How to find your Bank Routing Number in Canada

How to find your Bank Routing Number in Canada

After you’ve found and applied for a life insurance policy or opened an investment account, you may be asked for your bank routing number by your insurer. But what exactly is a bank routing number in Canada, and how and where do you find it?

In this article:

• What is a routing number?
• Routing number vs transit number vs account number
• When do I use my routing number?
• How to find your routing number using a cheque
• How to find your routing number if you don’t have a cheque
  • Scotiabank Routing Number
  • TD Routing Number
  • BMO Routing Number
  • RBC Routing Number
  • CIBC Routing Number
  • National Bank Routing Number
  • Tangerine Routing Number
• How to find your routing number using your bank address
• How to find your transit number, account number, and institution number
  • BMO Transit and Account Number
  • Scotiabank Transit and Account Number
  • RBC Transit and Account Number
  • TD Transit and Account Number
  • CIBC Transit and Account Number
  • National Bank Transit and Account Number
  • Tangerine Transit and Account Number
• How to find your Institution Number
• Frequently Asked Question (FAQs) about Routing Number

What is is a routing number?

Your routing number is a banking code that consists of 8–9 numerical digits. It makes it easy to identify the financial institution and branch location associated with your bank account. It consists of two things: the 5-digit branch number (also known as transit number) and the 3-digit financial institution number.  

To figure out your routing number, you’ll have to look for your transit number and combine it with your institution number. For example, if you’re looking for the routing number for the TD branch at 394 Bay Street in Toronto, the branch number is 12162 and TD’s institution number is 004. Together, the routing number is 12162-004. If you’re wondering where to find all these numbers and how to tell them apart, below is our guide on which number is which, and how to find them.

Routing number vs Transit number vs Account number

In Canada, your bank routing number is a combination of your transit number and your financial institution number. Your transit number is the branch location where your bank is based at. You can easily find it by doing a Google search for your branch, or by looking at the bottom of one of your cheques.

An account number is the 7-12 digit number that is associated with your bank account. This number is unique to your account: it’s an important piece of ID that tells any electronic funds transfer system where to withdraw or deposit the money, so you should treat it securely. You’ll be asked for this number along with your routing number in order to complete any automatic payments, like your monthly premiums. The account number and routing number are used together to identify the correct bank account an insurance company is trying to withdraw funds from for automatic payments or deposit money into.

When do I use my routing number?

When you apply for life insurance, you’ll be asked for your routing number and account number as part of your delivery receipt when you’ve received your new policy. When you accept the offer, you’ll have to complete a pre-authorized debit (PAD) or pre-authorized cheque (PAC) form for your insurance company. Both PADs and PACs are types of automated funds transfers (AFTs) that use routing numbers to identify the correct account they are trying to withdraw the funds from.

How to find your routing number using a cheque

Even if you haven’t heard the term ‘routing number’ before, you’ve most likely seen it on your cheques. Your cheques contain your routing number and account number along the bottom, in a different font. 

Each number is typically separated by some symbols to help you differentiate which number is which.

From left to right on the bottom of the cheque, the numbers correspond to:

• The cheque number
• The transit (branch) number
• The financial institution number
• Your account number 

If you’re still not sure which number is which, knowing your bank’s institution number will help you locate where the transit number ends and where your account number starts. Regardless of how the numbers are split by the routing symbols, you can look for your institution number in this set of numbers, and it’ll typically be grouped together more closely to the transit number compared to the other numbers.

How to find your routing number if you don’t have a cheque

If you don’t have access to a physical cheque, you can find your routing number from your online banking account. You can find your void cheque or direct deposit forms from your online banking accounts to find your routing number, or some banks will have the routing number in the account details section. 

Scotiabank Routing Number

You can find your Scotiabank routing number by logging into your Scotiabank online banking account and viewing your account details, or by viewing a void cheque online. To view your account details:

1. Log in to your Scotiabank online account.
2. From the “Accounts” page, select your chequing account.
3. Click on “Show account number and details” to view the institution, branch, and account numbers for your bank account.

You can also view your void cheque by navigating to your chequing account, selecting “Direct Deposits & Payments,” and clicking on “View/Print” under “Void Cheque” instead.

TD Routing Number

You can find your TD routing number by looking on your EasyWeb Account:

1. Log in to your EasyWeb account.
2. Select “Accounts” from the left menu.
3. Select the account that you want your routing number for.
4. Click on the “Direct deposit form (PDF)” link on the right side of the page. This will display a pop-up PDF that’s pre-filled with your branch number and institution number.

BMO Routing Number

You can find your BMO routing number by logging into your BMO online banking account or by viewing your void cheque online.

1. Log in to your BMO online banking account.
2. Click on the “My Accounts” tab at the top of the page.
3. On the left side of the page, select the account that you want your routing number for.
4. You’ll see your branch number and institution number in the blue box at the top of the screen.

You can also click on the “void cheque” link to download a PDF of a void cheque with your routing number and account details on it.

