How to Endorse a Check for Mobile Deposit (What to Write on the Back)

Mobile deposit lets you put a check into your account by photographing it in your bank’s app — no branch, no envelope, no waiting in line. The part people get wrong is not the photo. It’s the back of the check. Most banks now require a specific endorsement for mobile deposits, and a missing or incomplete one is the most common reason a mobile deposit is rejected or reversed days later. Here is exactly what to write, in what order, and what to do with the paper check once the money shows up.

Watch: endorsing a check for mobile deposit

What to write on the back of a check for mobile deposit

The short answer is two lines, in the box marked “Endorse Here” on the back of the check:

1. Your signature, written the way your name appears on the “Pay to the Order of” line on the front.
2. “For Mobile Deposit Only” directly underneath it.

That two-line endorsement is accepted by the large majority of U.S. banks and credit unions. Some banks add their own name to the phrase, and some want the line above the signature rather than below it. The deposit screen in your bank’s app shows the exact wording it wants — read it before you sign, because an endorsement is hard to correct once it is on the check.

How to endorse a check for mobile deposit, step by step

1. Flip the check over. The endorsement area is at one end of the back, marked with a few short lines and the words “Do Not Write, Stamp, or Sign Below This Line.” Everything you write stays above that line.
2. Sign your name in blue or black ink. Match the name on the front of the check. If your name is misspelled there, sign it once as it appears and once correctly.
3. Write “For Mobile Deposit Only” under your signature. This is a restrictive endorsement: it tells every bank that this check can be deposited only through a mobile app, not cashed at a counter or handed to someone else.
4. Add your account number only if your bank asks. Some apps require it on the next line (see below). Most do not.
5. Open the app and choose mobile deposit. Enter the amount exactly as written on the check, then photograph the front and the back on a dark, flat surface in good light. The whole endorsement must be inside the frame.
6. Review and submit. Check the amount and both images before you confirm. Most apps send a confirmation within a minute and a second message when the deposit is accepted.

If your bank asks for your account number

A few banks want the account number written on the line after “For Mobile Deposit Only,” which makes the endorsement even more specific: the check can be deposited only into that one account. Write it on its own line, in the same ink, and do not add it unless the app asks — a check is a paper document that passes through several hands, and there is no reason to put your account number on it if the bank does not need it.

Why banks insist on the mobile deposit endorsement

A check deposited by phone is still sitting in your kitchen afterward. That creates a problem paper deposits never had: the same check could be photographed into one account and then carried into a branch and deposited again. Federal check-processing rules updated in 2018 protect a bank that takes a paper check which turns out to have been mobile-deposited already — but only when the mobile deposit carried a restrictive endorsement such as “For Mobile Deposit Only.”

That is why the app is so insistent about those words. The endorsement is the bank’s proof that the check was meant for a phone deposit, it is what makes the check worthless to anyone who finds it, and it is the reason a deposit without it can be accepted by the app and then reversed by a person reviewing it two days later.

A worked example

Jordan sells a used bicycle to a neighbor and is paid with a $240 personal check on a Sunday afternoon. Jordan signs the back, writes “For Mobile Deposit Only” beneath the signature, and deposits it through the bank’s app at 9 p.m. The bank’s cutoff for same-day processing is 8 p.m., so the deposit is dated Monday.

On Monday the app shows the deposit as pending. Part of the money is available Tuesday morning and the rest two business days later — the split and the timing are set by each bank and printed in its funds-availability policy, and larger checks often take longer. Jordan writes “Mobile deposited, Aug 24” across the front of the check so it cannot be deposited twice by mistake, keeps it in a drawer for two weeks after the money clears, and then shreds it.

Why mobile deposits get rejected

• No restrictive endorsement — just a signature, or nothing at all on the back.
• The signature does not match the payee on the front, or the check is made out to someone else.
• Part of the check is cut off, blurred, in shadow, or photographed on a busy background.
• The amount you typed does not match the amount written on the check.
• The check is post-dated (dated in the future) or stale — most banks will not take a check more than six months old.
• It was already deposited, by you or by someone else.
• It is over your mobile deposit limit. Banks cap the amount per check and per day; larger checks may need a branch or an ATM.
• It is a third-party check that was signed over to you. Most apps refuse these — see how to sign a check over to someone else.

After you submit

• Keep the paper check until the deposit has fully cleared — usually a few business days, longer for large amounts.
• Write “deposited” and the date across the front so it can never be presented again by accident.
• Hold it for about two weeks after it clears (many banks suggest 14 days), then shred it. Do not throw an intact check in the trash.
• Never deposit the same check a second time — at a branch, an ATM, another bank or another app. Double-depositing triggers fees, account holds and, in some cases, a closed account.
• If the deposit has not cleared in the expected time, contact the bank before you deposit it any other way.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to write “For Mobile Deposit Only”?

At most banks, yes. Some apps will accept a photo of a check with only a signature, but the bank can reverse the deposit when a person reviews it. Writing the line takes five seconds and removes the most common reason for a rejection.

I already signed the check. Can I still add the mobile deposit line?

Yes. Add “For Mobile Deposit Only” on the line directly under your signature. Do not cross anything out or write over the signature — a corrected endorsement is a common reason for a manual review.

Can I mobile-deposit a check made out to someone else?

Almost never. A check that has been signed over to you is a third-party check, and most mobile apps reject them automatically. The person the check was written to should deposit it themselves, or take it to a branch. Details in How to Sign a Check Over to Someone Else.

My bank’s app wants different wording. Which wins?

The app. “For Mobile Deposit Only” is the generic form and is accepted almost everywhere, but if your bank shows a specific phrase on the deposit screen, write that phrase. If you have already written the generic version, add the bank’s wording on the next line rather than changing what is there.

How long should I keep the check after a mobile deposit?

Until the deposit clears, plus a safety margin — about two weeks is the usual recommendation. Then destroy it. Keeping a deposited check for months is how accidental double deposits happen.

The bottom line

Sign your name, write “For Mobile Deposit Only” underneath, photograph both sides, and keep the check until the money clears. Those four steps cover almost every mobile deposit. The only thing that changes from bank to bank is the exact wording on the second line — and the app will tell you. For every other way to endorse a check, see How to Endorse a Check and Types of Check Endorsements.

Further Reading

• How to Endorse a Check: Every Method Explained
• Types of Check Endorsements: Blank, Restrictive and Special
• How to Sign a Check Over to Someone Else
• What Is Mobile Banking?
• How to Find Your Routing and Account Number on a Check

This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Banking rules, endorsement requirements and mobile deposit policies vary by bank — check with your financial institution for its specific policies.