LetterAgent
Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.
Home > Guides > Direct deposit forms
Usually yes: many payroll departments accept a faxed direct-deposit authorization, especially with a voided check attached so they can read the routing and account numbers. Faxing beats mailing when you want the change effective on the next pay run. Call or email payroll first to confirm they accept faxes, because some employers insist on the original form or their own online portal.
| Item | What it is | How to prepare it |
|---|---|---|
| Direct-deposit authorization form | Your employer's form, signed and dated | Fill it in fully; a missing signature is the top reason these bounce back |
| Voided check | A check from the account, marked VOID | Write VOID in large letters across the front, but keep the routing and account numbers legible |
| Cover sheet | A page naming you and the purpose | Include your full name, employee ID, and "direct deposit update" so it lands on the right desk |
If you don't have paper checks, most banks let you print a voided-check equivalent or a direct-deposit information sheet from online banking: it shows the same routing and account numbers with the bank's branding. Payroll departments accept these wherever they accept voided checks. In Canada, the same idea applies with the transit, institution, and account numbers; many Canadian banks generate a pre-filled direct-deposit form as a PDF.
Write the word VOID in large letters across the front of the check, diagonally or horizontally, in a dark pen. The key detail: leave the numbers along the bottom readable. Payroll reads your routing number (nine digits in the US) and account number from that strip, and a voided check with the numbers scribbled out is useless to them. The VOID marking tells the bank the check can never be cashed; the legible numbers tell payroll where to send your money.
Don't void the check and then photocopy it badly: a fax of a clean check transmits fine, but a faint photocopy of a voided check can blur the numbers on the receiving end. Fax the actual check page or a high-quality scan, and ask payroll to read the numbers back to you when they confirm receipt.
A voided check carries everything needed to pull money from your account, so treat the fax like the sensitive document it is. Verify the payroll fax number from an official source (the company intranet, your offer letter, or HR directly), not from memory or a forwarded email. After sending, confirm by phone that payroll received it, and ask when the change takes effect.
Worth knowing: a fax to a known payroll number is often safer than the alternative people reach for, which is emailing an unencrypted photo of a voided check. Email copies multiply across inboxes and servers; a fax lands in one tray. Neither is perfect, but if your employer offers a secure portal for banking changes, use it: the portal beats both.
Some employers require the original signed form, and many now route banking changes through their HR portal (Workday, ADP, UKG, and their Canadian equivalents). If faxing is off the table, hand-deliver the form to HR and get a receipt, or submit through the portal and screenshot the confirmation. Whatever the channel, the two rules stay the same: get the change in before the payroll cutoff for the next pay run, and confirm the first deposit actually lands in the right account.
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com