How is the IBAN structured?

An IBAN contains country code, bank and account information and two check digits. The length of an IBAN varies by country. It consists of an alphanumeric string of up to 34 different letters and numbers. However, it is shorter in most countries. It is shortest with 15 characters in Norway. Maltese people have a much harder time remembering more than twice as many letters or numbers for their new account number with an IBAN length of 31 characters.
We Germans are a little better off - here it is "only" 22 characters.
The German IBAN is composed as follows:

  • 2-digit country code (DE)
  • 2-digit check digit (calculated individually for each account number)
  • 8-digit bank sort code
  • 10-digit account number (leading zero digits, if applicable)

IBAN structure