What Is An ABA Routing
Number?
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An ABA
Routing Number is a nine digit number (eight digits
plus a check digit) which identifies a
specific financial institution.
They are sometimes referred to as
bank "Transit Numbers" in other countries, such
as Canada. However, there is also a portion of an ABA Routing
Number that is referred to as the "Transit
Number". Routing numbers are administered
by the Routing Number Administrative Board under the
sponsorship of the American Bankers Association.
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The ABA transit number appears in
two forms on a standard check – the fraction form and the
MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) form.
Both forms give essentially the same
information, though there are slight differences.
The MICR forms are the main form –
it is printed in magnetic ink, and is machine-readable; it
appears at the bottom left of a check, and consists of nine
digits.
The fraction form was used for
manual processing before the invention of the MICR line, and
still serves as a backup in check processing should the MICR
line become illegible or torn; it generally appears in the upper
right part of a check near the date.
The MICR number is of the form
- XXXXYYYYC
where XXXX is Federal Reserve
Routing Symbol, YYYY is ABA Institution Identifier, and C is the
Check Digit, while the fraction is of the form:
- PP-YYYY/XXXX
where PP is a 1 or 2 digit Prefix,
no longer used in processing, but still printed. Sometimes a
branch number or the account number are printed below the
fraction form; branch number is not used in processing, while
the account number is listed in MICR form at the bottom.
Further, the Federal Reserve Routing Symbol and ABA Institution
Identifier may have fewer than 4 digits in the fraction form.
The essential data, shared by both forms, is the Federal Reserve
Routing Symbol (XXXX), and the ABA Institution Identifier (YYYY),
and these are usually the same in both the fraction form and the
MICR, with only the order and format switched (and left-padded
with 0s to ensure that they are 4 digits long).
The prefix and the Federal Reserve
Routing Symbol (XXXX) are determined by the bank's geographical
location and treatment by the Federal Reserve type, while the
remaining data (YYYY, and Branch number, if present) depends on
the specific bank, and are unique within a Federal Reserve
district.
In the check depicted above right,
the fraction form is 11-3167/1210 (with 01 below it) and MICR
form is 129131673 which are analyzed as follows:
- the prefix 11 corresponds to San
Francisco,
- 3167 (common to both) is the ABA
Institution Identifier,
- 1210 and 1291 are the Federal
Reserve Routing Symbols (generally equal, here different
probably due to obfuscation, see image file history for more
information), with the initial "12" corresponding
to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the third
digits ("1" and "9") corresponding to
check processing centers, and the fourth digits
("0" and "1") corresponding to where the
bank is located – "0" indicates "in
the Federal Reserve city of San Francisco", while
"1" indicates "in the state of
California".
- the final "3" in the
MICR is the check digit, and
- the "01" below the
fraction form is the branch number.
In the case of a MICR line that is
illegible or torn, the check can be still be processed without
the check digit. Typically, a repair strip or sleeve is attached
to the check, then a new MICR line is imprinted. Either
021200025 or 0212-0002 (with a hyphen, but no check digit) may
be printed, and both are 9 digits. The former (with check digit)
is preferred to ensure better accuracy, but requires computing
the check digit, while the latter is easily determined by
inspection of the fraction, with minimal clerical handling.
MICR
Routing number format
The MICR routing number consists of
9 digits:
- XXXXYYYYC
where XXXX is Federal Reserve
Routing Symbol, YYYY is ABA Institution Identifier, and C is the
Check Digit.
Federal
Reserve Routing Symbol
The Federal Reserve Routing Symbol
were originally assigned in the systematic way outlined below,
reflecting a bank's geographical location and internal handling
by the Federal Reserve. However, the link is today tenuous –
following banking consolidation, many banks use a routing number
from a now-defunct bank, while the Federal Reserve no longer
assigns specific numbers for thrifts, nor does the "check
processing facility" have any current meaning, as check
processing is now centralized within each Federal Reserve
district.[4]
First
two digits
The first two digits of the nine
digit ABA number must be in the ranges 00 through 12, 21 through
32, 61 through 72, or 80.
The digits are assigned as follows:
- 00 is used by the United States
Government
- 01 through 12 are the
"normal" routing numbers, and correspond to the 12
Federal Reserve Banks. For example, 0260-0959-3 is the
routing number for Bank of America incoming wires in New
York, with the initial "02" indicating the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York.
- 21 through 32 were assigned only
to thrift institutions (e.g. credit unions and savings
banks) through 1985, but are no longer assigned (thrifts are
assigned normal 01–12 numbers). Currently they are still
used by the thrift institutions, or their successors, and
correspond to the normal routing number, plus 20. (For
example, 2260-7352-3 is the routing number for Grand
Adirondack Federal Credit Union in New York, with the
initial "22" corresponding to "02" (New
York Fed) plus "20" (thrift).)
- 61 through 72 are special purpose
routing numbers designated for use by non-bank payment
processors and clearinghouses and are termed Electronic
Transaction Identifiers (ETIs), and correspond to the normal
routing number, plus 60.
- 80 is used for traveler's
cheques
The first two digits correspond to
the 12 Federal Reserve Banks as follows:
Primary
(01–12) |
Thrift
(+20) |
Electronic
(+60) |
Federal Reserve Bank |
| 01 |
21 |
61 |
Boston |
| 02 |
22 |
62 |
New York |
| 03 |
23 |
63 |
Philadelphia |
| 04 |
24 |
64 |
Cleveland |
| 05 |
25 |
65 |
Richmond |
| 06 |
26 |
66 |
Atlanta |
| 07 |
27 |
67 |
Chicago |
| 08 |
28 |
68 |
St. Louis |
| 09 |
29 |
69 |
Minneapolis |
| 10 |
30 |
70 |
Kansas City |
| 11 |
31 |
71 |
Dallas |
| 12 |
32 |
72 |
San Francisco |
Third
and fourth digits
The third digit corresponds to the
Federal Reserve check processing center originally assigned to
the bank,[4]
while the fourth digit is "0" if the bank is located
in the Federal Reserve city proper, and otherwise is 1–9,
according to which state in the Federal Reserve district it is.
If you are taking checks over the
Internet, by Phone, Fax, email, or other means, errors can happen
by simple typo's, or blatant attempts of fraud, and should be
checked for accuracy.
You can find a free algorithm
checker that allows you to instantly analyze any routing
number for accuracy
Don't get caught with bogus or
erroneous ABA Routing Numbers, that can cost you a heap of
problems, and money, such as Bank return charges, delay of
payment, recovery, and other associated costs.
By having your own ABA
Routing Numbers List you can avoid expensive problems.
http://www.routingchecker.com
provides a tool for locating a missing or erroneous check
digits, or validating a routing number through an online
validation form. Also available is an option to download all
21,000+ ACH Routing Numbers and the associated Bank information.
Click
Here to find out more.