Online verification of U.S. Treasury checks is available at TCVA.FMS.Treas.gov, per the website of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Click the Check Verification link on the page’s left side, then enter the routing transit number, check number, and check amount, followed by the Verify button. Alternately, call 800-826-9434 for inquiries about checks.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury states that as of 2015, genuine U.S. Treasury checks may have a Treasury seal bearing the words “Bureau of the Fiscal Service.” The seal appears to the right of the Statue of Liberty in the upper left corner of checks that feature it. The security ink on the seal runs and turns red when exposed to moisture.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury says that valid U.S. Treasury checks have microprinting in three spots that appear as lines unless the lettering is magnified. The lines on a counterfeit Treasury check can be a sequence of dots or a solid line. Microprinting cannot be duplicated by copy machines.
According to the Treasury Department’s website, all official U.S. Treasury checks are printed on paper with a watermark. The “U.S. TREASURY” watermark is visible from both the front and back of the check when it is held up to the light. The watermark, which is a light colour, cannot be reproduced by a copy machine.
All Treasury checks feature ultraviolet overprinting, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The overprinting consists of four lines with the letters “FMS” or the phrases “FISCALSERVICE” and a Treasury seal. The pattern and seal will illuminate under black light.