How to Find Who a US Treasury Check Is from?
Occasionally someone will receive a check from the US government and have no idea why. While generally a good problem, there are many reasons from taxes to legitimacy to identify who sent you the check and why.
The first place to look is the memo section. The Treasury puts memos immediately to the left of the dollar amount on the right side, almost touching the $. While likely abbreviated, that will give the best explanation.
However, they often do not give a memo. In that case, look at the top line in the center section. At the left is the date, e.g. "10 05 26" for October 5th, 2026. Immediately right of that is an eight-digit number. This is the ALC. The Treasury provides a table of how these codes map to agencies to help you determine who it is from. It is reproduced here:
| ALC | Agency |
|---|---|
| 02700518 | Federal Communications Commission |
| 05000001 | US Government Accountability Office (GAO) |
| 12XXXXXX | Department of Agriculture |
| 13XXXXXX | Department of Commerce |
| ALCs starting with 16XXXXXX | Department of Labor |
| ALCs starting with 2009XXXX | Internal Revenue Service (IRS) |
| ALCs starting with 24XXXXXX | Office of Personnel Management (OPM) |
| ALCs starting with 2804XXXX | Social Security Administration (SSA) |
| 33010001 | Smithsonian Institution (SI) |
| 36001200 | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) |
| 36000201 | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) |
| 36000201 | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Education Benefits |
| 36000310 | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Insurance |
| 47000016 | General Services Administration (GSA) |
| 47000017 | General Services Administration-USDA |
| 60009301 | Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) |
| 73000001 | Small Business Administration (SBA) |
| 75XXXXXX | Department of Health and Human Services |
| 91XXXXXX | Department of Education |
| 95550001 | Corporation for National and Community Service |
Another clue is the two-digit Federal Agency Code (FAC) at bottom of the check. Look at the last six-digit number of the bottom row. The first two digits are the FAC. A partial mapping of FACs to agencies follows:
| FAC | Agency | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Department of Agriculture | |
| 04 | Department of the Treasury / IRS | |
| 07 | Social Security Administration |
Unfortunately, the Treasury does not provide a complete lists of these FACs, but if you learn any more, please let me know!