How to validate an IBAN
- Paste the IBAN from an invoice, email or bank details. Spaces, dashes and lowercase letters are fine.
- The country, the expected length for that country and the two check digits are verified instantly, using the ISO 13616 mod-97 algorithm that banks use.
- For UK, Irish, German and several other IBANs, the bank code and sort code are extracted too. Paste a list into "Check many" to validate a batch.
What an IBAN check can and cannot tell you
An International Bank Account Number has a two-letter country code, two check digits and a country-specific account part (BBAN) that usually contains the bank code, branch and account number. Each country has a fixed length: 22 characters in the UK and Germany, 27 in France, 18 in the Netherlands. The check digits are calculated so that the whole number, rearranged and converted to digits, leaves a remainder of 1 when divided by 97. This catches almost all typos and swapped characters, so it is worth checking an IBAN before a transfer, especially a large one.
A valid IBAN only means the number is well-formed. It does not prove the account exists, and it says nothing about who owns it. Invoice fraud often uses perfectly valid IBANs belonging to criminals, so if bank details change unexpectedly, confirm them by phone using a number you already know. In the UK, Confirmation of Payee and the EU's Verification of Payee check the account name when you pay. The validation here runs offline in your browser.
Is a valid IBAN safe to pay?
Not necessarily. It shows the format is right, not who owns the account. Verify changed bank details by phone.
Can I find the bank from an IBAN?
The bank code is part of the IBAN in most countries and is shown here; your bank or the SWIFT directory maps it to a bank name.
Do US bank accounts have IBANs?
No. The US, Canada and Australia use their own routing and account numbers instead.