The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act is a United States federal law, Pub. L. 108–100 (text) (PDF), that was enacted on October 28, 2003 by the 108th U.S. Congress. The Check 21 Act took effect one year later on October 28, 2004. The law allows the recipient of a paper check to create a digital version of the original, a process known as check truncation, into an electronic format called a "substitute check", thereby eliminating the need for further handling of the physical document. The recipient bank no longer returns the paper check but electronically transmits an image of both sides of the check to the bank it is drawn upon.