EISCD Sort Code Directory Data File

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EISCD Data File

A full copy of the Extended Industry Sort Code Directory (EISCD) from Vocalink: around 20,000 sort codes and 400 banks with branch details, contact data and the clearings each office takes part in (Bacs, CHAPS, ICS, Faster Payments). Every eiscd.zip holds the tab-delimited TXT file plus XML, CSV and XLSX conversions of the same data. A new file is published weekly; it is a complete snapshot, not a delta. The file specification is further down this page.

Download options

Manual download

Open the Download Center, check the publication date and MD5 checksum, and download eiscd.zip in your browser. Good for a one-off load or a quick check of the latest file.

Open the Download Center

Download API

One HTTPS GET lists the available files with their MD5, a second one downloads the latest zip. Drop it into a cron job or your deployment pipeline and the directory updates itself.

API details

Secure FTP

Fetch the same zip over SFTP with your account email and password. Suits scheduled transfers from systems that already have an SFTP client and no HTTP tooling.

SFTP details

Download API

One endpoint, two actions. Authenticate with the API key from Client area → API Access; the key must belong to an account with an active EISCD subscription.

Parameter	Length	Type	Description
`api_key`	128	String	Your personal API key.
`action`	4	String	`list` returns the available files with name, publication date and MD5 checksum. `get` starts an HTTPS download of the latest zip.

List available files

GEThttps://api.iban.com/clients/api/download.php?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&action=list

<files>
  <file>
    <name>eiscd.zip</name>
    <time>September 25 2026</time>
    <md5>3cef47b49317d4ccc696a132f8e26f8e</md5>
  </file>
</files>

Element	Length	Type	Description
`name`	128	String	File name.
`time`	20	String	Date the file was published on our server.
`md5`	32	String	MD5 checksum of the zip. Compare it with the checksum of your downloaded copy before you load the data.

Download the latest file

GEThttps://api.iban.com/clients/api/download.php?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&action=get

The response body is the zip itself. Save it to a file; there is no JSON wrapper.

Automating it

A weekly job needs three commands. Keep the last MD5 you loaded and skip the download when list returns the same value.

# 1. what is published, and its checksum
curl -s "https://api.iban.com/clients/api/download.php?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&action=list"

# 2. download the latest zip
curl -s "https://api.iban.com/clients/api/download.php?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&action=get" -o eiscd.zip

# 3. verify, then unpack
md5sum eiscd.zip      # must match <md5> from step 1
unzip -o eiscd.zip    # TXT, XML, CSV and XLSX versions

Error messages

Message	Cause	What to do
API Key is invalid	Wrong or mistyped key.	Copy the key from Client area → API Access.
Subscription expired	Your EISCD licence has run out.	Renew it under Client area → My Services.
You have no access to this API	No EISCD licence on this account.	Order one under Client area → Pricing.
No downloads available	No file has been published to your account yet.	Normal right after purchase; the file appears once the order is processed.

Secure FTP

The same zip is available over SFTP (SSH). Log in with your client area credentials.

Hostname	`sortcodes.co.uk`
Port	`22`
Username	Your client area email address
Password	Your iban.com account password

sftp -oUser="you@example.com" sortcodes.co.uk
sftp> get eiscd.zip
sftp> quit

File specification

Applies to the tab-delimited TXT file (Vocalink Extended ISCD Technical Specification v2.80). The XML, CSV and XLSX copies are conversions of the same data; the XML layout has its own specification. Original documents: tab-delimited spec (PDF), XML spec (PDF). Sample files: TXT, XML, CSV, XLSX.

Reading the file

One record per bank office or branch, 96 tab-separated fields per record. Offices that no longer take part in any clearing are not in the file.
A record is keyed by sort code, or by sort code plus the two-digit sub-branch suffix (field 4); sub-branches share the main office sort code.
The size column is the maximum length; populated fields are space filled on the right. Trim before comparing.
Dates are dd/mm/yyyy. Numeric fields keep leading zeros, so import sort codes and bank codes as text.
Empty and spare fields have nothing between the tabs. Some spare fields carry Vocalink diagnostics and should be ignored.
Each file is a complete snapshot. Vocalink produces it on the last working day of the week with an effective date of the next working day, normally the Monday.

