What is a routing number?
Routing numbers (sometimes referred to as an “American Bankers Association” ABA routing number) are unique 9 (or 8) digit numbers that represent a particular financial institution and branch location and are used to route transactions to and from it.
In Canada, the routing number for electronic fund transfers (EFT) such as direct deposit from employers, pre-authorized debit (PAD), bill payments, bank to bank transfers and wire transfers is made up of your:
- A leading zero “0” – The U.S. uses 9-digit routing numbers, so this zero is used to get to 9 digits
- Institution number – 3 digits that represent the bank the account is with (eg. CIBC is 010)
- Transit number – 5 digits that represent the specific branch location the account is held
The one exception to this format is for much less common paper documents encoded with magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) encoded documents such as cheques where the routing number has 8 digits. Continuing the example above, the number would be:
- Transit Number + “-” + Institution Number
- 12345-010
They were implemented in 1910 to make transactions faster and more efficient. They are now relied on heavily for online banking and are required whenever transactions are coming or going directly from/to your bank account such as to setup recurring payments and get your paycheque automatically deposited. They are not required for debit or credit card purchases.
Routing numbers may change if the transit number portion changes due to the bank branch closing or moving or the bank goes through a merger, acquisition or consolidation. If this happens, you will likely be notified by your bank beforehand.
What is my bank account’s routing number?
If you know the address of the branch you opened your account at, you cansearch it in this PDF(orthis one sorted by city):
Transit number
Our full guide on how to find your transit number.
- Cheque
- Bank statement
- Bank’s website or app
- Deposit slips
- Contacting your bank by phone or in person
Institution numbers
Our full guide on how to find your institution number.
| Financial institution | Institution number |
|---|---|
| Bank of Montreal (BMO) | 001 |
| Scotiabank (The Bank of Nova Scotia) | 002 |
| Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) | 003 |
| The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) | 004 |
| National Bank of Canada | 006 |
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | 010 |
| HSBC Bank Canada | 016 |
| Canadian Western Bank | 030 |
| Laurentian Bank of Canada | 039 |
| Bank of Canada | 177 |
| Alberta Treasury Branches | 219 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland N.V. (Canada Branch) | 240 |
| Bank of America, National Association | 241 |
| The Bank of New York Mellon | 242 |
| Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Canada) | 245 |
| BNP Paribas (Canada) | 250 |
| Citibank Canada | 260 |
| Deutsche Bank AG | 265 |
| Mega International Commercial Bank (Canada) | 269 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association | 270 |
| Korea Exchange Bank of Canada | 275 |
| Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. Canada Branch | 277 |
| UBS Bank (Canada) | 290 |
| Société Générale (Canada Branch) | 292 |
| State Bank of India (Canada) Alberta | 294 |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Canada | 301 |
| Amex Bank of Canada | 303 |
| Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Canada) | 307 |
| Bank of China (Canada) | 308 |
| Citizens Bank of Canada | 309 |
| First Nations Bank of Canada | 310 |
| BofA Canada Bank | 311 |
| J.P. Morgan Bank Canada | 314 |
| CTC Bank of Canada | 315 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | 318 |
| Habib Canadian Bank | 321 |
| Rabobank Nederland | 322 |
| Capital One Bank (Canada Branch) | 323 |
| President’s Choice Financial | 326 |
| State Street | 327 |
| Citibank N.A. | 328 |
| Comerica Bank | 330 |
| First Commercial Bank | 332 |
| HSBC Bank USA National Association | 333 |
| Pacific & Western Bank of Canada | 334 |
| United Overseas Bank Limited | 335 |
| Maple Bank | 336 |
| Canadian Tire Bank | 338 |
| UBS AG Canada Branch | 339 |
| ICICI Bank Canada | 340 |
| Bank West | 342 |
| Dundee Bank of Canada | 343 |
| General Bank of Canada | 344 |
| Fifth Third Bank | 345 |
| Société Générale (Canada Branch) Ontario | 346 |
| Bridgewater Bank | 347 |
| The Northern Trust Company Canada Branch | 349 |
| DirectCash Bank | 352 |
| Jameson Bank | 354 |
| Shinhan Bank Canada | 355 |
| M&T Bank | 357 |
| HomEquity Bank | 358 |
| Walmart Canada Bank | 359 |
| Barclay’s Bank PLC Canada Branch | 360 |
| MonCana Bank of Canada | 361 |
| Community Trust Company | 507 |
| The Canada Trust Company | 509 |
| Laurentian Trust of Canada Inc. | 522 |
| Effort Trust Company | 532 |
| Investors Group Trust Co. Ltd. | 536 |
| Manulife Bank of Canada | 540 |
| CIBC Trust Corporation | 548 |
| Montreal Trust Company of Canada | 550 |
| Sun Life Financial Trust Inc. | 551 |
| Peace Hills Trust Company | 568 |
| Royal Trust Company | 570 |
| Royal Trust Corporation of Canada | 580 |
| National Trust Company | 590 |
| Royal Bank Mortgage Corporation | 592 |
| TD Mortgage Corporation | 597 |
| TD Pacific Mortgage Corporation | 603 |
| HSBC Mortgage Corporation (Canada) | 604 |
| Scotia Mortgage Corporation | 606 |
| CS Alterna Bank | 608 |
| ING Bank of Canada | 614 |
| B2B Bank (formerly B2B Trust) | 618 |
| ResMor Trust Company | 620 |
| Peoples Trust Company | 621 |
| The Equitable Trust Company | 623 |
| Industrial Alliance Trust Inc. | 625 |
| Manulife Trust Company | 626 |
| Household Trust Company | 630 |
| Latvian Credit Union Limited | 803 |
| Communication Technologies Credit Union Limited | 807 |
| Arnstein Community Credit Union Limited | 808 |
| Central 1 Credit Union British Columbia | 809 |
| All Trans Financial Services Credit Union Limited | 810 |
| La Confédération des Caisses Populaires et D’Économie Desjardins du Québec | 815 |
| La Fédération des caisses populaires du Manitoba Inc. | 819 |
| Central 1 Credit Union Ontario | 828 |
| La Fédération des Caisses Populaires de l’Ontario Inc. | 829 |
| Airline Financial Credit Union Limited | 830 |
| Meridian Credit Union | 837 |
| Atlantic Central | 839 |
| Dundalk District Credit Union Limited | 840 |
| Alterna Savings and Credit Union | 842 |
| Goderich Community Credit Union Limited | 844 |
| Ontario Civil Service Credit Union Limited | 846 |
| Concentra Financial Services Association | 853 |
| Golden Horseshoe Credit Union Limited | 854 |
| La Fédération des Caisses Populaires Acadiennes Limitée | 865 |
| Credit Union Central of Manitoba Limited | 879 |
| Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan | 889 |
| Alliance des caisses populaires de l’Ontario Limitée | 890 |
| Credit Union Central Alberta Limited | 899 |
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