Bank Account Number

This is usually the last part of the MICR Encoding Line at the bottom of a Canadian cheque. 

The bank account identifies with the account holder. The digits of the account number depend on the financial institution.

However, Canadian bank account numbers come in 7 or 12 digits.

Transit/Branch Number

This number is usually a five-digit code that is assigned to the specific bank branch where a cheque is issued.

So even if you relocate to another Canadian city and start visiting a different branch of the same bank, the transit/branch number of your cheques will remain the same.

The branch number can only change when you permanently close down the bank account associated with your chequebook and open a new account in a different bank branch.

How to Read Canadian Banks’ Cheques

As noted earlier, the components of Canadian cheques are common with most financial institutions.

Notwithstanding, Canadian banks offer customized cheques that might look slightly different from those of other institutions.

That being said, you can follow the above process to read the cheques of most financial institutions in Canada. 

To avoid confusion, below I summarized the step-by-step process on how to read the cheque some of the leading banks in Canada:  

How to Read a CIBC Cheque

Recall that the above example was based on a CIBC cheque. 

So if you understand the above explanations, you can read a CIBC cheque confidently.

That said, below is a highlight of the step-by-step processes o how to read a CIBC cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the CIBC account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the CIBC “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the CIBC cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of CIBC (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

READ ALSO: CIBC e- Transfer Limit

How to Read an RBC Cheque

Below are the step-by-step processes on how to read an RBC cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the RBC account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the RBC “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the RBC cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of RBC (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

READ ALSO: RBC e- Transfer Limit

How to Read a BMO Cheque 

The following are the step-by-step processes on how to read a BMO cheque:

• Step 1: Read the BMO account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the BMO “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the BMO cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of BMO (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

READ ALSO: BMO e- Transfer Limit

How to Read a TD Cheque 

Below are the step-by-step processes on how to read a TD cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the TD account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the TD “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the TD cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of TD (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

READ ALSO: TD e- Transfer Limit

How to Read a Scotiabank Cheque 

The following are the step-by-step processes on how to read a Scotiabank cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the Scotiabank account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the Scotiabank “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the Scotiabank cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of Scotiabank (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

READ ALSO: Scotiabank e- Transfer Limit

How to Read an HSBC Cheque

The following are the step-by-step processes on how to read an HSBC cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the HSBC account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the HSBC “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the HSBC cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of HSBC (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

READ ALSO: HSBC e- Transfer Limit

How to Read a Desjardins Cheque 

Below are the step-by-step processes on how to read a Desjardins cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the Desjardins account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the Desjardins “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the Desjardins cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of Desjardins (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

How to Read a Vancity Cheque

The following are the step-by-step processes on how to read a Vancity cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the Vancity account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the Vancity “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the Vancity cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of Vancity (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

How to Read a Simplii Cheque 

Below are the step-by-step processes on how to read a Simplii Financial cheque: 

• Step 1: Read the Simplii Financial account holder’s name and address
• Step 2: Read the Simplii Financial “cheque number”
• Step 3: Read the “date” the Simplii Financial cheque was issued
• Step 4: Read “Pay to the Order Of” line
• Step 5: Read “Dollar amount line and box” lines
• Step 6: Read the legal name and address of Simplii (the account holder’s bank)
• Step 7: Read the “Memo space”
• Step 8: Read the “Endorsement space”

READ ALSO: Simplii e- Transfer Limit

Final Thoughts on How to Read a Cheque in Canada

Whether you are just learning to read cheques or you needed to remind yourself how to do so, now you have some insights.

Reading a cheque is not a difficult task once you understand the components of a cheque as just explained. 

With this knowledge, you can also write and deposit a cheque confidently in Canada.

If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends and those that may also be looking at how to read a cheque in Canada.

FAQs on How to Read a Cheque in Canada

Why do I need cheques when e-Transfers exist?

While Interac e-Transfer may be a faster payment method than traditional cheques, it is not always reliable, especially for large payments.

With a cheque, you can make higher transactions than with e-Transfers. 

Do cheques expire?

Except for Government of Canada cheques and certified cheques, every other written cheque expires after six months of writing them. 

Do chequebooks expire?

No. So long as you don’t write anything on them and your cheque details remain the same, your chequebook will remain valid.

How much does it cost to get a chequebook?

The cost of a chequebook in Canada depends on the financial institution. However, the average cost of getting a chequebook in Canada is between $25 and $70.