How long is a German IBAN?

A German IBAN is always exactly 22 characters. It starts with 'DE', followed by 2 check digits, an 8-digit Bankleitzahl (BLZ — the bank sort code), and a 10-digit account number. Example: DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00.

What is the Bankleitzahl in a German IBAN?

The Bankleitzahl (BLZ) is the German bank routing code — an 8-digit number that identifies the specific bank and branch. It occupies positions 5–12 of the German IBAN. For example, 37040044 is the BLZ for Deutsche Bank in Cologne.

Is Germany part of SEPA?

Yes. Germany is a founding SEPA member. All German bank accounts accept SEPA Credit Transfers and SEPA Direct Debits across the 36-country SEPA zone. When paying within SEPA, only the IBAN is required — the BIC is optional for German IBANs.

German IBAN Format (DE): Structure, Length, and Validation Examples

The German IBAN is one of the most frequently validated in Europe. Germany is the largest economy in the eurozone, and its businesses send and receive millions of cross-border SEPA payments every day. Understanding the German IBAN format — its structure, length, and common mistakes — reduces failed payments and processing delays.

German IBAN at a Glance

Country code: DE
Total length: 22 characters (always)
Format: DEkk bbbbbbbb cccccccccc
BBAN length: 18 digits
Character types: letters only in the country code; all digits after that

German IBAN Structure Explained

A German IBAN has exactly four components:

1. Country Code — DE (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Germany. Every German IBAN begins with DE. This is fixed and never changes.

2. Check Digits — kk (2 digits)

Two decimal digits calculated using the MOD-97 algorithm over the entire BBAN. These digits detect transcription errors. They are computed at account creation and remain constant for the life of the account.

3. Bankleitzahl (BLZ) — bbbbbbbb (8 digits)

The Bankleitzahl (literally "bank routing number") is the 8-digit code assigned to each German bank branch by the Deutsche Bundesbank. It uniquely identifies the bank and, in many cases, the specific branch. For example:

37040044 — Deutsche Bank, Cologne
20010020 — Postbank, Hamburg
50010517 — ING, Frankfurt

The Bundesbank publishes the complete list of Bankleitzahlen. Every payment processor in Germany uses this registry to route transfers.

4. Account Number — cccccccccc (10 digits)

The 10-digit account number (Kontonummer) identifies the individual account at that bank. German account numbers were historically shorter (often 7–9 digits) and are zero-padded on the left to reach exactly 10 digits in the IBAN.

Three Real German IBAN Examples

The following IBANs are standard examples used in German banking documentation and test environments:

Example 1 — Deutsche Bank, Cologne

DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00

Country: DE
Check digits: 89
BLZ: 37040044 (Deutsche Bank Cologne)
Account: 0532013000

Example 2 — Commerzbank, Frankfurt

DE75 2004 1155 0621 5000 00

Country: DE
Check digits: 75
BLZ: 20041155 (Commerzbank Hamburg)
Account: 0621500000

Example 3 — Sparkasse

DE12 5001 0517 0648 4898 90

Country: DE
Check digits: 12
BLZ: 50010517 (ING-DiBa, Frankfurt)
Account: 0648489890

How German IBAN Validation Works

Validating a German IBAN involves four sequential checks:

Country code check: First two characters must be exactly DE.
Length check: Total character count (spaces removed) must be exactly 22. A 21-character or 23-character string is immediately invalid.
Character type check: Positions 3–22 must all be decimal digits (0–9). No letters are valid in a German IBAN after the country code.
MOD-97 check: Move the first four characters to the end, convert letters to numbers (A=10, B=11, ..., Z=35), compute the resulting integer modulo 97. The result must equal 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator runs all four steps automatically. Paste any German IBAN and it returns the bank name, BIC, and a detailed breakdown of the BBAN components.

Common German IBAN Mistakes

Wrong Length

The most frequent error is a German IBAN with 21 or 23 characters. This almost always happens when a leading zero in the Kontonummer is dropped. Account number 532013000 (9 digits) should be padded to 0532013000 (10 digits). Dropping it changes the IBAN from 22 to 21 characters.

Using the Old Account Number Without Padding

Older German bank statements listed Kontonummern without zero-padding. If you are constructing an IBAN from a legacy account number, always left-pad the account number with zeros to 10 digits before combining it with the BLZ.

Incorrect BLZ

Some large German banks have multiple BLZ codes for different regions. Using the wrong regional BLZ produces an IBAN with a valid MOD-97 result but pointing to a different branch. Always verify the BLZ against the Deutsche Bundesbank registry if there is any uncertainty.

Spaces in Electronic Transmission

The print format DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00 includes spaces for readability. When transmitting via API, ERP system, or payment file, always remove all spaces. Electronic format: DE89370400440532013000.

German IBAN and SEPA

Germany is a core SEPA member. Since February 2014, all domestic German bank transfers — previously using the BLZ + Kontonummer format — must use IBANs. The BLZ still exists within the IBAN's BBAN, but the standalone BLZ + Kontonummer format is no longer accepted for electronic payments inside Germany or across SEPA.

For international transfers outside the SEPA zone, you will typically also need the bank's BIC/SWIFT code alongside the IBAN. You can look up the BIC for any German bank using the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

Validating German IBANs in Bulk

Finance teams processing supplier payments or payroll across German accounts can validate multiple IBANs at once using the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker. Upload a CSV or paste up to 100 IBANs and get instant results for each — with bank name, BIC, and any structural errors flagged per row.

Last updated: June 2026