Latvia IBAN Format (LV) — Structure, Length & Validator

The Latvian IBAN is a 21-character format with a distinctive 4-letter alphabetic bank identifier — the same structural pattern as Irish and Bulgarian IBANs. Latvia adopted the euro on 1 January 2014, becoming the second Baltic state to join the eurozone. Understanding the LV IBAN format is important for businesses transacting with Baltic suppliers, fintech companies, or Baltic logistics firms.

Latvian IBAN at a Glance

• Country code: LV
• Total length: 21 characters (always)
• Format: LVkk bbbb ccccccccccccc
• BBAN length: 17 characters (4 letters + 13 alphanumeric)
• Currency: Euro (EUR)
• SEPA member: Yes (eurozone since 2014)

Latvian IBAN Structure Explained

A Latvian IBAN has three BBAN components within its 21-character body:

1. Country Code — LV (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Latvia. Every Latvian IBAN begins with LV.

2. Check Digits — kk (2 digits)

Two decimal digits calculated via the MOD-97 algorithm over the full BBAN. They catch transcription errors and are fixed at account creation.

3. Bank Code — bbbb (4 uppercase letters)

A 4-character alphabetic bank identifier derived from the bank's BIC/SWIFT code. Common Latvian bank codes:

• HABA — Swedbank Latvia (formerly Hansabanka)
• UNLA — SEB banka Latvia
• RIKO — Luminor Bank Latvia
• PARX — Citadele banka
• LATB — Latvijas Pasta banka

Like Irish and Bulgarian IBANs, Latvian IBANs contain 4 uppercase letters in the BBAN immediately after the check digits. This means Latvian IBANs are not fully numeric.

4. Account Number — ccccccccccccc (13 alphanumeric characters)

A 13-character account identifier that may contain digits and uppercase letters. In practice, most modern Latvian IBANs use only digits in this field, but the specification permits letters, and validation must accept them.

Real Latvian IBAN Example

LV80 BANK 0000 4351 9500 1

• Country: LV
• Check digits: 80
• Bank code: BANK
• Account number: 0000435195001

Electronic format: LV80BANK0000435195001

How Latvian IBAN Validation Works

1. Country code: First two characters must be LV.
2. Length: Exactly 21 characters after removing spaces.
3. Character types: Positions 3–4 are digits; positions 5–8 are uppercase letters; positions 9–21 may be digits or uppercase letters.
4. MOD-97: Rearrange the first four characters to the end, convert all letters to numbers (A=10…Z=35), compute modulo 97. Result must equal 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator handles the alphanumeric BBAN and decodes the bank code and account number for any Latvian IBAN.

Latvia's Euro Adoption and SEPA

Latvia adopted the euro on 1 January 2014 and is a full SEPA member. For SEPA Credit Transfers within the SEPA zone, the IBAN alone is sufficient — no BIC is required. For transfers outside SEPA, the BIC/SWIFT code must accompany the IBAN. Find any Latvian bank's BIC with the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

Latvia's Financial Sector

Latvia has a significant international banking presence — historically Riga attracted non-resident deposits from CIS countries. Following regulatory tightening by the Latvian financial regulator (FKTK) in the late 2010s and early 2020s, the sector consolidated significantly. Today Swedbank, SEB, and Luminor dominate retail banking, while Citadele banka is the largest domestic bank by origin.

Common Latvian IBAN Mistakes

Rejecting Uppercase Letters in the Account Number

While rare, Latvian account numbers can contain letters. Validation systems that only accept numeric account fields will incorrectly reject structurally valid Latvian IBANs.

Confusing LV with LT or LU

Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), and Luxembourg (LU) all begin with L. LV IBANs are 21 characters; LT and LU IBANs are 20 characters. A single character difference in the country code routes a payment to a completely different country.

Validating Latvian IBANs in Bulk

Businesses transacting with Latvian suppliers, logistics providers, or fintech partners can validate multiple IBANs at once using the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker. Upload a CSV with up to 100 IBANs and get instant validation results, bank names, and BIC codes per row.

Last updated: June 2026