Routing number lookup
Validate a 9-digit ABA routing number and decode its Federal Reserve district — the checksum and the routing symbol, entirely in your browser.
100% in your browser — nothing is uploaded. Checksum + district only — confirm the bank and account with the recipient before sending money.
The 12 Federal Reserve districts
A routing number's first two digits point to one of these twelve districts (directly for 01–12, or after subtracting 20 for thrifts and 60 for electronic entries).
| District | Federal Reserve Bank | Routing symbols |
|---|---|---|
01 | Boston, MA | 01 · 21 · 61 |
02 | New York, NY | 02 · 22 · 62 |
03 | Philadelphia, PA | 03 · 23 · 63 |
04 | Cleveland, OH | 04 · 24 · 64 |
05 | Richmond, VA | 05 · 25 · 65 |
06 | Atlanta, GA | 06 · 26 · 66 |
07 | Chicago, IL | 07 · 27 · 67 |
08 | St. Louis, MO | 08 · 28 · 68 |
09 | Minneapolis, MN | 09 · 29 · 69 |
10 | Kansas City, MO | 10 · 30 · 70 |
11 | Dallas, TX | 11 · 31 · 71 |
12 | San Francisco, CA | 12 · 32 · 72 |
How to check a routing number
- Enter the routing number. Type or paste the 9-digit ABA routing number.
- Validate. The checksum and routing symbol are checked in your browser.
- Review. See whether it is valid and which Federal Reserve district it belongs to.
What the nine digits encode
An ABA routing transit number has structure, not just an arbitrary nine digits. The first two are
the Federal Reserve routing symbol, which places the institution in one of the twelve Reserve districts —
01 is Boston, 07 Chicago, 12 San Francisco, and so on. The same district
shows up in three ranges: 01–12 for a bank in that district, 21–32 for a thrift
(subtract 20), and 61–72 for electronic/ACH items (subtract 60). The next two digits
are the Federal Reserve office and the bank's assigned identifier, the following four identify the specific
institution, and the ninth is the check digit. So the number both routes a payment to the right
Reserve bank and names the destination institution within it.
The checksum, in plain terms
The ninth digit is chosen so a weighted sum comes out even. Multiply the digits left to right by the repeating pattern 3, 7, 1, 3, 7, 1, 3, 7, 1, add the products, and a valid routing number divides evenly by ten. That single test catches virtually every one-character typo and the transposition of two neighbouring digits — exactly the slips people make copying a number off a check. It's the same idea as the IBAN's mod-97 check or an ISBN's check digit: a couple of seconds of arithmetic that turns a silent misroute into an immediate "that's not right".
What a valid routing number does and doesn't prove
A passing checksum plus a real routing symbol means the number is well-formed and belongs to a genuine Federal Reserve district — that's the whole of what arithmetic can show. It does not confirm which specific bank owns it, that the account attached to it is open, or that a transfer will land where you intend; naming the exact institution requires the Federal Reserve's licensed routing directory, and only the bank knows the account. Every check here runs locally in your browser, so nothing you type is transmitted. For cross-border payments the equivalents are the IBAN validator for the account number and the SWIFT/BIC lookup for the bank code.
Frequently asked questions
- It validates the 9-digit ABA routing number using the same weighted mod-10 checksum banks use, then decodes the routing symbol — the first two digits — to show which Federal Reserve district the institution is in and how the number is processed. It runs entirely in your browser.
- An ABA routing transit number is a 9-digit code that identifies a U.S. financial institution in a payment. It appears as the left-most number on the bottom of a paper check and is used to route ACH transfers, wires and direct deposits.
- The last digit is a checksum. Multiply the nine digits by the repeating weights 3, 7, 1, add them up, and a valid routing number is evenly divisible by ten. That catches almost every single-digit typo and adjacent-digit swap.
- They are the Federal Reserve routing symbol. 01–12 map directly to the twelve Federal Reserve districts; 21–32 are thrift institutions (district = value − 20); 61–72 are electronic/ACH entries (district = value − 60); 00 is used by the U.S. government; 80 is for special items.
- No. It confirms the number is valid and shows its Federal Reserve district, but naming the exact bank requires the Federal Reserve’s licensed E-Payments Routing Directory. Always confirm the bank and account directly before sending money.
- No. The validation and district decode run locally in your browser with no network calls, so nothing you type is transmitted or stored.