Cheque Printing Tool
Date, payee and amount printed straight onto your own cheque — lined up for your printer.
Where it prints
An outline of a standard CTS-2010 leaf (8 × 3⅔ in) — not a cheque. Only the black text and crossing are printed on the cheque; the signature is always yours to add by hand.
How to line it up the first time
- Choose how your printer takes the cheque (centred or against the left guide), then press Test print on plain paper. In the print dialog set scale to 100% (not “fit to page”) and turn off headers and footers.
- Check the printed bar measures exactly 50 mm. If not, the printer scaled the page — fix the scale setting first.
- Lay the test print on one of your cheques, top edges together, and hold both against a window or lamp.
- Measure how far the text is from the cheque’s boxes and lines and enter that under Fine-tune positions — first Everything, then single fields. Test again until it lines up.
- Save the positions with your bank’s name. Then tick This is my own cheque, put a cheque in the tray and press Print on the cheque.
About the Cheque Printing Tool
Enter the date, the payee and the amount, and the tool prints them onto a blank cheque leaf of your own: the date in the eight DDMMYYYY boxes, the payee on the “Pay” line, the amount in words over the two “Rupees” lines and the amount in figures in the amount box — in the Indian (lakh, crore) or international (thousand, million) style, with an optional A/c Payee crossing.
Positions start from the RBI’s CTS-2010 standard leaf, 8 × 3⅔ inches, and every printer and bank is a little different, so a test print on plain paper with a 50 mm scale bar helps you set millimetre offsets — saved for your bank and printer only if you choose. The tool prints through your browser’s print dialog and never draws a cheque, a bank logo or a signature. The cheque details are not stored anywhere.
How to use it
- Enter the date, the payee and the amount. Check the amount in words shown under the boxes.
- Choose the crossing (A/c Payee by default) and whether to strike out “or bearer”.
- Choose your paper and how the cheque sits in the tray, then press Test print on plain paper with the scale at 100%.
- Lay the test print on a cheque against the light and adjust Fine-tune positions until everything lines up; save the positions with your bank’s name.
- Tick This is my own cheque, put the cheque in the printer and press Print on the cheque. Sign it by hand.
Examples
Amount box: 1,20,500/- Words: One Lakh Twenty Thousand Five Hundred Only (the word “Rupees” is already printed at the start of the line)
Figures: 12,34,567.50 Words: Twelve Lakh Thirty Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty Seven and Fifty Paise Only
1234567
Figures: 1,234,567/- Words: One Million Two Hundred Thirty-Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Seven Only
Boxes: 0 4 1 0 2 0 2 6
The CTS-2010 leaf
Cheques cleared in India are of a standard size, 8 × 3⅔ inches, with a ⅝-inch MICR band at the bottom for the encoded cheque number and bank codes (RBI MICR procedural guidelines, para 2.1). The CTS-2010 standard (RBI circular and its annex) fixes where the main fields go; its sample leaf puts the date boxes 6.5 mm below the top edge, the payee line 24.5 mm below it and the two amount-in-words lines 8.5 mm apart, with a 39 mm figure area in the amount box. The tool starts from those positions; the offsets cover the rest.
The same circular says no changes or corrections should be made on CTS-2010 cheques (other than for date validation): for any change in the payee, the amount in figures or the amount in words, use a new leaf. So do a test print first.
Rules worth knowing
- Three months: from 1 April 2012 banks do not pay a cheque presented more than three months after its date (RBI/2011-12/251). The tool warns about a stale date and shows until when a post-dated cheque can be presented.
- Account payee: an “account payee” cheque may be credited only to the account of the payee named on it (RBI/2011-12/252).
- Positive Pay: for cheques of ₹50,000 and above banks offer Positive Pay — you confirm the date, payee and amount with your bank before the cheque is presented — and they may make it mandatory from ₹5,00,000 (RBI/2020-21/41).
Printing accurately
- In the print dialog choose 100% / Actual size, not “Fit to page”, and turn off headers and footers. The test print’s bar must measure exactly 50 mm.
- Feed the cheque long edge first. With A4 or Letter selected the leaf is placed at the top edge of the page — in the middle, or against the left or right guide, as your tray holds it.
- Cheque-size page suits printers that take custom paper sizes; choose that size in the print dialog if it is not picked automatically.
- Many printers cannot print in the first few millimetres of the paper; the fields start well inside that.
Limitations
- Field positions vary between banks and cheque books: always do a test print on plain paper before printing on a real cheque.
- For CTS-2010 (Indian) cheques. Cheques of other countries have different layouts.
- One cheque at a time. The tool never prints a signature, a bank name, a logo or the MICR line, and it does not keep a record of cheques you print.
- Text is printed in Arial (or a similar font your computer has), at the size you choose.
Privacy
The cheque details you type are never saved or sent anywhere — they disappear when you leave the page. Only the printer positions are kept, and only in this browser and only if you tick “Remember positions on this device”.
Frequently asked questions
Which date format do cheques use?
CTS-2010 cheques have eight boxes for the date as DDMMYYYY — for 4 October 2026 that is 0 4 1 0 2 0 2 6. The tool prints one digit in each box.
How do I write the amount in words on a cheque?
In the Indian style the amount uses lakh and crore — ₹1,20,500 is “One Lakh Twenty Thousand Five Hundred Only”. Most cheques already print “Rupees” at the start of the line, so the tool leaves it out unless you tick the option.
What does A/c Payee mean?
Two parallel lines across the top-left corner with “A/c Payee” between them mean the bank may credit the cheque only to the account of the payee named on it (RBI/2011-12/252).
How long is a cheque valid?
Three months from the date written on it: since 1 April 2012 banks do not pay cheques presented later than that (RBI/2011-12/251).
My printout is a few millimetres off. What do I change?
Measure the gap on the test print laid over a cheque and enter it under Fine-tune positions — X moves right, Y moves down, in millimetres. If everything is off by the same amount, change only “Everything”. If the 50 mm bar is not 50 mm, set the print scale to 100%.
Can I correct a mistake on a printed cheque?
No — the CTS-2010 standard says to use a fresh cheque for any change to the payee or the amount, as banks may refuse altered cheques. That is why the test print on plain paper comes first.