Please note that this answer discusses the requirements of the Check Printer and Check Number Act before it was amended in 2014. For a current version of the law, please see 205 ILCS 690/10.

Under the Uniform Commercial Code, a check is defined as an unconditional order to pay a fixed amount of money payable on demand. 810 ILCS 5/3-104. The UCC does not contain any additional requirements regarding what information must be contained on the check or even what it must be printed on. However, in order to be capable of being processed through the clearing system, industry standards require that the check must be on paper and properly encoded. Magnetic ink must be used to print the MICR line containing the routing number of the bank the check is drawn on, the account number the check is drawn on and the check serial number. After researching the Federal Reserve Bank’s and the NACHA rules, we do not know of any requirement that the name of the bank be included on the check.

Illinois law also requires checks drawn on a consumer deposit account to include the month and year the account was opened and a check number. This requirement does not apply to temporary checks provided by a bank when opening a consumer deposit account. 205 ILCS 690/10.