IsValid

Validates a sort code & account number

To connect to this service you'll need to use one of these endpoints:

JSON

Open API

SOAP

Description

Checks if a sort code is a valid UK or Ireland sort code, and retrieve additional information about the associated bank.

If an account number is also specified, checks if it is a potentially valid account number for that sort code.

Credit Usage

Each request to this method consumes 1 BankAccountValidation credit.

Parameters

The following parameters can be supplied to this method

username	username See the available authentication methods. If you are using username & password authentication, specify the username to authenticate as. If you are using API Key authentication and you are not using the JSON, Javascript or ADO APIs, use your API Key here with the prefix `apikey-`, e.g. `apikey-ABCD-1234-EFGH-5678`
password	password If you are using username & password authentication, specify the password to use for authentication. Otherwise leave this blank.
sortCode	sortCode The sort code to validate. The formatting of this number does not matter, so can be supplied with or without the standard dashes.
bankAccountNumber	bankAccountNumber If specified, indicates the account number to validate along with the `sortCode`. Leave blank to validate the sort code only.
options	options An array of options that control further details of how this method operates. See the Advanced Options section below for more information.

Advanced Options

The following options can be specified as part of the option parameter. Each option is specified as a key/value pair. The list of available names is shown below, along with a description of the allowable values for that name.

Common Options
Name	Description
ApplicationName	ApplicationName Gives the name of the calling application - used to break down usage by application in the usage reports on the dashboard
Address Formatting Options
There are a large number of options to control how the raw address details are combined & formatted for presentation. They are described in more detail with live interactive examples on the address formatting reference. A summary of the available options is also listed below.
Name	Description
Formatter	Formatter Pick from one of the available formatters to control how the raw address is converted into a human-readable address: `DefaultFormatter` `PAFStandardFormatter` `NoOrganisationFormatter`
MaxLines	MaxLines The number of lines to format the address over. An additional line will be included at the end of the results for the postcode
MaxLineLength	MaxLineLength The maximum number of characters that can appear in each address line
FixTownCounty	FixTownCounty `true` to ensure that the town and county are returned in the last two address lines, or `false` if they should appear in the first available line
FixBuilding	FixBuilding Ensures the building name/number is always placed in the first line
NormalizeCase	NormalizeCase Converts all text in the address except the town name to proper case
NormalizeTownCase	NormalizeTownCase Converts the town name to proper case
UseAnyAvailableCounty	UseAnyAvailableCounty Uses any available county to populate the formatted address, not just the postal county
ExcludeCounty	ExcludeCounty Excludes the county, if any, from the formatted address
UnwantedPunctuation	UnwantedPunctuation A string containing any punctuation characters to be removed from the formatted address
Service-Specific Options
Name	Description
CountryCode	CountryCode The ISO 2-character code for the country the details are from. Currently supported values are "GB" and "IE". If not specified, "GB" is assumed.

Results

This method returns an object containing the following fields:

Status	Status Indicates whether the method call was successful, or if some error occurred. If the `Success` field is `true`, the other results described below can be used to get the results of the method. If `Success` is `false`, some error occurred in calling the method, such as the authentication failed or the account is out of credits. The details of the error can be obtained from the `ErrorMessage` field, and any other results should be ignored
Valid	Valid Indicates if the supplied details are valid. This can be one of the following values: `Valid` - the bank account number passes the validation rules applied to the selected bank `Invalid` - the bank account number fails the validation rules applied to the selected bank `NotValidated` - no validation rules are available for the selected bank
SortCode	SortCode Returns the sort code in a standardised format with dashes
AccountNumber	AccountNumber The account number in a standardised format
BICCode	BICCode The BIC code for the bank for this branch to be used with international payments
IBAN	IBAN The IBAN number for this account to be used with international payments
BranchName	BranchName The name of the bank branch. For most high-street banks, this will be the town name the branch is located in.
ShortBankName	ShortBankName The normal accepted name of the bank
FullBankName	FullBankName The full official name of the bank
Address	Address The postal address of the branch. Note that this may not be the same as the physical location of the branch as many banks centralise all their operations
AcceptsBACSPayments	AcceptsBACSPayments Indicates if the account can receive payments through the BACS network
AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions	AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Debit payments
AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions	AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Credit payments
AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions	AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions Indicates if the bank can process claims for unpaid cheques
AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions	AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from building societies
AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions	AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from dividend payments
AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions	AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions Indicates if the bank can process direct debit instructions
AcceptsCHAPSPayments	AcceptsCHAPSPayments Indicates if the account can receive payments through the CHAPS network
AcceptsCheques	AcceptsCheques Indicates if the account can receive payments by cheque
AcceptsFasterPayments	AcceptsFasterPayments Indicates if the account can receive payments through the Faster Payments network