Detecting changes between files

Compare the date fields below with the effective date of the last file you loaded (your base date). A date equal to the base date on a record you do not have means an insert; a later date means an amendment; a later closing date means the office left that clearing.

Data group	Inserted / amended	Deleted
General	Field 13	Record missing from the file
Bacs	Field 16	Field 17
CHAPS Sterling	Field 40	Field 41
CHAPS Euro	Fields no longer used
ICS	Field 55	Field 56
Faster Payments	Field 62	Field 63
Bank office details (75 – 96)	Cannot be determined from the file

Abbreviations

Use	Meaning
m	Mandatory, the field always contains data.
o	Optional, the field may contain data.
c	Conditional, data in certain circumstances. Inside a clearing group, c means the office takes part in that clearing.

Data groups

Fields	Data group
1 – 14	Bank office general details
15 – 37	Bacs clearing
38 – 44	CHAPS Sterling clearing
45 – 53	CHAPS Euro clearing (closed; all fields other than status are null)
54 – 60	ICS (Image Clearing System) clearing
61 – 74	Faster Payments clearing
75 – 96	Bank office details: branch type, location, address, telephone

Fields

Field	Size	Use	Name		Contents
Fields 1 – 14: Bank office general details
1	6	c	Sorting code		Numeric.
2	8	c	BIC	Field 1	Alphanumeric. Field 2 holds the 8-character BIC, field 3 the 3-character branch code.
3	3	c	BIC	Field 2
4	2	o	Sub-branch suffix		Numeric. Sub-branches share the main office sort code and are numbered from 01.
5	27	m	Short branch title		The official branch title as it appears on cheque books. Alphanumeric.
6	20	m	Short name of owning bank		Name formally approved by Bacs. Alphanumeric.
7	35	m	Full name of owning bank	Line 1	Name formally approved by Bacs. Alphanumeric.
8	35	o	Full name of owning bank	Line 2	Name formally approved by Bacs. Alphanumeric.
9	4	m	Bank code of owning bank		Numeric code generated and allocated by Vocalink.
10	2	o	National central bank (NCB) country code		Blank, or for bank offices that are TARGET NCBs the two-letter ISO code of the country they are the NCB for. See ISO country codes.
11	1	m	Supervisory body		Authorising body for offices that are agencies in one or more clearings: A PRA/FCA B other financial authorities C Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man D other.
12	10	o	Deleted date		Date the office will be removed from the ISCD, only if populated before 6 June 2005; otherwise blank. For later closures derive the date from fields 17, 41, 47, 56 and 63.
13	10	m	Date of last change		Date of the last amendment to any clearing group or to the other general information group. Space filled to 20 characters.
14	1	m	Print indicator		0 to 5.
Fields 15 – 37: Bacs clearing
15	1	m	Status		M office of a Bacs member, accepts Bacs payments A office of an agency bank, accepts Bacs payments N does not accept Bacs payments, see field 17.
16	10	c	Date of last change		Effective date of the last amendment to this data group.
17	10	o	Date closed in Bacs clearing		Set at the same time as the status (field 15) is set to N.
18	1	o	Redirection from flag		R if this office is the redirection sort code for one or more other offices; otherwise blank.
19	6	o	Redirect to sort code		Six-digit sort code that output for this sort code is redirected to, or blank.
20	4	c	Bacs settlement bank		Vocalink bank code of the Bacs member that settles Bacs output for this sort code. Same as field 9 for members; for agencies, the code of one of the members.
21	2	c	Settlement section		Data required for Bacs output and settlement, specified by the Bacs member. Numeric.
22	2	o	Settlement subsection
23	4	c	Handling bank		Vocalink bank code of the Bacs member that handles Bacs output for this office.
