Routing Number on a Check: How to Find and Verify It

Start with your bank’s instructions

A routing number identifies a financial institution for a payment. An account number identifies the customer account. A check number identifies an individual check. These numbers serve different purposes; copying the wrong one can delay a transfer or send it through the wrong process.

Where to look on a check

On a typical personal check, the nine-digit routing number appears in the printed number line at the bottom. The account and check numbers also appear there. Chase describes the routing number as the first nine digits, followed by the account and check numbers. If the layout is unfamiliar, verify it with the bank rather than inferring the fields from their length alone.

Use a fictional practice example instead of posting a real check online. Mark the routing, account and check-number fields on your own private copy, then compare the routing field with the bank’s official account details. There is no need to share the full number line with someone helping you locate a field.

How Chase customers can look it up

Chase’s official instructions say customers can open an account tile in the app and select Show details. On the website, select the account name and then Account & routing number. Use the bank’s own app or type its official address yourself. Do not follow a search advertisement or a message asking you to disclose login credentials.

There is no single routing number that should be supplied to every Chase customer. Account location and transfer type can matter. A generic article is a starting point for locating instructions, not a substitute for your own account details.

Confirm whether the payment is ACH or a wire

Before completing a form, ask what type of transfer it initiates. Check the institution’s instructions specifically for that method. Chase’s outgoing-wire documentation warns that wire routing information can differ from checking or savings routing information. International instructions can also require other bank identifiers and beneficiary details.

For payroll, compare the employer’s direct-deposit form with your bank’s direct-deposit instructions. For a wire, verify the recipient’s full instructions through a trusted channel. If payment details suddenly change by email, call a previously verified contact before sending money.

If a transfer fails

Save the confirmation or error reference and check which number field was rejected. Contact the sending institution using its official support channel. Do not repeatedly submit a payment while the earlier attempt remains unresolved: you could create duplicate instructions. Ask whether the first attempt was rejected, pending or completed before trying again.