U.S. Treasury Check
Security FeaturesSecurity Features
Bleeding Ink
On ALL checks, the U.S. Treasury
seal, located to the right of the
Statue of Liberty contains security
ink that turns reddish when
moisture is applied to the black
ink.
Modifications have been made to the U.S. Treasury check.
Microprinting
Microprinted words are printed so small that
they appear as a line to the naked eye. However,
when magnied, they become visible. Micro-
printing cannot be duplicated by a copier and
when a check is counterfeited, they will oen
show up as a solid line or a series of dots.
On ALL checks, the endorsement line
on the back of the check contains
microprinting that says “USAUSAUSA”.
Date and Amount
Some checks will not have the white boxes around the
date and amount elds. However, there will be checks
in circulation that still have this feature.
Signature Block
Most U.S. Treasury checks contain a Secure Seal,
which has encoded information in a basket weave
pattern with a signature in the center. is seal is
not on all checks. erefore, do not assume a check
without this seal is counterfeit.
Ultraviolet Overprinting
When a blacklight is passed over ALL U.S. Treasury checks,
the ultraviolet (UV) printing becomes visible, and will glow.
ere are four lines of “FMS” bracketed by the FMS seal on
the le, and the United States seal on the right. If the check is
altered, the UV printing may be disturbed.
UV printing cannot be photocopied.
Watermark
ALL U.S. Treasury checks are printed on watermarked paper.
When held up to the light, the watermark reads “U.S. Treasury”
from both the front and the back. Any check should be suspected
as counterfeit if the check has no watermark, or the watermark is
visible without holding the check up to light.
You may verify check issue information at the Treasury Check Verification System (TCVS) at https://tcvs.fiscal.treasury.gov
December 2020
