The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service says federal benefit payments must now be paid electronically, either by direct deposit to an account at the recipient’s financial institution or by electronic payment to a Treasury-sponsored account, unless the recipient holds a waiver under 31 CFR Part 208. Paper checks have stopped for most federal payments.
The wording on the Fiscal Service’s direct deposit page, last updated March 10, 2026, is blunt: “Electronic payments are required! All federal benefit payments must now be paid electronically.”
When did paper checks stop?
The Fiscal Service’s paper-check notice says that starting September 30, 2025, the federal government will stop issuing paper checks for most federal payments. “Most” is the government’s own word. The notice does not list which payments are left out, and payments under the Internal Revenue Code are excluded from the general requirement.
Chief Disbursing Officer Linda Chero said paper checks are over 16 times more likely to get lost, stolen, altered or delayed than electronic payments.
What does a paper-check recipient have to do now?
The question for anyone who still gets a paper check is what to do next. Social Security’s August 1 notice says federal law and Executive Order 14247 have required benefits to be paid electronically since September 30, 2025, and that the agency plans to finish moving every beneficiary to electronic payment in 2026. People who get Social Security or Veterans payments by check should enroll in direct deposit, according to the Fiscal Service.
There are three ways to switch. A Social Security beneficiary can sign in to a my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount, add bank account information, and ask the financial institution to send direct deposit details to the agency electronically. Treasury’s GoDirect.gov handles enrollment for other federal payments, and the Electronic Payment Solution Center answers at 800-967-6857, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern.
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What if there is no bank account?
Direct Express is the Treasury-sponsored debit card that lets recipients get monthly benefit payments electronically without a bank account. People without an account can sign up by calling 800-967-6857 or by contacting the agency that pays their benefits. The Fiscal Service also points to FDIC.gov/GetBanked and MyCreditUnion.gov for help opening an account.
The agency that pays the benefit is the one that gives the instructions. GoDirect.gov lists contacts for each paying agency.
Who can get a hardship waiver?
The Fiscal Service’s page says a recipient who does not receive direct deposit or an electronic payment to a Treasury-sponsored account needs a waiver under 31 CFR Part 208, and it links to the Federal Register notice for the updated rule, effective March 22, 2024. Social Security’s notice names the grounds: beneficiaries who face challenges, such as mental health concerns or living in a remote area without access to financial institutions, can request a waiver through the U.S. Treasury.
Those two examples come from Social Security, not from a full list in the regulation, and the Fiscal Service has not published how a waiver request is decided.
What should recipients watch for?
Social Security’s August 1, 2026 announcement repeats the 16-times figure and puts Treasury’s average cost to print a check at $3.07, about 20 times the cost of an automated payment.
The Fiscal Service warns that a request for payment details should be checked by contacting the agency through a website or phone number already known to be real. Most people who already get their benefits electronically need to do nothing.
The open question for a paper-check recipient is the timing of the switch. Social Security says it intends to complete the move during 2026, so a beneficiary still waiting on a check in late October has about two months of the year left.
Still waiting on a paper check?
A beneficiary who switches to direct deposit with the wrong routing details, or at the wrong moment in the month, can end up with a late or missing payment and rent due. Checks that stop coming while a new account is still being set up are where a switch goes wrong.
The Social Security Check Protection Kit includes the 2026 payment calendar, so a recipient can see when each deposit should land, and a first-24-hours plan for a late or missing payment that says who to call and what to have ready.
Get the payment-calendar kit for switching off paper checks →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