Live Demo

sortCode

bankAccountNumber

options

Name	Value
Common Options
ApplicationName
Address Formatting Options
Formatter
MaxLines
MaxLineLength
FixTownCounty
FixBuilding
NormalizeCase
NormalizeTownCase
UseAnyAvailableCounty
UnwantedPunctuation
Service-Specific Options
CountryCode

Sample Code

<!-- Import the Integr8 Ajax API -->
<!-- NOTE: Get your own API key to use in the following script tag from: -->
<!-- https://www.data-8.co.uk/ValidationAdmin/AjaxAPIKey -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/Javascript/Loader.ashx?key=your-api-key&load=BankAccountValidation">
</script>

<script type="text/javascript">

function IsValid(sortCode, bankAccountNumber) {
  /// <param name="sortCode">string</param>
  /// <param name="bankAccountNumber">string</param>
  var bankaccountvalidation = new data8.bankaccountvalidation();
  
  bankaccountvalidation.isvalid(
    sortCode,
    bankAccountNumber,
    [
      new data8.option('CountryCode', 'GB'),
      new data8.option('MaxLines', '6'),
      new data8.option('FixTownCounty', 'true')
    ],
    showIsValidResult
  );
}

function showIsValidResult(result) {
  // Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
  if (!result.Status.Success) {
    alert('Error: ' + result.Status.ErrorMessage);
  }
  else {
    // TODO: Process method results here.
    // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
    // result.Valid
    //   Indicates if the supplied details are valid. This can be one of the following values:
    //   
    //   * `Valid` -  the bank account number passes the validation rules applied to the selected bank
    //   * `Invalid` - the bank account number fails the validation rules applied to the selected bank
    //   * `NotValidated` - no validation rules are available for the selected bank
    // result.SortCode
    //   Returns the sort code in a standardised format with dashes
    // result.AccountNumber
    //   The account number in a standardised format
    // result.BICCode
    //   The BIC code for the bank for this branch to be used with international payments
    // result.IBAN
    //   The IBAN number for this account to be used with international payments
    // result.BranchName
    //   The name of the bank branch. For most high-street banks, this will be the town name the branch is located in.
    // result.ShortBankName
    //   The normal accepted name of the bank
    // result.FullBankName
    //   The full official name of the bank
    // result.Address
    //   The postal address of the branch. Note that this may not be the same as the physical location of the branch as many banks centralise all their operations
    // result.AcceptsBACSPayments
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the BACS network
    // result.AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Debit payments
    // result.AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Credit payments
    // result.AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions
    //   Indicates if the bank can process claims for unpaid cheques
    // result.AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from building societies
    // result.AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from dividend payments
    // result.AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions
    //   Indicates if the bank can process direct debit instructions
    // result.AcceptsCHAPSPayments
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the CHAPS network
    // result.AcceptsCheques
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments by cheque
    // result.AcceptsFasterPayments
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the Faster Payments network
  }
}

