Treasury began phasing out paper checks for most federal payments on Sept. 30, 2025, under an executive order President Donald Trump signed that March. Executive Order 14247, titled “Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account” and signed March 25, 2025, directs the Treasury secretary to stop issuing paper checks for federal disbursements effective that date, “to the extent permitted by law.” Benefit recipients still paid on paper are being told to move to direct deposit or a prepaid card.
Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service says the change covers “most” federal payments and that people who already receive benefits or tax refunds electronically need to do nothing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said when the department announced the date on Aug. 14, 2025 that reducing paper checks “has been a longstanding bipartisan goal that our administration is finally putting into action.”
The question for anyone who still opens a paper check each month is whether the order has caught up with them yet. Social Security says current recipients paid by check must switch to an electronic option, and the agency’s own blog says it plans to finish moving every beneficiary to electronic payments in 2026. A person still on paper should treat the switch as required and start it now, because only a qualifying exception or an approved waiver keeps a payment on paper.
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What does the order require?
Section 3 of the order covers intragovernmental, benefit, vendor and tax refund payments. It tells agencies to enroll recipients in electronic funds transfer, including direct deposit and prepaid cards, and it cites Treasury checks as 16 times more likely to be reported lost or stolen than electronic payments.
Section 4 sets out limited exceptions where electronic payment is not feasible. They are people who do not have access to banking services or electronic payment systems, certain emergency payments where electronic disbursement would cause undue hardship, and law enforcement or national security activities. Anyone who qualifies for an exception must be offered an alternative way to be paid. Section 5 adds a public awareness campaign and work with financial institutions to widen access for people who are unbanked or underbanked.
Who can still get a paper check?
The Fiscal Service’s order resource page describes “limited exceptions” without listing them, and says Treasury moved its check disbursement operations to a designated third-party provider in October 2025. Check capacity is significantly reduced and focused on qualifying exceptions, the page says.
A proposed rule published April 29, 2026 spells out how those exceptions could work. An individual could ask the paying agency for a hardship exception because of a mental impairment that prevents managing an account, or because of living where there is no infrastructure to support electronic payments. Agencies could also pay by check in a disaster area for 120 days after a declaration, and on Indian land that lacks electronic infrastructure.
Treasury says it is revising its disbursement regulation, 31 CFR Part 208, with changes that account for people who lack access to banking. The changes are proposals, not final rules. Public comment closed June 15, 2026, and the notice sets no effective date. It would also remove the waiver for people born before May 1, 1921, along with two waivers tied to Treasury-sponsored accounts. Social Security tells beneficiaries who cannot switch to request a waiver through Treasury, and gives mental health concerns or living in a remote area without access to financial institutions as examples.
Are paper checks really gone?
Not entirely. The same Federal Register notice says about 97% of the more than 1.3 billion federal payments Treasury makes each year are already electronic, yet Treasury still printed 40.9 million checks in fiscal year 2025. It says more time is needed to address remaining regulatory, policy and technical limitations.
The cost gap is part of the push. Treasury puts the average cost of printing a check at $3.07, about 20 times the cost of an ACH payment. For recipients, the practical difference is speed. Social Security says funds from a direct deposit are available as soon as the bank opens on the day the payment normally arrives.
How does someone on paper make the switch?
There are several routes, and the Fiscal Service says the choice depends on whether the person has a bank account:
- Create or sign in to a my Social Security account and add bank account information, or ask a bank or credit union to send the direct deposit details to Social Security electronically.
- Call the Electronic Payment Solution Center at 800-967-6857, weekdays 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, or enroll at GoDirect.gov, the Treasury site that also lists paying-agency contacts.
- For people without a bank account, open one through FDIC GetBanked or MyCreditUnion.gov, or sign up for Direct Express, a Treasury-sponsored debit card for monthly benefits.
Social Security’s blog says electronic transfers are processed faster, so payments arrive on time each month. Anyone who prefers not to use the internet can enroll in person at a financial institution, the agency’s deposit page says. New applicants for Social Security or SSI must now choose an electronic payment when they enroll. Recipients of other federal benefits contact the agency that pays them, and government vendors update their bank details in SAM.gov, the Fiscal Service says.
Still getting a federal benefit on paper?
The first electronic payment is the one that can go wrong: a typo in an account number, a bank that has not yet received the enrollment, a check that stops before the deposit starts. For Social Security and SSI recipients, a late first payment can mean days without income.
The Social Security Check Protection Kit is a 75-page guide with a first-24-hours plan for a late or missing payment, and a Part 4 devoted to late, short or wrong payments. It is built for Social Security and SSI recipients, not for every federal payment.
Get the first-24-hours plan for a missing benefit payment in the Check Protection Kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
