IBAN Format by Country: Length, Example & Structure

An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a standardized format for bank account numbers. The IBAN standard is maintained under ISO 13616 by the International Organization for Standardization. It was created to reduce errors in international transfers by providing a uniform way to identify bank accounts globally. The IBAN.com registry provides IBAN structure details for all participating countries.

An IBAN does not replace your account number; it wraps it. The country code and check digits come first, then the BBAN: the bank code and account number exactly as they are used at home. That is why people with an account number still get asked for an "IBAN number": the IBAN is the version a bank abroad can route, and its check digits catch a mistyped character before the money leaves. When sending to Europe (e.g. USA to Europe), you will almost always need the recipient's IBAN.

A correct IBAN decides whether the money arrives; the provider decides how much of it arrives. Compare what the recipient gets on your route before you send.

An IBAN consists of:

• Characters 1–2: Country code (e.g., GB, DE, FR)
• Characters 3–4: Check digits (for error detection)
• Remaining characters: Bank code + account number (format varies by country)

Examples by country:

• UK: GB29 NWBK 6016 1331 9268 19 (22 characters)
• Germany: DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00 (22 characters)
• France: FR76 3000 6000 0112 3456 7890 189 (27 characters)
• Pakistan: PK36 SCBL 0000 0011 2345 6702 (24 characters)

IBAN lengths are fixed per country, from 15 characters (Norway) to 33 (Russia).

IBANs are mandatory for international transfers in:

• All of Europe (EU, UK, Switzerland, etc.)
• Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc.)
• Parts of Africa (Tunisia, Mauritania, etc.)
• Parts of South America (Brazil, Costa Rica)
• Pakistan, Turkey, Israel

Countries that do NOT use IBANs:

• United States (uses routing number + account number). See the Federal Reserve's payment systems for US wire transfer details.
• Canada (uses institution number + transit number + account number)
• Australia (uses BSB + account number)
• India (uses IFSC code + account number). See our USA to India guide for Indian transfer details.
• Most of Asia and the Pacific. For Philippines transfers, see the USA to Philippines corridor guide.

For a complete country-by-country reference, the ECB's SEPA documentation covers all EU/EEA IBAN requirements.

IBAN format by country

Every country we hold a validated structure for, with its IBAN length and a worked example. Country names link to the full format breakdown, local bank codes and validation rules where we have a page for them.

Lengths are fixed per country: a Luxembourg IBAN is always 20 characters, a French one always 27. If yours is a different length, it is wrong — check it with our IBAN checker before sending.

Whatever the country, a sender needs the recipient's full name as it appears on the account, the bank's name, and the account identifier that country uses. The identifier is what differs:

IBAN lengths come from the same format list as the table above. A US routing number is nine digits (American Bankers Association); an Indian IFSC is 11 characters, the first four identifying the bank (Reserve Bank of India). A provider may ask for more on some routes, such as the recipient's address or the purpose of the payment.

Each Compare link opens the comparison for that route at 1,000 units of the sending currency; change the amount there.

Your IBAN can be found in several places:

1. Online banking — Look in your account details or settings page
2. Bank statement — Usually printed at the top of your statement
3. Bank app — Tap on your account for full details
4. Check it — paste it into our IBAN checker to confirm the country code, length and check digits
5. Contact your bank — Call or visit a branch

Once you have the IBAN, use our comparison tool to find the cheapest way to send money to that account. Also read our guide to SWIFT codes — you'll often need both for European transfers.

IBANs have built-in error detection through check digits. You can validate an IBAN in two ways:

1. Use our IBAN checker — confirms the country code, the length and the check digits, in your browser. It cannot confirm that the account exists or who holds it.
2. Manual check — Verify the country code matches where the recipient banks, and that the length matches the expected length for that country. See the IBAN.com structure guide for country-specific lengths.

Common IBAN errors:

• Transposed digits (switching two numbers)
• Wrong country code
• Missing or extra characters
• Using spaces when the system expects none (or vice versa)

An invalid IBAN will cause your transfer to be rejected (and possibly delayed by days). Always validate before sending. For guidance on international payment standards, see SWIFT's data standards.