IFSC code lookup and validator
Check an IFSC's structure offline, then look up the bank, branch, address and which payment rails it supports.
This is the one tool here that uses a server. The structure check runs in your browser like everything else on this site, but looking up a branch needs a directory of every bank branch in India, so the code you enter is sent to this site and forwarded to the upstream IFSC directory. An IFSC is public information printed on cheque books, so nothing sensitive is involved — but the difference is worth stating rather than glossing over.
Try:
How an IFSC is put together
S B I N 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 └─────┘ │ └─────────┘ │ │ └── branch code, six alphanumeric characters │ └────────── always the digit zero, reserved by the RBI └─────────────── bank code, four letters
There is no check digit. Unlike a card number, where Luhn catches most typing errors arithmetically, an IFSC has no redundancy at all — every well-formed combination is equally plausible. That is why the fifth-character rule matters so much in practice: a letter O typed for a zero is the only structural mistake a validator can catch, and it is the one people make most.
Scope and limits
- Branch data comes from an upstream directory, so this tool can fail while the rest of the site works. Lookups are cached for a day; branch records change rarely.
- A valid structure does not mean the branch exists. Indian banking has been through extensive mergers and codes get retired, so an IFSC from an old cheque book can be well-formed and dead.
- The offline bank list covers major banks. An unlisted code is reported as unrecognised, never as invalid.
Worked example
Structure checking is offline and instant. These three are checked at build time by the same code that runs in your browser.
SBIN0000001A well-formed codeBank code SBIN — State Bank of India, branch 000001.
SBINO000001Letter O instead of the digit zero- The fifth character is the letter "O", but it must be the digit zero. These are near-identical in most fonts and this is the most common IFSC typo there is.
AXIS0000001The bank code everyone guesses for Axis- "AXIS" is not a real bank code. Axis Bank uses "UTIB".
Bank codes that trip people up
Codes were assigned before several banks were renamed or merged, and never updated.
| Common guess | Actual code | Bank |
|---|---|---|
| AXIS | UTIB | Axis Bank |
| KOTA | KKBK | Kotak Mahindra Bank |
| INDU | INDB | IndusInd Bank |
| IDBI | IBKL | IDBI Bank |
| BOIN | BKID | Bank of India |
| PNBS | PUNB | Punjab National Bank |
Bank codes recognised offline (46)
Major banks only. India has hundreds of co-operative and regional rural banks, so a code outside this list is reported as unrecognised rather than invalid — the lookup settles it.
SBINState Bank of IndiaPUNBPunjab National BankBARBBank of BarodaCNRBCanara BankUBINUnion Bank of IndiaIDIBIndian BankIOBAIndian Overseas BankMAHBBank of MaharashtraCBINCentral Bank of IndiaUCBAUCO BankPSIBPunjab & Sind BankBKIDBank of IndiaHDFCHDFC BankICICICICI BankUTIBAxis BankKKBKKotak Mahindra BankYESBYes BankINDBIndusInd BankIBKLIDBI BankIDFBIDFC First BankFDRLFederal BankSIBLSouth Indian BankCIUBCity Union BankKARBKarnataka BankKVBLKarur Vysya BankTMBLTamilnad Mercantile BankRATNRBL BankBDBLBandhan BankDCBLDCB BankJAKAJammu & Kashmir BankNNSBNutan Nagarik Sahakari BankAUBLAU Small Finance BankESFBEquitas Small Finance BankUJVNUjjivan Small Finance BankJSFBJana Small Finance BankSURYSuryoday Small Finance BankFINOFino Payments BankAIRPAirtel Payments BankPYTMPaytm Payments BankSCBLStandard Chartered BankCITICitibankHSBCHSBCDEUTDeutsche BankDBSSDBS Bank IndiaBOFABank of AmericaCHASJPMorgan Chase BankFrequently asked questions
- What does an IFSC actually encode?
- Eleven characters in the form AAAA0BBBBBB. The first four are the bank code and are always letters. The fifth is always the digit zero, reserved by the RBI for future use. The last six are the branch code and may be letters or digits. That is the whole structure — it carries no checksum, so unlike a card number there is no arithmetic that can tell you a well-formed IFSC is real. Only a directory lookup can.
- Why is Axis Bank's IFSC code UTIB and not AXIS?
- Because it was UTI Bank until 2007, and the code never changed. This is the single most common IFSC mistake, and the same trap exists elsewhere: Kotak Mahindra is KKBK, IndusInd is INDB, IDBI Bank is IBKL, and Bank of India is BKID. The validator here recognises the wrong guesses and tells you the real code.
- Does this tool send my input to a server?
- The structure check does not — that runs in your browser like every other tool here. The branch lookup does, because it needs a directory of every bank branch in India, which is not something that can be shipped to a browser. The lookup goes to this site's own endpoint, which forwards the code to the upstream IFSC directory. An IFSC is public information printed on cheque books, so there is nothing sensitive in it, but the distinction is worth being explicit about.
- The code looks right but the lookup finds nothing. Why?
- Branch codes are retired. Indian banking has been through a long run of mergers — Dena and Vijaya into Bank of Baroda, and ten public sector banks consolidated into four in 2020 — and branches were renumbered or closed as a result. A code printed on an older cheque book can be perfectly well-formed and no longer exist. Check with the beneficiary rather than assuming the directory is wrong.
- What do the NEFT, RTGS, IMPS and UPI flags mean?
- Which payment rails that branch is enabled for. RTGS is real-time gross settlement and carries a minimum of two lakh rupees. NEFT settles in batches with no minimum. IMPS and UPI are instant and run around the clock. A branch that is NEFT-enabled but not RTGS-enabled will reject a high-value transfer, which is worth checking before a payment fails rather than after.