The Signature Line on Checks is Not a Line at All
May 4, 2011 at 2:00 am Chad Upton 33 comments
By Chad Upton | Editor
Although personal checks are antiquated by modern payment standards, they still have some valid uses. For example, they’re still popular for personal and bill payments by mail. They’re also used to dodge online transaction fees to pay friends or submit payments for online auctions.
Turning a blank line into any amount of money has obvious fraud potential. Unlike most currency, the paper itself is not particularly special. However, the print on the paper has some security features built in.
Photocopying is thwarted in a couple of ways. First, the light blue ink is a specific color of blue that does not photocopy well.
There is also a feature called micro-security print, usually indicated with an “MP” (micro-security print) logo on the signature line. The logo indicates that very tiny print is present. While the signature line looks like an ordinary horizontal line, it is actually made up of very small repeating print, “AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE.” This text is extremely small; so small that it will become completely blurry and unreadable if it is photocopied.
The next time you see a check, try reading the fine print.
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Sources: 4checks.com, Yahoo! Answers
Entry filed under: Around The House, Money. Tags: check, cheque, fraud, micro-security print, mp, protection.
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Broken Secrets 
1.
Stephanie | May 5, 2011 at 5:19 pm
totally cool – I’d never noticed that the signature line wasn’t a line at all! one of my actually reads “original document” instead though
2.
info | December 16, 2013 at 11:27 am
It only authorized you the physical adult to pay bills based on your straw man, if you look at your check it has your name in all caps…
3.
Mike Travis | March 5, 2018 at 8:54 am
Exactly! And who is your straw man? A fictitious corporate entity created by banking interests to use as collateral for their criminal schemes. Living people use an autograph.
Click to access autographs.pdf
4.
Ryan | May 6, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Awesome! I always wondered what the “MP” at the end of the signature line stood for.
5.
Demond Mash | March 21, 2023 at 5:10 am
Can he Elaborate more on the Autograph?
Like Exactly what documents would this be used for? Where do I make a family Christ?
6.
Robert the Skeptic | May 8, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Interesting additional note, the little vertical blue line at the end of the payee line and just before the dollar sign $ was implemented in the check design in preparation for the (a href=”http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/endicott/endicott_chronology1970.html”>IBM 3895 which was developed in 1977 to OCR read the hand written amount.
This was supposed to eliminate the need for “proof operators” who actually encode the MICR dollar amount written on the check so the computer could read the amount.
Unfortunately, the reject rate for the IBM 3895 was about 50% and the additional time and costs associated for reprocessing the unintelligible handwriting rejected checks was more costly than fast and proficient Proof Operators.
Even today, checks are read by human Proof Operators and encoded by hand before they are read by the computer. Electronic banking has reduced the number of paper items significantly and the IBM 3895 can retire to computer history.
[Robert was an Operations Analysts for US Bank for 12 years and worked on the IBM 3895 project.]
7.
DNA | May 11, 2012 at 11:21 pm
I print my own checks because I am not a sucker. And no, they don’t have a silly microprinted line that nobody looks at anyway.
8.
Mike Travis | March 5, 2018 at 8:57 am
They showed a zoomed image of the MP line and you still deny it? I looked at my check and it IS text though I can’t enlarge it enough to read it.
9.
M | January 31, 2015 at 1:10 pm
What about the “box” that the $$ goes in? The four corner rule apply here?
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15.
Rugeirn Drienborough | July 4, 2017 at 3:52 pm
“First, the light blue ink is a specific color of blue that does not photocopy well.” Excuse me, but have you noticed that color copiers now exist? And that they copy non-repro blue just fine? And that nobody but an idiot would accept a grayscale copy of a check? And that since nobody knows about this so-called security feature, nobody looks for it, so it accomplishes nothing? This is what we call “security theater” — stuff that looks like it improves security, but actually does little ot nothing.
16.
GEM | August 13, 2022 at 9:25 am
While you pretend to know what you are talking about, you’re wrong. I learned in elementary school how to make my own check. As long as your info and routing and account numbers are on the check, whether hand written or printed, it is valid and will be processed, just not as quick as a preprinted check with magnetic ink for scanning.
17.
Shaun Vader | August 28, 2022 at 4:43 pm
No point your printer narcs on you. It encodes the computer id that told it to print the document.
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21.
Kevon Goodge | September 14, 2021 at 12:25 pm
I just did this with my scanner; and both my for line and my signature line are text and not a line.
WHAT Does it actually say?
22.
David Smith | September 27, 2021 at 3:51 pm
The line says ‘authorized signature’ repeated 13 times.
23.
Mark | August 29, 2022 at 8:30 am
The number 13 they get us in codes and tell us don’t they….while stuff when you can “see” whats going on.
The old saying “…read the fine print” defined.
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27.
Nicholas Keefe | August 17, 2022 at 3:05 pm
Well it’s funny I had previously been savvy to this point of MP signature line not being a line but a repeating contract so to speak. I had forgotten tho since I rarely use or see Cheques anymore. Who else is here because of the late great Jordan Maxwell?
28.
Ben BG | August 21, 2022 at 1:03 pm
I too am here because of Jordan Maxwell, just seen him mention this on a documentary.
29.
Rocky Knight | August 24, 2022 at 8:32 am
Wow! I am also here due to searching what Jordan Maxwell mentioned about the signature line on your personal check!
30.
Butcher | March 26, 2023 at 10:56 am
Peoples names are in all caps on ss card and birth cert. because that entitie is corporate, all corp’s, must be in all caps. THERE IS NO LAW THAT HAS ANY POWER OVER YOU YOUR MOTHERS CHILD. Now the corporate you maybe, but the lower case name you laws have no jurisdiction over, PERIOD. EVERYTHING IS CORPORATE, Start paying attention to all the symbols people. You think you know how this world works, WELL, you dont… THE MAGIC IS IN THE FINANCE….
31.
Chadwick Otto Mattick | August 9, 2023 at 1:22 pm
Why do you sovereign citizens continue to harp these nonsensical phrases back and forth show me one time One time any of this mumbo jumbo has actually held up in any court of law. You are always goin on saying the country doesn’t have jurisdiction over you yadda yadda yah I guaranteed you if you get prosecuted or receive
a ticket/fine all your gibberish will gain you NOTHING
32.
Davina | August 9, 2023 at 2:15 pm
Bull. I used these techniques to cancel all traffic tickets in California except one over a 5 year period. That one was for an actual stop sign violation that I was guilty of.
33.
Lamonte I. Smith | March 21, 2024 at 4:52 pm
How Do you Print a Personal Business check in Text Size Format and Find the Signiture in picture Written Print on signiture line ?