Guides

Last verified against primary sources: September 20, 2026.

Short, factual guides to US routing numbers — what the digits mean, which number goes where, and how to check one before you send money. Each page names the primary source it was verified against.

By institution

• Navy Federal Credit Union routing number — one number for every member, every state, plus the SWIFT/BIC used on inbound international wires.

By question

• What is a routing number? — the four parts of the nine digits and the check-digit formula that catches typos.
• Routing number vs. account number — which names the bank, which names you, and why one mistake is worse than the other.
• Where the routing number is on a check — the three number groups on the MICR line and the fraction in the corner.
• ACH vs. wire transfer — whether both rails use the same routing number, and what international transfers need instead.

If a number here disagrees with what your own bank prints on your checks or shows in its app, your bank's number wins. Routing numbers get reassigned and merged; treat any published figure as a starting point to confirm, not as a substitute for confirming.