---
title: "What is a SWIFT/BIC code? Structure, branch codes and how to check one | Elucidate"
description: "A SWIFT/BIC code (ISO 9362) identifies a bank or other institution in payments. What its 8 or 11 characters mean, branch codes and XXX, and how to check one."
url: https://elucidate.co/guides/swift-bic-code
---

[Guides](https://elucidate.co/guides) / BIC Reviewed 31 October 2026

Guide · BIC

# How to read a Business Identifier Code (BIC)

Read a BIC, confirm the institution and branch it names, and know what it does not tell you before you route a payment.

In short

A Business Identifier Code (BIC) is an 8- or 11-character code, defined by ISO 9362, that identifies a bank or other institution in payment and securities messages. The first four characters identify the institution, the next two its country, the next two its location and the optional last three a branch. A BIC of eight characters, or one ending in “XXX”, identifies the head office. Swift is the registration authority for ISO 9362: it issues BICs and publishes them. The code people call a “SWIFT code” is the BIC.

## A BIC has four parts

Deutsche Bank AG’s head office in Frankfurt has the BIC `DEUTDEFFXXX`. Read from left to right, it breaks down as follows.

1.  DEUT Institution  
    Characters 1–4
2.  DE Country  
    Characters 5–6
3.  FF Location  
    Characters 7–8
4.  XXX Branch  
    Characters 9–11, optional

| Part | Characters | What it identifies |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Institution | 1–4, letters or digits | The institution. ISO 9362 calls it the business party prefix. It is usually an abbreviation of the name. |
| Country | 5–6, letters | The country or territory of the institution or branch, as an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. |
| Location | 7–8, letters or digits | A location within the country (the business party suffix). The eighth character also gives the connection type. |
| Branch | 9–11, letters or digits | A branch or department. “XXX” stands for the head office. |

An 8-character BIC (BIC8) and the same code followed by “XXX” identify the same office: the head office. A BIC11 with any other branch code identifies one branch or department of the institution.

A foreign branch usually holds its own BIC, with the code of the country it is in. Deutsche Bank’s London branch, for example, uses a BIC that starts `DEUTGB`.

## The eighth character gives the connection type

Under ISO 9362, the second character of the location code tells whether the BIC is a live address on the Swift network.

| Eighth character | Connection type |
| --- | --- |
| `0` | Test and training. The BIC exchanges messages only in Swift’s test environment, not live traffic. |
| `1` | Passive participant. The BIC identifies the institution, which has no direct connection to Swift. Payments reach it through a correspondent bank. |
| `2` | Reverse billing. The institution is connected to Swift. Messages sent to it are billed to the institution, not to the sender. |
| Any other | Connected to Swift. The institution sends and receives Swift messages under the BIC directly. |

A BIC does not imply a connection to the Swift network. Corporates, funds and other institutions also register BICs, many of them for identification only.

## Branch codes name an office or a function

The last three characters can identify a city branch or a function, such as a treasury, securities or payment-processing department. Most institutions register only a head-office BIC.

A payment addressed to the head-office BIC reaches the institution. Banks that want payments in a given currency or for a given service routed to another branch BIC say so in their standard settlement instructions (SSIs). Use the BIC that the beneficiary or its bank gives, and check that it exists.

## How to check a BIC

1.  **Check the format.** A BIC has 8 or 11 characters, all capital letters or digits. Characters 5–6 are a country code. As a pattern: `^[A-Z0-9]{4}[A-Z]{2}[A-Z0-9]{2}([A-Z0-9]{3})?$`. A well-formed code may still not exist.
2.  **Find it in a directory built from Swift’s file.** Confirm that the institution name, city and country match your counterparty.
3.  **For an 11-character BIC, check the branch code.** A known BIC8 followed by a branch code that the directory does not list is not a valid BIC.
4.  **Confirm the legal entity.** The BIC record names the institution as Swift records it. The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) mapped to the BIC identifies the legal entity in GLEIF’s records. See [the LEI guide](https://elucidate.co/guides/legal-entity-identifier).
5.  **Screen it.** Some sanctions listings cite a BIC among the identifiers of an entry, for example on the OFAC SDN list. Screen the institution’s names and identifiers against the official lists.

## What a BIC does not tell you

-   **Which account.** A BIC identifies an institution. The account is identified by an IBAN or an account number. See [BIC, IBAN and national bank codes](https://elucidate.co/guides/bic-iban-routing-number).
-   **Whether the institution is licensed.** A BIC is not a licence or an authorisation. The regulator’s register is the authority. See [how to check a payment firm’s licence](https://elucidate.co/guides/check-payment-firm-licence).
-   **Whether a counterparty is safe to deal with.** A BIC identifies; it does not assess.

## BICs in ISO 20022 messages

In ISO 20022 payment messages, such as the `pacs.008` customer credit transfer, a financial institution is identified in the `<FinInstnId>` element. The BIC goes in `<BICFI>`, a national bank code in `<ClrSysMmbId>` and the LEI, where given, in `<LEI>`.

Each institution and branch page in the [directory](https://elucidate.co/directory) shows its `<FinInstnId>` block, ready to compare with a message.

**Look up a BIC.** The directory shows the legal entity, LEI, branch codes and connection type for every BIC in Swift’s directory.

[Search BICs](https://elucidate.co/directory/search)

## Sources

-   ISO 9362, _Banking — Banking telecommunication messages — Business identifier code (BIC)_. International Organization for Standardization.
-   [BIC (Business Identifier Code)](https://www.swift.com/standards/data-standards/bic-business-identifier-code). Swift, registration authority for ISO 9362.
-   ISO 3166-1, _Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions_. International Organization for Standardization.
-   [Directory methodology](https://elucidate.co/directory/methodology). Elucidate: how the directory reads Swift’s file and maps BICs to LEIs.

Reviewed 31 October 2026. Standards and registers change: the publisher’s own text is always the authority.

## More guides

-   [Guide · Payment codes BIC, IBAN and national bank codes What each code identifies, how an IBAN is built, the main national codes and which ones a payment needs.](https://elucidate.co/guides/bic-iban-routing-number)
-   [Guide · LEI What a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) record shows The 20 characters of an LEI, registration status, reported parents and how Swift and GLEIF map BICs to LEIs.](https://elucidate.co/guides/legal-entity-identifier)
-   [Guide · Licences Check a payment firm’s licence or registration Find the regulated entity, search the right register, read status and permissions, and tell a licence from an AML registration.](https://elucidate.co/guides/check-payment-firm-licence)

FinCrime Index

## Assess the financial crime risk behind a counterparty

A BIC, an LEI or a licence identifies an institution. It does not assess it. The Elucidate FinCrime Index (EFI) is an independent score of the financial crime risk of banks and payment firms.

[Book a demo](https://elucidate.co/demo-request) [Read about the FinCrime Index](https://elucidate.co/ratings)