How to write an amount in words on a cheque or invoice, in US and Indian format
Cheques, invoices, receipts and contracts ask for the amount in figures and also in words. It is not a formality: writing it out makes tampering harder, and on a cheque it has legal weight. In the United States, the Uniform Commercial Code (section 3-114) says that words prevail over numbers when they disagree. In India, section 18 of the Negotiable Instruments Act says the same: if the amount in words and in figures differ, the amount in words is the one payable.
US style: dollars in words, cents as a fraction
On a US check, the usual way is to write the dollars in words and the cents as a fraction of 100: $1,250.50 becomes One thousand two hundred fifty and 50/100 dollars. In check writing, "and" is reserved for the point between dollars and cents, so many people write "two hundred fifty" rather than "two hundred and fifty". Hyphens join the tens and units from twenty-one to ninety-nine: forty-five, ninety-eight.
Indian style: lakh, crore and "Rupees ... Only"
India groups large numbers differently: after the thousands, the next units are the lakh (1,00,000) and the crore (1,00,00,000). That is why figures are written with commas as 12,34,567 and not 1,234,567. On cheques and GST invoices, the amount in words starts with "Rupees", uses lakh and crore, and ends with "Only": ₹1,25,000.50 becomes Rupees One Lakh Twenty-Five Thousand and Fifty Paise Only. The word "Only" closes the amount so that nothing can be added after it.
Good habits on any cheque
- Start writing at the very beginning of the line, leaving no space before the words.
- Draw a line through the rest of the space after the amount.
- Check that the figures and the words state the same amount before signing.
- On invoices and contracts, a common pattern is the figure followed by the words in brackets.
How to get the words right every time
The Number to Words converter writes any amount in English. Choose the International format for millions and billions, or the Indian format for lakh and crore; in Currency mode the Indian format writes the amount the way it goes on cheques, with Rupees, Paise and Only. You can type the figure with or without thousand separators, including the Indian style 1,25,000. To issue a receipt, the Receipt Generator fills in the amount in words automatically and creates a print-ready PDF.
Frequently asked questions
The amount in words. In the US this follows UCC section 3-114, and in India section 18 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
One lakh. In the Indian format, 10,00,000 is ten lakh and 1,00,00,000 is one crore.
Both forms are used in English. On US checks, "and" is usually kept only before the cents, so "two hundred fifty" is the common choice there.