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Direct deposit authorization form

Updated October 7, 2026

Fill in a direct deposit form, check the routing number as you type, and print it to sign. You need your bank's routing and account numbers and your employer's name.

Who pays you?

SampleReplace it with your own details.

Step 1

You and your employer

Step 2

Where the money goes

Copy the numbers from the bottom of a check or from your bank's app. Up to 3 accounts.

Your account

Valid format. Check it against a check or your bank's app.

Up to 17 letters or digits. Leave off the check number.

Account type

How much goes here

Your entire net pay.

Step 3

The authorization

Showing a sample. It prints with SAMPLE across the page.

Direct Deposit Authorization

Employee

Name
Jordan Rivera
Employee ID
E-10482
Address
418 Alder Street, Portland, OR 97205
Employer
Northwind Bakery LLC

Account

Bank
First Community Credit Union
Routing number
021000021
Account number
441700938812
Account type
Checking
Amount
My entire net pay

I authorize Northwind Bakery LLC to deposit my pay into the account above. This authorization stays in effect until I give Northwind Bakery LLC written notice to change or cancel it.

Signature

Date

Made with the free direct deposit form at granite.co

Attach a voided check if your employer asks for one.

Everything stays in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or saved.

Filling it in

Where to find the numbers

  • On a check. The routing number is the number furthest left along the bottom. Your account number comes next, then the check number, per the American Bankers Association.
  • Leave off the check number. Some checks print it inside the account number field too. Social Security's staff guidance says not to copy it.
  • Not from a deposit slip. The routing number on a deposit slip can be the bank's internal number, which the same guidance warns against using for direct deposit.
  • Credit union checks. If a check says it's payable through another bank, the routing number on it may belong to that bank, not yours. Ask your credit union for the right one.
  • Letters are fine. An account number can be up to 17 characters, and it can include letters and hyphens, per Nacha's file format.
  • Checking or savings matters. The payroll file marks each deposit as going to checking or to savings, so the account type has to be right.

How it works

How the routing number check works

Rules checked October 7, 2026

A routing number has 9 digits in three parts: a 4-digit Federal Reserve routing symbol, a 4-digit ABA institution identifier, and a check digit, per the ABA's routing number policy.

The first two digits. Banks use 01 to 12. Thrifts use 21 to 32, a range closed to new numbers since 1985. Numbers that start with 00 are for U.S. Government checks, 61 to 72 are electronic transaction identifiers, and 80 is for traveler's checks. Those last two can't receive a direct deposit. The ABA reserves every other range. The tool flags any number outside the bank and thrift ranges.

The check digit. The tool runs the standard check-digit formula: multiply the nine digits by 3, 7, 1, 3, 7, 1, 3, 7, 1, add them up, and the total has to end in 0. Here it is on the sample's 021000021:

The check-digit formula worked on routing number 021000021.
Digit021000021
Weight371371371
Product01410000141

0 + 14 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 14 + 1 = 30. It ends in 0, so the number passes. Change the last digit to 2 and the total is 31, so it fails.

What a pass doesn't prove. The formula catches most typos, not all. Swapping two digits that differ by 5, like 0 and 5, still passes. And a well-formed number can still point to the wrong account or a closed one.

Splitting your pay

Sending pay to more than one account

Add up to three accounts. Each account except the last gets a fixed dollar amount or a percent of your net pay, and the last one gets whatever is left. Payroll systems differ in the order they apply fixed amounts and percentages, so if you mix the two, ask payroll whether the order matters.

Next steps

After you hand it in

Your employer may ask you to use its own form instead, and it may be one or two pay periods before deposits start, per Wells Fargo.

Some payroll teams send a prenote first: a zero-dollar test entry that lets your bank check the numbers before the first real deposit. Nacha says prenotes are optional and recommends sending one at least three business days before the first live deposit. So your first paycheck may still come the old way. Texas state payroll, for example, pays by paper warrant during its prenote period.

Watch for payroll redirect fraud. Since March 20, 2026, Nacha has required employers to label payroll deposits “PAYROLL”, to cut down on fraud that redirects paychecks. Hand the form to payroll in person or through your company's own HR portal, and be wary of any email that asks you to “update” your deposit details.

If payroll wants a voided check too, see how to void a check. Many banks also make a pre-filled direct deposit form in online banking or their app, like Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

Your rights

Can your employer require direct deposit?

Federal Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.10(e)(2)) says no one may require you to open an account at a particular bank as a condition of employment or of getting a government benefit.

The CFPB's official interpretation applies it to pay. An employer may require direct deposit if you get to choose the bank. Or it may offer direct deposit at a bank it picks, as long as you can choose another way to get paid, such as a check or cash.

Some states add their own rules on direct deposit consent.

Federal benefits

Social Security and other federal benefits

Social Security says federal law requires federal benefit payments, including Social Security and SSI, to be made electronically. You don't give Social Security a form like this one. Sign up through your my Social Security account, Treasury's Go Direct website, in person at your bank, or by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

It usually doesn't need the SF-1199A paper form, per its staff guidance. And it pays the full benefit into one account, so you can't split it.

From the vault

Keep the signed copy

Drop the signed form into Granite, an AI document vault. It reads and files it, so you can find it again when you change jobs or banks.

Questions

Direct deposit forms, answered

How do I make my own direct deposit form?
Fill in the form at the top of this page, print it or save it as a PDF, and sign it. Your employer may ask you to use its own form instead.
Can I print off a direct deposit form?
Yes. The form on this page prints on one Letter page, or you can save it as a PDF. Many banks also give you a pre-filled form in online banking.
Do I need a voided check for direct deposit?
Only if your employer or bank asks for one. Some do, to confirm the numbers. A pre-filled direct deposit form from your bank shows the same numbers.
Can my employer make me use direct deposit?
Under federal Regulation E, yes, if you get to choose the bank. It can't make you use a bank it picks unless it also lets you get paid another way, such as by check or cash. Some states add their own rules on direct deposit consent.
How long does direct deposit take to start?
It may take one or two pay periods, according to Wells Fargo. Until then, you may be paid the old way.

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Where's the direct deposit form you signed?

Granite reads and files your paperwork, so you can find a form like this again when you change jobs or banks. Free for your first 25 documents.

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