BIC / SWIFT validate

Client

Business Identifier Codes (BIC) identify institutions in the SWIFT network. This page checks the ISO 9362 pattern—four letters for the bank, two letters for the country, two alphanumeric characters for location, and an optional three-character branch—then labels each segment for forms or docs.

What is checked

Non-alphanumeric characters are removed and the remainder must be eight or eleven characters long. The first four must be letters (institution), the next two letters (ISO country), the following two alphanumeric (location), and—when present—the last three alphanumeric (branch). We do not verify that the country or bank code is assigned in a registry.

Related tools

For international account numbers, use IBAN validate. For US Fed routing numbers, see ABA routing checker.

Privacy: checks run only in your browser. This is not a SWIFT directory or bank lookup—only ISO 9362 layout. Treat real codes like sensitive wire instructions on shared machines.
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Spaces and punctuation are removed. A valid code is 8 or 11 characters: 4 letter bank, 2 letter country (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2), 2 alphanumeric "location", and optionally 3 alphanumeric "branch" (often XXX for the head office).

Result

Matches ISO 9362 structure.

Compact: DEUTDEFFXXX

Grouped (8): DEUT DE FF

Grouped (11): DEUT DE FF XXX

Bank (4)
DEUT
Country (2)
DE
Location (2)
FF
Branch (3)
XXX

Common use cases

  • Sanity-check a beneficiary bank code from a PDF before typing it into a wire portal.
  • Split an 11-character code into bank, country, and branch fields in an internal form builder.
  • Teach teammates why an 8-character BIC omits an explicit branch when the head office is implied.
  • Pair with the IBAN tool when you are validating both sides of a European transfer mock-up.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Treating a valid structure as proof the bank exists today

    ISO layout catches many typos but does not confirm the institution still uses that identifier or that the account is correct.

  • Expecting a failed check to mean “fake bank”

    Some legacy or internal identifiers can deviate; production systems often reconcile with a directory your organization trusts.

  • Pasting mixed invoice text instead of the bare code

    Strip labels such as “SWIFT/BIC:”; the tool keeps letters and digits only, but extremely noisy paste may need manual cleanup.

FAQ

Is my BIC sent to Toolcore servers?

No. Parsing runs entirely in your tab; nothing is uploaded for validation.

Do you query the SWIFT network or bank directory?

No. There is no live lookup—only length, character classes, and ISO 9362 field boundaries.

What does XXX in the branch mean?

Often denotes the primary office when an 11-character code is shown; it is still part of a valid ISO layout.

Is this the same as an IBAN check?

No. IBAN verifies a different standard (MOD-97 and country lengths). Use the IBAN tool for account strings and this page for bank identifiers.

Common search terms

Phrases people search for that match this tool. See the full long-tail keyword index.

  • swift bic validator online
  • iso 9362 bic format check browser
  • swift code structure validate no lookup
  • bank identifier code checker free

More tools

Related utilities you can open in another tab—mostly client-side.