An example US-style check with the MICR line along the bottom—printed with the E-13B font. Credit: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. With MICR, ...

The magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) line is the strip of characters on a check that identifies the account, routing, and check number.

The third number in the MICR line is the check number in that checkbook for that account. This number should be identical to the check number printed in the check's top right-hand corner. Read: ...

What Is a Routing Number? The first number in the MICR line is called the routing number. This nine-digit number identifies the bank that's associated with the check.

The second number in the MICR line is the account number. ... Here are some examples of ways you might use your routing and account numbers: ...

The third number in the MICR line is the check number in that checkbook for that account. This number should be identical to the check number printed in the check's top right-hand corner.