Direct Deposit Authorization Form
Authorises an employer to pay wages straight into a bank account.
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| Employee | [employee name] |
| Employee ID | [employee id] |
| Employer | [employer] |
1. Account details
| Bank | [bank name] |
| Account type | Checking |
| Routing number | [routing number] |
| Account number | [account number] |
| Amount to this account | Full net pay |
2. Authorization
I authorise [employer] to deposit my net pay directly into the account above, and to reverse any deposit made in error. This authority stays in force until I cancel it in writing.
I confirm the account details above are correct and that the account is in my name or one I am entitled to use.
What is a Direct Deposit Authorization?
A direct deposit authorisation is the form on which an employee gives their employer the bank account to pay wages into, and the written authority to pay into it. Payroll will not act on a verbal instruction or a note in a chat message, because a wrong or unauthorised account is very hard to unwind once a payment run has gone out. The form is the instruction, the evidence of who gave it, and the record of when.
The form is completed by new starters, by anyone changing bank or closing an account, by contractors on regular payment runs, and by pensioners setting up an annuity or pension credit. Payroll keeps it on the personnel file as the standing authority for every future payment, which is why it matters that it is legible, signed and dated. If a payment ever goes to the wrong place, the first document anybody looks at is this one, and it is read as written rather than as intended.
The account identifiers depend on the country’s payments system. In the United States it is a routing number and account number, plus the account type, and often a voided check. In the UK it is a sort code and account number. In India it is the account number and the IFSC, with the name exactly as the bank holds it. Australia uses a BSB and account number; the euro area uses IBAN and BIC. Use the identifiers your system actually uses, and copy them from the bank’s own record — a statement, a passbook or the bank’s app — rather than from memory or from an old note.
The form authorises a credit into your account, and typically also lets the employer reverse a payment made in error — read that clause before signing, because it is the one line with real consequences. It does not change your pay, your tax details or your terms of employment; those are separate forms. It is not a direct debit mandate and gives no general power to take money from the account. And it is not a bank document: your bank is not a party to it, so a change made here does not tell your bank anything.
What to put in a Direct Deposit Authorization
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issuing organisation | For example: Maple Grove Homeowners Association |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Employee code optional | For example: EMP-20418 |
| Bank name | For example: First Commerce Bank |
| Account type | For example: Checking |
| Routing number | For example: 091000019 |
| Account number | For example: 1198427730 |
| Amount to this account optional | Or an amount / percentage if you split across accounts |
How to write a Direct Deposit Authorization
Copy the numbers from the bank itself
Take the account number and the routing identifier from a bank statement, passbook, or the bank’s own app or website. A transposed digit in a routing number or a wrong IFSC branch code sends a payment to the wrong institution or bounces it days later, and either way you are unpaid until the next run. Read the digits back against the source once before you sign.
Match the account name to your payroll record
The name on the account should match the name your employer holds. If you are Rebecca on payroll and R. J. Okonkwo at the bank, write both and tell payroll, because some banking systems check name against account. A joint account is usually acceptable if you are a named holder — confirm with payroll first rather than discovering the policy on payday.
State the account type
Tick whether the account is checking or savings in the United States, or current or savings wherever those are the terms your bank uses. This is not decoration: the type determines how the payment is routed, and a credit sent to the wrong type against a correct account number can be rejected. If your bank calls the product something else, write the name the bank uses on the statement.
Set the split and where the remainder goes
If you are dividing pay across accounts, state a fixed amount or a percentage for each — not both — and name clearly which account receives the balance. A form that allocates a fixed sum to savings without saying where the rest goes leaves payroll guessing, and payroll will not guess. Give the full set of identifiers for every account listed, not just the first.
Hand it to payroll directly, on paper
The completed form is a full set of bank credentials. Give it to payroll in person, or upload it through the HR system your employer names for the purpose. Do not send it as an ordinary email attachment, a photo in a chat app, or a scan on a shared drive. Shred any working copy, and keep the old account open until you have seen the first payment land in the new one.
Common mistakes
- Writing the account number from memory or from an old cheque book, which is how a payment reaches a closed account and takes weeks to trace.
- Emailing or messaging a photograph of the completed form, putting a full set of bank credentials into an inbox that neither you nor payroll controls.
- Using the numbers printed on a paying-in or deposit slip in the United States, which can carry an internal routing number rather than the one used for electronic credits.
- Closing the old account as soon as the form is submitted, before the first payment has actually arrived in the new one.
- Leaving the form unsigned or undated, which means payroll holds no authority to act on it and your pay stays where it was.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take for direct deposit to start?
Expect at least one full pay run, and sometimes more, because many employers verify the account with a test transmission before the first live payment. The date that governs it is your employer’s payroll cut-off, not the day you handed the form in. Ask payroll for that cut-off and for which pay date they expect to use the new account, and keep the old account open until then.
Where do I find my routing number and account number?
On a bank statement, in the bank’s app, or on the account details page of online banking. In the United States the routing and account numbers are printed along the bottom of a check. In the UK the sort code and account number appear on a statement and usually on the card. In India the IFSC is printed on a cheque leaf and shown in the app. Use the bank’s own record, not a note you made earlier.
Can I split my pay between two bank accounts?
Most payroll systems allow it, though some limit the number of accounts. State either a fixed amount or a percentage for each account, never a mixture, and say explicitly which account takes whatever is left after the other allocations. List complete details for every account. If your employer’s system does not support splits, the alternative is a standing order from your own account after payday.
Can my employer take money out of my account with this form?
It is an authority to pay money in, not a general authority to take money out — that would be a direct debit mandate, which is a different instrument. Most direct deposit forms do include a clause permitting the employer to reverse or recover a payment made in error, such as a duplicated salary. Read that clause before signing, and ask what the process is if it is ever used.
Do I need to attach a voided check?
In the United States employers commonly ask for one, because it confirms the routing and account numbers as the bank prints them. If you have no chequebook, most banks will issue a direct deposit or account verification letter instead. Outside the United States the equivalent is usually a cancelled cheque leaf, a statement page or a bank letter — ask payroll which they accept before you go to the branch.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.