How to Write a Cheque in the UAE: Every Field and the Rules Behind It

Direct answer. To write a cheque in the UAE, fill in the date, the payee's full name, the amount in figures and again in words, and sign exactly as your signature is registered with your bank. The rules are in Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022, the Commercial Transactions Law (Articles 626 to 684). Three of them catch people out. If the words and the figures disagree, the words win (Article 518, applied to cheques by Article 626). If you leave the payee line blank, the cheque is treated as payable to whoever holds it (Article 633). And the date you write is the date the cheque falls due: it may not be presented for payment before that date (Article 648(1)). Habits such as the date format or writing "Only" after the amount are bank practice, not law, and are labelled that way here.

The five steps at a glance

1. Date. Write the date you intend. The cheque cannot be presented for payment before it (Article 648(1)).
2. Payee. Write the full name of the person or company. A blank payee line makes it a bearer cheque (Article 633).
3. Amount in figures. Write the figures right against the currency sign, with no gap (bank practice).
4. Amount in words. Write the amount in words, add "only" and draw a line to the end of the box (bank practice). If the words and the figures differ, the words prevail (Article 518).
5. Signature. Sign exactly as your specimen signature registered with the bank (Article 629(4)).

Optional: cross the cheque with two parallel lines at its head so it can be paid only to a bank or a bank's client (Articles 659 and 660).

The sections below explain each step and the rule behind it.

The law behind a UAE cheque

Cheques are governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022, the Commercial Transactions Law, in force since 2 January 2023. It repealed the old law, Federal Law No. 18 of 1993, including its 2020 amendments. You can read the current text in LEXAI's legislation library, on the official UAE Legislation portal, or in the English text published on u.ae.

The law calls you the drawer, your bank the drawee, and the person paid the payee or bearer. Article 626 applies the bill-of-exchange rules to cheques where they fit, which is why the words-versus-figures rule sits in Article 518.

The seven things every cheque must show

Article 627 lists seven particulars. Your bank prints most of them.

Article 629(2) requires the bank to print your name and account number on each cheque. So your job comes down to four fields: the date, the payee, the amount and the signature.

Filling in each field, one at a time

The date

Under Article 648(1), a cheque is due on the day written as its date of issue, and it may not be presented for payment before that day. So a post-dated cheque cannot lawfully be presented until its date arrives. See our dictionary entry on post-dated cheques and this answer on a landlord who deposited a cheque early.

The date also starts a clock: a cheque payable in the UAE must be presented within six months of the date written on it (Article 649). After that the bank may still pay it (Article 651(1)). Our guide to cheque validity and expiry covers what happens to a cheque once that period has passed.

The format is bank practice: follow the printed boxes and check the year in early January.

The payee line

Write the payee's full name as it appears on their bank account, or a company's registered name. The law lists the payee as a particular (Article 627(4)) but says nothing about spelling; matching the account name is practice that avoids a mismatch at the payee's bank.

Never leave this line empty. Under Article 633, a cheque that names no beneficiary is deemed payable to bearer. Anyone who holds it can present it.

The law recognises a few other forms:

• To a named person, with or without "to order", or marked "Not To Order" (Article 632).
• "Non-Negotiable": a UAE cheque carrying this phrase is payable only to the person who received it with that condition (Article 634).
• To yourself: a cheque may be drawn to the order of the drawer (Article 635(1)). Whether your bank wants your name or "Self" is bank practice.

The amount in figures

Write the figures close to the currency sign, with no gap in front. Closing it with "/-" is practice, not law, but sensible.

The amount in words

Article 518, applied to cheques through Article 626, says that when the sum is written in both letters and numbers, the sum in letters prevails if the two differ. If the sum is written several times, in words or in figures, the lesser amount prevails.

Bank practice is to write the amount, the currency and "Only", then draw a line to the end of the box. No article requires the line; it guards against alteration.

Do not add an interest term. Article 636 treats any stipulation of interest in a cheque as void.

Apart from Article 627(1), which requires the word "Cheque" in the same language as the cheque's text, the law does not say which language the amount in words must be in. Follow your bank's form, and ask the bank if unsure.

A worked example

Say you are paying AED 5,250.50 to Mariam Hassan. The dirham is divided into 100 fils (UAE fact sheet on u.ae), so the 0.50 is fifty fils. Everything in this table is bank practice except where an article is named.

Read the words and the figures back together before you sign.