24	2	c	Handling bank stream		Numeric code of the output stream the handling bank uses for output destined for this office.
25	1	c	Accounts numbered flag		Y transferable account numbers: on redirection after a branch closure the account number is kept N no transferable account numbers: on redirection the account number is set to zero.
26	1	c	DDI voucher flag		Y cannot accept electronic DDI output, needs printed vouchers N accepts electronic DDIs.
27	2	o	Transactions disallowed	DR	DR if the office cannot accept DR transaction types, otherwise blank. See transaction types.
28	2	o		CR	CR if the office cannot accept CR transaction types, otherwise blank.
29	2	o		CU	CU if the office cannot accept CU transaction types, otherwise blank.
30	2	o		PR	Null.
31	2	o		BS	BS if the office cannot accept BS transaction types, otherwise blank.
32	2	o		DV	DV if the office cannot accept DV transaction types, otherwise blank.
33	2	o		AU	AU if the office cannot accept AU transaction types, otherwise blank.
34	2	o		Spare	Null.
35	2	o		Spare	Null.
36	2	o		Spare	Null.
37	n/a		Spare field		Null.
Fields 38 – 44: CHAPS Sterling clearing
38	1	o	Return indicator		R if this office is the nominated return office for returned CHAPS £ payments; otherwise blank.
39	1	m	Status		D direct office of a CHAPS member, accepts CHAPS £ (part of the SWIFT closed user group) I indirect office of a CHAPS member or agency bank, accepts CHAPS £ N does not accept CHAPS £, see field 41.
40	10	c	Effective date of last change		Effective date of the last amendment to this data group.
41	10	o	Date closed in CHAPS £		Set at the same time as the status (field 39) is set to N.
42	3	c	CHAPS £ settlement member		Numeric CHAPS ID of the member that settles CHAPS £ for this office (same organisation as field 9 for members). Not the Bacs bank code; first digit is always zero.
43	8	c	CHAPS £ routing BIC	Field 1	SWIFT closed user group that CHAPS £ payments for this office are routed to. Alphanumeric.
44	3	o	CHAPS £ routing BIC	Field 2
Fields 45 – 53: CHAPS Euro clearing (service closed, all fields other than status are null)
45	1	m	Status		Always N.
46	10	c	Effective date of last change		Null.
47	10	o	Date closed in CHAPS €
48	8	c	CHAPS € routing BIC	Field 1
49	3	o	CHAPS € routing BIC	Field 2
50	3	c	CHAPS € settlement member
51	1	o	Return indicator
52	5	c	SWIFT data
53	n/a		Spare field
Fields 54 – 60: ICS (Image Clearing System) clearing
54	1	m	Status		M office of an ICS Settlement and Switch Participant F office of an Indirect Participant D office of a Settlement Participant that is not a Switch Participant N does not participate in ICS, see field 56. An office due to close keeps M, F or D until the closing date.
55	10	c	Effective date of last change		Effective date of the last amendment to this data group.
56	10	o	Date closed in ICS		Set at the same time as the status (field 54) is set to N.
57	3	c	ICS Settlement Participant		Bank code of the ICS Participant that settles ICS output for this office. Space filled to four characters.
58	6	c	Switch Participant		Bank code of the ICS Switch Participant that processes ICS output for this office, left-padded with zeros to 6 characters. Previously named Debit Agency Sort Code.
59	1	o	Return indicator		Null.
60	2	c	GB/NI indicator		Whether the office processes cheques (Request to Pay messages) on Northern Ireland bank holidays: NI does not, GB does. Space filled to 20 characters.
Fields 61 – 74: Faster Payments clearing
61	1	m	Status		M office of an FPS member, accepts FPS payments A office of an FPS agency bank, accepts FPS payments N does not accept FPS payments, see field 63.