</script>

// NOTE: A Service Reference to the web service must be added to use this sample code.
private void IsValid(string sortCode, string bankAccountNumber)
{
    // Declare the required options.
    Option CountryCode = new Option();
    CountryCode.Name = "CountryCode";
    CountryCode.Value = "GB";
    Option MaxLines = new Option();
    MaxLines.Name = "MaxLines";
    MaxLines.Value = "6";
    Option FixTownCounty = new Option();
    FixTownCounty.Name = "FixTownCounty";
    FixTownCounty.Value = "true";
    // Invoke the web service method.
    BankAccountValidationSoapClient proxy = new BankAccountValidationSoapClient();
    BankAccountValidationResponse results = proxy.IsValid("your-username", "your-password", sortCode, bankAccountNumber, new Option[] {
                CountryCode,
                MaxLines,
                FixTownCounty});
    // Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
    if ((results.Status.Success == false))
    {
        MessageBox.Show(("Error: " + results.Status.ErrorMessage));
    }
    else
    {
        // TODO: Process method results here.
        // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
        // result.Valid
        //   Indicates if the supplied details are valid. This can be one of the following values:
        //   
        //   * `Valid` -  the bank account number passes the validation rules applied to the selected bank
        //   * `Invalid` - the bank account number fails the validation rules applied to the selected bank
        //   * `NotValidated` - no validation rules are available for the selected bank
        // result.SortCode
        //   Returns the sort code in a standardised format with dashes
        // result.AccountNumber
        //   The account number in a standardised format
        // result.BICCode
        //   The BIC code for the bank for this branch to be used with international payments
        // result.IBAN
        //   The IBAN number for this account to be used with international payments
        // result.BranchName
        //   The name of the bank branch. For most high-street banks, this will be the town name the branch is located in.
        // result.ShortBankName
        //   The normal accepted name of the bank
        // result.FullBankName
        //   The full official name of the bank
        // result.Address
        //   The postal address of the branch. Note that this may not be the same as the physical location of the branch as many banks centralise all their operations
        // result.AcceptsBACSPayments
        //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the BACS network
        // result.AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions
        //   Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Debit payments
        // result.AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions
        //   Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Credit payments
        // result.AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions
        //   Indicates if the bank can process claims for unpaid cheques
        // result.AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions
        //   Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from building societies
        // result.AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions
        //   Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from dividend payments
        // result.AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions
        //   Indicates if the bank can process direct debit instructions
        // result.AcceptsCHAPSPayments
        //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the CHAPS network
        // result.AcceptsCheques
        //   Indicates if the account can receive payments by cheque
        // result.AcceptsFasterPayments
        //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the Faster Payments network
    }
}

'NOTE: A Service Reference to the web service must be added to use this sample code.
Private Sub IsValid(ByVal sortCode As String, ByVal bankAccountNumber As String)
    'Declare the required options.
    Dim CountryCode As [Option] = New [Option]()
    CountryCode.Name = "CountryCode"
    CountryCode.Value = "GB"
    Dim MaxLines As [Option] = New [Option]()
    MaxLines.Name = "MaxLines"
    MaxLines.Value = "6"
    Dim FixTownCounty As [Option] = New [Option]()
    FixTownCounty.Name = "FixTownCounty"
    FixTownCounty.Value = "true"
    'Invoke the web service method.
    Dim proxy As BankAccountValidationSoapClient = New BankAccountValidationSoapClient()
    Dim results As BankAccountValidationResponse = proxy.IsValid("your-username", "your-password", sortCode, bankAccountNumber, New [Option]() {CountryCode, MaxLines, FixTownCounty})
    'Check that the call succeeded, and show the error message if there was a problem.
    If (results.Status.Success = false) Then
        MessageBox.Show(("Error: " + results.Status.ErrorMessage))
    Else
        'TODO: Process method results here.
        'Results can be extracted from the following fields:
        'result.Valid
        '  Indicates if the supplied details are valid. This can be one of the following values:
        '  
        '  * `Valid` -  the bank account number passes the validation rules applied to the selected bank
        '  * `Invalid` - the bank account number fails the validation rules applied to the selected bank
        '  * `NotValidated` - no validation rules are available for the selected bank
        'result.SortCode
        '  Returns the sort code in a standardised format with dashes
        'result.AccountNumber
        '  The account number in a standardised format
        'result.BICCode
        '  The BIC code for the bank for this branch to be used with international payments
        'result.IBAN
        '  The IBAN number for this account to be used with international payments
        'result.BranchName
        '  The name of the bank branch. For most high-street banks, this will be the town name the branch is located in.
        'result.ShortBankName
        '  The normal accepted name of the bank
        'result.FullBankName
        '  The full official name of the bank
        'result.Address
        '  The postal address of the branch. Note that this may not be the same as the physical location of the branch as many banks centralise all their operations
        'result.AcceptsBACSPayments
        '  Indicates if the account can receive payments through the BACS network
        'result.AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions
        '  Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Debit payments
        'result.AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions
        '  Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Credit payments
        'result.AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions
        '  Indicates if the bank can process claims for unpaid cheques
        'result.AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions
        '  Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from building societies
        'result.AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions
        '  Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from dividend payments
        'result.AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions
        '  Indicates if the bank can process direct debit instructions
        'result.AcceptsCHAPSPayments
        '  Indicates if the account can receive payments through the CHAPS network
        'result.AcceptsCheques
        '  Indicates if the account can receive payments by cheque
        'result.AcceptsFasterPayments
        '  Indicates if the account can receive payments through the Faster Payments network
    End If
End Sub

