Amount in Words in Indian Rupees (Number to Words)

How to write an amount on a cheque

Write the amount in words on the line that starts with Rupees, beginning close to the left edge, and end with "Only" so nothing can be added after it: "Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand Only". In the box write the figures with Indian commas and a /- at the end: 1,50,000/-. Draw a line through any empty space on either. The words and the figures must say the same amount.

When the words and figures differ

Under Section 18 of the Negotiable Instruments Act the amount in words is the one that counts when the two differ. In practice banks usually return such a cheque. Under the RBI's CTS-2010 rules a cheque should carry no corrections except to the date, so if you make a mistake, write a fresh cheque instead of fixing it.

Paise on a cheque

Write paise after the rupees with "and": ₹2,500.75 is "Rupees Two Thousand Five Hundred and Seventy Five Paise Only", and in figures 2,500.75. Leave paise out if there are none. Many people round to the rupee to keep it simple.

Lakh and crore in words

Indian numbers group the last three digits, then pairs: 1,00,000 is one lakh, 10,00,000 is ten lakh and 1,00,00,000 is one crore. Above 99 crore the count carries on in crores: 100 crore, 1,000 crore, 1 lakh crore. Both spellings, lakh and lac, are common.

Common amounts in words

5,000 is five thousand. 25,000 is twenty five thousand. 50,000 is fifty thousand. 1,50,000 is one lakh fifty thousand (one hundred fifty thousand in the international system). 10,00,000 is ten lakh, which is one million. 1,00,00,000 is one crore, ten million. Type any amount above, including with a word like 2.5 lakh, to get the exact line.

International system

Outside South Asia numbers group in threes, with thousand, million and billion: 1,500,000 is one million five hundred thousand. The second line above gives the amount that way, for invoices and forms that need it, and the dollar line gives a cheque style line with cents.