62	10	c	Effective date of last change		Effective date of the last amendment to this data group.
63	10	o	Date closed in Faster Payments clearing		Status (field 61) becomes N when this date is reached.
64	1	o	Redirection from flag		R if this office is the redirection sort code for one or more offices; otherwise blank.
65	6	o	Redirect to sorting code		Six-digit sort code that output for this sort code is redirected to, or blank.
66	2	c	FPS settlement bank – connection type		Two-digit connectivity code, always 01 (FPS member).
67	2	c	Padding		nn, reserved for future expansion.
68	4	c	FPS settlement bank – bank code		Bank code of the FPS member that settles Faster Payments output for this sort code.
69	2	c	Handling bank – connection type		01 FPS member 02 direct agency 04 responding third party beneficiary 05 non-responding third party beneficiary.
70	2	c	Padding		nn, reserved for future expansion.
71	4	c	Handling bank – bank code		Bank code of the FPS member, agency or third party beneficiary that routed payments are sent to.
72	1	c	Accounts numbered flag		Y / N, same meaning as field 25.
73	1	o	Agency type		Mandatory when status (field 61) is A: D direct agency, payment requests go straight to the agency I indirect agency, requests go via an intermediary (FPS member or direct agency, i.e. handling bank connection type 01 or 02).
74	n/a		Spare field		Null.
Fields 75 – 96: Bank office details
75	1	m	Branch type indicator		M main bank office S sub-bank office, same sort code as the main office plus a suffix L linked bank office, linked to a main office with a different sort code.
76	6	c	Sort code of main branch		If field 75 is L, the sort code of the office this one is linked to; otherwise blank.
77	30	o	Major location name		Upper-case alphanumeric. Mainly Post Office postal districts (MANCHESTER, LONDON); Vocalink maintains the list.
78	30	o	Minor location name		Alphanumeric, any value.
79	35	o	Branch name or place		Alphanumeric. The actual place of the office.
80	1	o	Second entry indicator		1 or 2.
81	35	o	Branch name for second entry		Alphanumeric. When field 80 is 2, the alternative branch name.
82	35	o	Full branch title	Part 1	Extended title for the office. If the institution gives none, field 5 is copied here.
83	35	o		Part 2
84	35	o		Part 3
85	35	o	Address	Line 1	Address of the office; optional for sub and linked offices. Lines are not guaranteed to follow Post Office address standards.
86	35	o		Line 2
87	35	o		Line 3
88	35	o		Line 4
89	30	o	Town
90	30	o	County
91	4	o	Post code	Field 1	Post code of main offices; optional for sub and linked offices. Alphanumeric.
92	4	o	Post code	Field 2
93	10	o	Telephone	Area	International numbers are not split: fields 93 and 94 hold one number. Field 93 is space filled to 10 characters.
94	8	o	Telephone	No.
95	10	o	Telephone 2	Area	As fields 93 and 94. Field 95 is space filled to 10 characters.
96	8	o	Telephone 2	No.

Transaction types (fields 27 – 36)

Bacs transaction codes that cannot be sent to an office when the matching type is set in fields 27 to 36. Codes E1 and E2 are not covered by these flags; they are allowed at only a small number of sort codes, listed by Vocalink on request.

Type	Meaning	Transaction codes
DR	Direct Debits	01, 17, 18, 19
CR	Direct Credits	99
CU	Claims for unpaid cheques	13
PR	Life office debit	No longer used
BS	Building society credits	Z4
DV	Dividend interest payments	Z5
AU	Direct Debit instructions	0N, 0C, 0S

ISO country codes (field 10)

Set only on offices that are national central banks in the CHAPS clearing: AT Austria, BE Belgium, DK Denmark, DE Germany, ES Spain, FI Finland, FR France, GB United Kingdom, GR Greece, IE Ireland, IT Italy, LU Luxembourg, NL Netherlands, PT Portugal, SE Sweden.