UK Sort Code & Bank Account Validator

UK Bank Account Validator

UK Bank Account Validator is a bulk UK sort code and account number checker: it runs the official Vocalink (Pay.UK) modulus checking rules, including all exceptions, so you can catch mistyped bank details before Direct Debits, payouts or Faster Payments.

Best for: Direct Debit and payout onboarding, payroll and supplier payment files, CRM and billing data cleansing.

How to validate UK sort codes and account numbers

1. Add accounts to Accounts: "08-99-99 66374958" or {"sortCode": "200915", "accountNumber": "41011166"}.
2. Click Start.
3. Filter on valid and read reason for any failures.

How it works

Downloads the latest Vocalink valacdos.txt and scsubtab.txt rules each run, with a bundled copy as fallback. It implements MOD10, MOD11 and DBLAL plus exceptions 1-14, and passes all of Vocalink's published test cases. 6- and 7-digit account numbers are zero-padded; 9/10-digit formats are not supported yet.

Output

sortCode, accountNumber, valid, modulusChecked, methods, exceptions, reason, tableSource

Pricing (pay-per-event)

• account-checked: $0.001 per result ($1 / 1,000). Platform usage is included; you pay only for results.
• Example: 10,000 accounts cost $10.00.

Example input

{
  "accounts": [
    "08-99-99 66374958",
    {
      "sortCode": "200915",
      "accountNumber": "41011166"
    }
  ]
}

Example output

Real output for 08-99-99 66374958 (a run on 15 Oct 2026). Failed or unchecked accounts also include a reason, e.g. when a foreign currency account cannot be modulus-checked.

{
  "input": {
    "sortCode": "08-99-99",
    "accountNumber": "66374958"
  },
  "sortCode": "08-99-99",
  "accountNumber": "66374958",
  "methods": [
    "MOD10"
  ],
  "exceptions": [],
  "valid": true,
  "modulusChecked": true,
  "tableSource": "live"
}

Use it via API, schedules and integrations

Run it in Apify Console, or call it from your own code with the Apify API or the Python and JavaScript clients. Save an input as a task and add a schedule to run it regularly, and send results to Slack, email, webhooks, Zapier, Make or n8n with Apify integrations. AI agents can find and run it through the Apify MCP server.

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/uk-sortcode-checker").call(run_input={"accounts": ["08-99-99 66374958"]})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

Use in Clay, Zapier, Make, n8n, Pipedream, Power Automate or Activepieces

All of them connect to Apify through their official Apify integrations, using your own Apify account: an API token from Apify Console > Settings > API & Integrations, or Apify sign-in for Power Automate. Runs bill to your Apify account at this Actor's pay-per-event price.

• Clay: save this Actor's input as an Apify task and copy it as JSON. In your Clay table, add the Run Apify Actor enrichment, choose it and paste the JSON into Input Data, mapping Clay columns into the fields. To pull a finished run into a new table, use the Import data from Apify Actor source.
• Zapier: use the Apify Run Actor action, or the Finished Actor run trigger followed by Fetch dataset items. Synchronous runs in Zapier stop after 30 seconds, so use the trigger for big batches.
• Make: add the Apify Run an Actor module with Run synchronously set to Yes, then Get Dataset Items with the run's dataset ID. For longer runs, use the Watch Actor Runs trigger.
• n8n: install the Apify node (@apify/n8n-nodes-apify, or search "Apify" on n8n Cloud) and use Run an Actor and get dataset.
• Pipedream: add the Apify app's Run Actor action, or Run Task Synchronously on one of this Actor's public example tasks (or your own saved task) to get the dataset items back in one step. For big batches, start from the New Finished Actor Run or New Finished Task Run trigger, then Get Dataset Items.
• Power Automate: add the Apify connector (a premium connector, currently in preview) and sign in with your Apify account. Use Run Actor with Enter custom value set to sterlingverify/uk-sortcode-checker and paste the input as JSON, then Get dataset items with the run's default dataset ID. For big batches, start the flow from the Actor run finished trigger instead.
• Activepieces: add the Apify piece and use Run Actor, or Run Task on one of this Actor's public example tasks (or your own saved task), then Get Dataset Items. For scheduled or big batches, use the Watch Actor Runs or Watch Task Runs trigger.
• Google Drive / Sheets: add Apify's Upload results to GDrive integration to a scheduled task to drop each run's CSV or XLSX into your team's Drive, or chain the Google Sheets Import & Export actor to append rows to a sheet.
• Slack alerts: add Apify's Slack integration to a scheduled task to post each run's results to your team channel, or start a check from Slack with /apify call and your task ID.
• Any HTTP tool or script: send one request and get the results back as JSON. Runs must finish within 5 minutes.

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/sterlingverify~uk-sortcode-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @input.json

FAQ

Does a pass mean the account exists?

No. A modulus pass means the number is well-formed, not that the account exists, is open or belongs to the payee. Use Confirmation of Payee for that.

Which account number formats are supported?

8-digit numbers, with 6- and 7-digit numbers zero-padded. 9- and 10-digit formats are not supported yet.

Disclaimer

A modulus pass means the number is well-formed, not that the account exists, is open, or belongs to the payee; use Confirmation of Payee for that. Sort codes absent from the table can't be checked and are returned as valid, per Vocalink guidance. Uses Vocalink's publicly published modulus checking data; not affiliated with Vocalink or Pay.UK. No bank-name lookup (the EISCD is not public).

Related sterlingVerify tools

Part of the sterlingVerify UK payments, KYB and data toolkit on Apify Store:

• IBAN Validator: offline bulk IBAN validation and parsing
• BIN Lookup: bulk BIN lookup for scheme, type, issuer and country
• UK Company Check: Companies House, VAT and UK sanctions KYB check in one call
• EU VAT Number Validator (VIES): bulk EU VAT number checks against VIES