The signature

Your signature must be identical to the specimen signature registered with your bank (Article 629(4)). Expect a cheque with a mismatched signature to come back unpaid. For mandates, joint accounts and company signatories, see our guide to signing cheques.

If you sign for someone else under their authority, show the capacity you sign in (Article 520(2), applied through Article 626). What proof your bank wants, such as a mandate or a power of attorney, is bank practice.

One point is criminal. Article 675(1)(c) punishes anyone who intentionally writes or signs a cheque in a way that prevents it from being paid. The penalty is imprisonment of six months to two years, a fine, or both. The fine is at least 10% of the cheque's value, with a minimum of AED 5,000, and at most double the value. Penalties are doubled for a repeat offender (Article 675(2)). An honest slip is a banking problem, not a crime. This answer on a cheque that bounced for a signature mismatch walks through that distinction.

Crossing the cheque, and what "A/C Payee Only" really does

Under Article 659, the drawer or the bearer may cross a cheque by drawing two parallel lines at its head.

• General crossing: nothing between the lines, or the word "Bank". The drawee bank may pay it only to a bank or to one of its own clients (Article 660(1)).
• Specific crossing: a named bank written between the lines. It can be paid only to that bank, or to that bank's client if it is also the drawee (Article 660(2)).

A general crossing can be turned into a specific one, but not the other way round (Article 659(5)). Striking out the lines or the bank's name afterwards does not undo the crossing (Article 659(6)). The Arabic text treats the striking-out as having no effect, although some English translations, including the English text on u.ae linked above, read as if the crossing lapses. A bank that ignores a crossing is liable for the resulting loss, up to the cheque's value (Article 660(4)).

Under Article 661, the drawer or bearer may write "To be Credited to the Account", or words with that meaning. The bank may then settle only by crediting an account, not in cash, and striking the phrase out has no legal effect.

What about "A/C Payee Only"? Most online guides tell you to write it, but it is not the statute's wording, and how your bank treats it is practice. For the protection the law describes, use a crossing, "To be Credited to the Account", or "Non-Negotiable".

Security and post-dated cheques: what never to leave blank

Landlords, lenders and some employers ask for security cheques. Our guide to post-dated and security cheques explains when they can be deposited. The writing rules are the same, but the cheque may sit in someone else's drawer for years.

• The payee. A blank payee line makes it a bearer cheque (Article 633). Always name the person or company.
• The amount. An empty amount box invites someone else to complete it. Fill in the figures and the words.
• The date. The date is a required particular (Article 627(6)), and Article 628 gives no exception for a missing one. How a court treats a cheque that the holder dated later depends on the facts and on the evidence of what was agreed. Get advice from a licensed UAE lawyer before handing over an undated cheque. This answer on signing a blank or undated cheque covers the risks.

Keep a photo of the cheque and a written record of what it secures (practice). It is your evidence if the cheque is ever misused.

Before you hand it over: funds, stops and bounces

Article 630(1) says a cheque may not be issued unless the drawer has funds with the bank at the time of issue. The law also sets what happens when funds are short:

• Partial payment. The bank pays what is available unless the bearer refuses, and returns the marked original with a certificate (Article 648(2)). It must also report the account holder's data to the Central Bank (Article 648(3)). See partial cheque payment.
• Executive document. A cheque marked unpaid for insufficient or no balance is an executive document. The holder can enforce it through the courts' execution process (Article 667). The bounced cheque entry goes further.
• Stopping payment. You cannot stop a cheque because you changed your mind. The bank accepts an objection only if the cheque was lost or the bearer is bankrupt (Article 651(2)). Otherwise it must pay, and a court may not order payment suspended (Article 651(3)). Telling the bank not to pay outside the lawful grounds is a crime under Article 675(1)(a). If a cheque made out to you goes missing, see this answer on a lost cheque.

Returned cheques can also affect your banking record. Those reporting and account rules are set by the Central Bank and can change. Its cheque Q&A was written for the old law, so confirm the current position with your bank or the Central Bank.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Forging a cheque, or altering its data by adding or deleting, with intent to cause harm and to use it, carries at least one year in prison and a fine of AED 20,000 to AED 100,000 (Article 676).

When to get help

Most cheques need no lawyer. Get advice when the stakes change: a security cheque for a large lease or loan, a request for an undated cheque, a return you do not understand, or a creditor who has started enforcement.

You can compare banking and finance lawyers on LEXAI, or start with the wider UAE banking and finance law guide.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Confirm current procedure with the relevant authority or a licensed UAE lawyer.