Where the Routing Number Is on a Check (and What the Other Two Numbers Are)

Last verified against primary sources: September 20, 2026.

The routing number is the first nine digits at the bottom-left of a check. It sits in the strip of magnetic characters that runs along the bottom edge, ahead of two other numbers that are easy to mistake for it.

The three groups on the bottom line

Reading left to right across the bottom of a standard US check:

1. The routing number — 9 digits. Always nine. This is the ABA number covered in what a routing number is.
2. Your account number. Variable length, usually 8 to 12 digits.
3. The check number. Short, typically 3 to 4 digits, and it matches the number printed in the top-right corner.

The fastest way to tell them apart is length and position: nine digits, on the left. If a group has four digits, it is the check number. If it has ten or twelve, it is your account.

The symbol between them

The routing number is delimited by a special character — the MICR E-13B transit symbol, which looks like a colon with a bar through it (⠆). It appears at each end of the routing number and not around the other two groups, so if you can make out the symbols at all, they mark the routing number for you. Your account number may be followed by its own distinct symbol or simply by a space.

The fraction in the upper right corner

Most checks also print something that looks like a fraction near the top right, such as 55-2/212. This is the older fractional form of the same routing number, and it is a useful cross-check:

• The denominator (the bottom, 212 here) is the first four digits of the nine-digit routing number, padded with leading zeros — 212 becomes 0212.
• The second part of the numerator (after the dash) is the institution identifier, which becomes digits 5 through 8.
• The first part of the numerator (before the dash) is a region prefix assigned by city and state size in 1910. It is no longer used in check processing but is still printed on most checks, so ignore it.

Stitched together, that example yields the first eight digits 02120002, and the ninth digit is the check digit you can compute. If the bottom line and the fraction disagree, the bottom line wins — the fraction is legacy printing.

When the order is not what you expect

Layouts vary. Some institutions print the account number before the routing number, and starter or counter checks issued at a branch may have the routing number pre-printed while the account number is written in by hand. Temporary checks sometimes carry no MICR line at all. None of this changes the rule — look for the nine-digit group, and confirm it against the fraction.

No check handy?

Four routes that do not require paper:

• Mobile app or online banking. Open the specific account and look under account details or direct-deposit information. Navy Federal, for instance, shows the routing number in full beside a masked account number there.
• A bank statement. Many print it in the header or on the deposit-slip section.
• The institution's own website. Most publish it; Navy Federal lists 256074974 on its wire-transfer and savings FAQ pages.
• Phone or branch. Slower, but it is the only route that also confirms the number is current for your specific account.

One caution on lookup sites: third-party routing-number directories are frequently stale, and several publish state-by-state numbers for institutions that only ever had one. Prefer the number printed on your own check or shown inside your own banking app.