// NOTE: The php_soap.dll extension must be enabled in the php.ini file.
function IsValid($sortCode, $bankAccountNumber)
{
  $options = array(
    "Option" => array(
      array(
        "Name" => "CountryCode",
        "Value" => "GB"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "MaxLines",
        "Value" => "6"
      ),
      array(
        "Name" => "FixTownCounty",
        "Value" => "true"
      )
    )
  );
  $params = array(
    "username" => "your-username",
    "password" => "your-password",
    "sortCode" => $sortCode,
    "bankAccountNumber" => $bankAccountNumber,
    "options" => $options
  );
  $client = new SoapClient("https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/BankAccountValidation.asmx?WSDL");
  $result = $client->IsValid($params);
  if ($result->IsValidResult->Status->Success == 0)
  {
    echo "Error: " . $result->IsValidResult->Status->ErrorMessage;
  }
  else
  {
    // TODO: Process method results here.
    // Results can be extracted from the following fields:
    // $result->IsValidResult->Valid
    //   Indicates if the supplied details are valid. This can be one of the following values:
    //   
    //   * `Valid` -  the bank account number passes the validation rules applied to the selected bank
    //   * `Invalid` - the bank account number fails the validation rules applied to the selected bank
    //   * `NotValidated` - no validation rules are available for the selected bank
    // $result->IsValidResult->SortCode
    //   Returns the sort code in a standardised format with dashes
    // $result->IsValidResult->AccountNumber
    //   The account number in a standardised format
    // $result->IsValidResult->BICCode
    //   The BIC code for the bank for this branch to be used with international payments
    // $result->IsValidResult->IBAN
    //   The IBAN number for this account to be used with international payments
    // $result->IsValidResult->BranchName
    //   The name of the bank branch. For most high-street banks, this will be the town name the branch is located in.
    // $result->IsValidResult->ShortBankName
    //   The normal accepted name of the bank
    // $result->IsValidResult->FullBankName
    //   The full official name of the bank
    // $result->IsValidResult->Address
    //   The postal address of the branch. Note that this may not be the same as the physical location of the branch as many banks centralise all their operations
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsBACSPayments
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the BACS network
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Debit payments
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Credit payments
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions
    //   Indicates if the bank can process claims for unpaid cheques
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from building societies
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions
    //   Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from dividend payments
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions
    //   Indicates if the bank can process direct debit instructions
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsCHAPSPayments
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the CHAPS network
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsCheques
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments by cheque
    // $result->IsValidResult->AcceptsFasterPayments
    //   Indicates if the account can receive payments through the Faster Payments network
  }
}

Request Format

{
  "sortCode": "11-02-57",
  "bankAccountNumber": "01234567",
  "options": {
    "CountryCode": "GB",
    "MaxLines": 6,
    "FixTownCounty": true
  }
}