RBC routing number

You can find your RBC routing number by logging into your RBC online banking account and viewing your account details, or by viewing a void cheque online. To view your account details:

1. Visit RBC Online account and sign in. 
2. Select one of your chequing accounts. 
3. From the right navigation, select “View and Print Payroll Direct Deposit Form”. 
4. The “Account” field will display the bank account you selected. 
5. Click “View and Print” and your prefilled form will open.

RBC’s transit number and institution number are found right after the first three numbers (which is the cheque number).

CIBC routing number

You can find your CIBC routing number by logging into your CIBC online banking account and viewing your account details, or by viewing a void cheque online. To view your account details:

1. Log in to your CIBC Online Banking account.
2. From the “My Accounts” page, select your account.
3. Find the number associated with your account which appears in the format xxxxx-yy-yyyyy: the first 5-digit number [xxxxx] is the transit number and the last 7-digit number [yy-yyyyy] is the bank account number.
4. Check your CIBC account e-statement

You can also view your void cheque by navigating to your chequing account, selecting “Manage My Account,” and then clicking on “Void Cheque / Direct Deposit Info” in “Deposit Account Details.” Then click “Print.”

National Bank routing number

You can find your National Bank routing number three different ways:

1. On a cheque, your account number will be listed at the bottom of your cheque. The National Bank institution number is 006 followed by your transit number (5 digits) and then your account number (7 digits). 
2. On a bank statement you can find your account number can be found on the left side of the document. 
3. Sign in to your online bank. Click on “Overview” in the menu, then click on your account. The account number consists of 7 digits and is displayed below the account name.

Tangerine routing number

You can find your Tangerine routing number or account number on both your cheque and on the Tangerine online banking.

1. Log in to your Tangerine online account
2. Select the appropriate bank account 
3. View your account details and then download a PDF of a void cheque
4. The numbers on the bottom of the void cheque will have the branch/transit number and the institute number which is the routing number

Tangerine bank is a banking service with only a few in-person locations, all Tangerine clients have the same routing number: 00152-614.

How to find your routing number using your bank address

Another way of finding your routing number is by using the address of your bank’s branch address. You can look it up based on your branch’s address here in this pdf.

How to find your transit number, account number, and institution number

Keep in mind that not all cheques look the same. Your cheque may have more or less of the routing symbols between the numbers compared to another institution’s cheque. Or, your transit number and institution number may just be one long sequence of 8–9 digits. We’ve broken down and highlighted transit and account numbers on sample cheques from BMO, Scotiabank, RBC, TD, and CIBC below.

BMO Transit and Account Number

BMO’s transit number and institution number are found in the middle, right after the first three numbers (which is the cheque number). The account number is the last 2 sets of numbers that are split by the routing symbols.

Image Source: BMO

Scotiabank Transit and Account Number

Scotiabank’s transit number and institution number are right after the first three numbers (which is the cheque number). The account number is the last 2 sets of numbers that are split by the routing symbols.

Image Source: Scotiabank

RBC Transit and Account Number

RBC’s transit number and institution number are found right after the first three numbers (which is the cheque number). The account number is the last 3 sets of numbers that are split by the routing symbols.

Image Source: RBC

TD Transit and Account Number

TD’s transit number and institution number are found in the middle, right after the first three numbers. The numbers right after the transit and institution number is the destination number. The account number is the last set of numbers that are split by the routing symbols.

Image Source: TD Bank

CIBC Transit and Account Number

CIBC’s transit number and institution number are found in the middle, right after the first three numbers. The account number is the last 2 sets of numbers that are split by the routing symbols.

Image source: CIBC

National Bank Transit and Account Number

National Bank’s transit number and institution number are found in the bottom, following the first three numbers. The account number is the last set of 7 numbers that are split by the routing symbols.

Tangerine Transit and Account Number

Tangerine’s transit number is the 5 digit number and institution number is the 3 digit number, they are found in the bottom. The account number is the last set of numbers that are split by the routing symbols.

How to find your Institution Number

Your institution number is the easiest to find and differentiate in a cheque, and it’s also just a Google search away. We’re provided the institution numbers for the biggest banks and financial institutions in Canada below.

Institution numbers of the biggest banks and financial institutions in Canada:

• 001 – Bank of Montreal (BMO)
• 002 – The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
• 003 – Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
• 004 – Toronto-Dominion Canada Trust (TD)
• 006 – National Bank of Canada (NBC)
• 010 – Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
• 016 – HSBC
• 614 – Tangerine

For any financial institutions not listed above, Payments.ca has a directory for every registered financial institution and their assigned institution number.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Routing Numbers

Need financial planning or have other financial questions?

Talking to a professional financial advisor can help you navigate any financial situation you may be facing. At Protect Your Wealth, we would be more than happy to provide further analysis for your specific circumstances. We’ve been providing expert advice for financial planning, including retirement planning and life insurance solutions since 2007, such as term life insurance and no medical life insurance. Or, if you are interested in learning more about these options available to you, check out our guide on the best life insurance companies in Canada.

Contact Protect Your Wealth or call us at 1-877-654-6119 to talk to an advisor today. We’re proudly based out of Hamilton, and service clients anywhere in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, including areas such as Guelph, Surrey, and Red Deer.