Results Format

{
  "Status": {
    "Success": true,
    "CreditsRemaining": 1000
  },
  "Valid": "Invalid",
  "SortCode": "11-02-57",
  "AccountNumber": "01234567",
  "BICCode": "HLFXGB21W46",
  "IBAN": "IBAN GB91 HLFX 1102 5701 2345 67",
  "BranchName": "Ealing (110257)",
  "ShortBankName": "HALIFAX",
  "FullBankName": "HALIFAX (A TRADING NAME OF BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC)",
  "Address": {
    "Address": {
      "Lines": [
        "Halifax",
        "PO Box 722",
        "",
        "",
        "LEEDS",
        "West Yorkshire",
        "LS1 9GG"
      ]
    },
    "RawAddress": {
      "Organisation": "HALIFAX",
      "Department": "",
      "AddressKey": 0,
      "OrganisationKey": 0,
      "PostcodeType": null,
      "BuildingNumber": 0,
      "SubBuildingName": "",
      "BuildingName": "",
      "DependentThoroughfareName": "",
      "DependentThoroughfareDesc": null,
      "ThoroughfareName": "",
      "ThoroughfareDesc": null,
      "DoubleDependentLocality": "",
      "DependentLocality": "",
      "Locality": "LEEDS",
      "Postcode": "LS1 9GG",
      "Dps": "",
      "PoBox": "PO BOX 722",
      "PostalCounty": "WEST YORKSHIRE",
      "TraditionalCounty": null,
      "AdministrativeCounty": null,
      "CountryISO2": null,
      "UniqueReference": null,
      "Location": null,
      "AdditionalData": null
    }
  },
  "AcceptsBACSPayments": true,
  "AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions": true,
  "AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions": true,
  "AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions": false,
  "AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions": true,
  "AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions": true,
  "AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions": true,
  "AcceptsCHAPSPayments": true,
  "AcceptsCheques": true,
  "AcceptsFasterPayments": true
}

Depending on your chosen authentication method you will need to modify this request slightly:

Public Sub IsValid(sortCode As String, bankAccountNumber As String)
  Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset
  Set rs = New ADODB.Recordset
  rs.Open "https://webservices.data-8.co.uk/recordset.ashx?service=BankAccountValidation&method=IsValidSimple" &
    "&username=your-username" &
    "&password=your-password" &
    "&sortCode=" & sortCode &
    "&bankAccountNumber=" & bankAccountNumber
  If rs.MoveFirst Then
    If rs.Fields(0).Name = "Success" And rs.Fields(0).Value = false Then
      MsgBox "Error: " & rs.Fields(1)
    Else
      'TODO: Process method results here.
      'All the results are available in the first row in the recordset.
      'Results can be extracted from the following fields:
      'Valid
      '  Indicates if the supplied details are valid. This can be one of the following values:
      '  
      '  * `Valid` -  the bank account number passes the validation rules applied to the selected bank
      '  * `Invalid` - the bank account number fails the validation rules applied to the selected bank
      '  * `NotValidated` - no validation rules are available for the selected bank
      'SortCode
      '  Returns the sort code in a standardised format with dashes
      'AccountNumber
      '  The account number in a standardised format
      'BICCode
      '  The BIC code for the bank for this branch to be used with international payments
      'IBAN
      '  The IBAN number for this account to be used with international payments
      'BranchName
      '  The name of the bank branch. For most high-street banks, this will be the town name the branch is located in.
      'ShortBankName
      '  The normal accepted name of the bank
      'FullBankName
      '  The full official name of the bank
      'Address
      '  The postal address of the branch. Note that this may not be the same as the physical location of the branch as many banks centralise all their operations
      'AcceptsBACSPayments
      '  Indicates if the account can receive payments through the BACS network
      'AcceptsDirectDebitTransactions
      '  Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Debit payments
      'AcceptsDirectCreditTransactions
      '  Indicates if the account can be used to take Direct Credit payments
      'AcceptsUnpaidChequeClaimTransactions
      '  Indicates if the bank can process claims for unpaid cheques
      'AcceptsBuildingSocietyCreditTransactions
      '  Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from building societies
      'AcceptsDividendInterestPaymentTransactions
      '  Indicates if the account can be used to take credits from dividend payments
      'AcceptsDirectDebitInstructionTransactions
      '  Indicates if the bank can process direct debit instructions
      'AcceptsCHAPSPayments
      '  Indicates if the account can receive payments through the CHAPS network
      'AcceptsCheques
      '  Indicates if the account can receive payments by cheque
      'AcceptsFasterPayments
      '  Indicates if the account can receive payments through the Faster Payments network
    End If
  End If
End Sub