ISCD Specification, eSortcode.com

ISCD Specification

Introduction
This guide provides details of the format of the Industry Sortcode Directory(ISCD) data that is returned when a call is made to the ValidateAccountGetBranchDetails or the BranchDetails Methods of the eSortcode BankDetails Web Service.
The industry sorting code directory (ISCD) is a database of information about all the bank/building society branches and bank offices that participate in one or more of the UK clearings systems:
*	BACS - Bulk electronic clearing
*	CHAPS Sterling - High value, same day sterling payment clearing
*	CHAPS Euro - High value, same day euro payment clearing
*	Cheque and Credit Clearing - Cheque clearing for Great Britain & Northern Ireland.
The ISCD is maintained and supplied by Voca Limited, on behalf of the banking industry, and the copyright is owned by APACS Administration Limited.
This document describes the data that is held on the ISCD, and the format that the ISCD is provided in for customers of the ISCD service.

Fields
Each branch or bank office on the ISCD is identified by either a sorting code, BIC (bank identifier code) or both. Some branches have subbranches, also know as non-accounting branches. Subbranches have the same sorting code as the main bank office, but to uniquely identify them they have a two-digit suffix after the sorting code. The suffix is automatically allocated by Voca, and are numbered in sequence starting with 01 for the first subbranch. For example, sorting code 00-00-00 would represent the main bank office, and the first subbank office registered would have the suffix 01.
Clearing requirements:
All bank offices participating in any of the following clearings must have a sorting code:
*	BACS
*	CHAPS Sterling
*	C&CCC.
Every bank office with a sorting code does not necessarily participate in all these clearings, however, once a sorting code has been issued to a bank office, the same sorting code will be used in all of the clearings.
All bank offices participating in the CHAPS Euro service must have a BIC , however not every bank office with a BIC necessarily participates in CHAPS Euro.
Sorting code and BIC allocation
Members have ranges of sorting codes that they can allocate to bank offices. BICS are allocated for international payment services over the SWIFT network.
Each record on the ISCD has 82 fields. The 82 fields are grouped into "data groups" according to the clearing/use they relate to. The data groups that make up the 82 fields are:
*	General - General details about the bank office/branch
*	BACS - Details of the branch's participation in BACS clearing service
*	CHAPS Sterling - Details of the branch's participation in CHAPS Sterling clearing service
*	CHAPS Euro - Details of the branch's participation in CHAPS Euro clearing service
*	C&CCC - Details of the branch's participation in C&CCC clearing service
*	Printed information - Details of the branch's requirements for the UK Clearings Directory.

note: All date fields will be in the format dd/mm/yyyy unless otherwise stated.

	Group	Field Name	Size	Description
1	General	GENERALSortingCode	6 char	Will be numeric.
2		GENERALBIC1	8 char	Will be alphanumeric.
3		GENERALBIC2	3 char	Will be alphanumeric.
4		GENERALSubBranchSuffix	2 char	Will be numeric.
5		GENERALShortBranchTitle	27 char	* Will be alphanumeric * Official title of each branch, as appears on cheque books.
6		GENERALShortNameOwningBank	20 char	* Will be alphanumeric * Name is formally approved by APACS .
7		GENERALFullNameOwningBankLine1	35 char	* Will be alphanumeric * Name is formally approved by APACS .
8		GENERALFullNameOwningBankLine2	35 char	* Will be alphanumeric * Name is formally approved by APACS .
9		GENERALBankCodeOwningBank	4 char	* Will be numeric * The numeric code as generated and allocated by Voca.
10		GENERALNationalCentralBankCountryCode	2 char	Will be blank or, for bank offices that are T ARGET NCBs, field will be the two-character ISO country code for the country the bank office is the NCB for. For a full list see Appendix 2 at end of this document.
11		GENERALSupervisoryBody	1 char	* For bank offices that are agencies in one or more of the clearings, specifies the authorising body. Will be either: - A for Bank of England - B for Building Society Commission - C for Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man authorities - D for Other * Otherwise will be blank.
12		GENERALDeletedDate	10 char	When a bank office is closed in all services it is removed from the ISCD. This field shows the date the bank office will be deleted from the ISCD, if populated before 6 June 2005. Otherwise, the field will be blank. If the last service was set to close after the 6 June 2005, the bank office's deleted date can be ascertained from fields 17, 41, 47 and 56.
13		GENERALDateofLastChange	10 char	Will be the date the last amendment was made to the any of the clearing groups or the print group. Note: This field will be space filled to 20 characters.
14		GENERALPrintIndicator	1 char	Specifies how the bank office's details will appear in the UK Clearings Directory. Will be either: * 0 No special printing requirements, print all * 1 Do not print "sub" or "linked" after bank office names * 2 Do not print in the alphabetically sorted section If set, fields 63 to 82 are often blank * 3 Do not print in the numerically sorted section * 4 Do not print "sub" or "linked" after bank office names and do not print in the numerically sorted section * 5 Do not print any bank office information If set, fields 63 to 82 are often blank. Note: 5 also suppresses sort code in the S WIFT Database Plus.
15	BACS	BACSStatus	1 char	Will be either: * M Bank office of B ACS member, accepts B ACS payments * A Bank office of agency bank, accepts B ACS payments * N Bank office does not accept B ACS payments See field 17.
16		BACSDateofLastChange	10 char	Will be the effective date of the last amendment made to this data group (ie the bank office's B ACS information).
17		BACSDateClosedInBACSClearing	10 char	Will be the date the bank office will be closed in the B ACS clearing. The date will be set at the same time as the status (field 15) is set to N.
18		BACSRedirectionFromFlag	1 char	If the bank office is set as the redirection sorting code for one or more other bank offices, will be set to R. Otherwise, the field will be blank.
19		BACSRedirectToSortcode	6 char	Will be either: * The six-digit sorting code to which output destined for this sorting code will be redirected * Blank.
20		BACSSettlementBank	4 char	Will be the numeric, Voca generated, bank code of the B ACS member that settles the B ACS output for this sorting code. For B ACS members this will be the same as field 9. For agencies in B ACS this will be the bank code of one of the B ACS members.
21		BACSSettlementSection	2 char	Will be numeric. Data required for B ACS output and settlement, specified by the B ACS member.
22		BACSSettlementSubSection	2 char	Will be numeric. Data required for B ACS output and settlement, specified by the B ACS member.
23		BACSHandlingBank	4 char	Will be the numeric, Voca generated, bank code of the B ACS member that handles the B ACS output for this bank office.
24		BACSHandlingBankStream	2 char	Each B ACS member can divide its output into one or more streams. This will be the numeric code of the output stream specified, by the handling bank, for output destined for this bank office.
25		BACSAccountsNumberedFlag	2 char	Will be either: * Y Bank office has numbered accounts Transactions destined for this bank office will have the account number checked during validation * N Bank office does not have numbered accounts Transactions destined for this bank office will not have their account number checked during validation.
26		BACSDDIVoucherFlag	1 char	Will be either: * Y Bank office cannot accept output of electronic DDIs Requires printed vouchers * N Bank office can accept output of electronic DDIs Does not require printed vouchers.
27		BACSTransactionsDisallowedDR	2 char	Will be DR if the bank office cannot accept DR transaction types, otherwise will be blank. See Appendix 1 at end of this document.
28		BACSTransactionsDisallowedCR	2 char	Will be CR if the bank office cannot accept CR transaction types, otherwise will be blank. See Appendix 1 at end of this document.
29		BACSTransactionsDisallowedCU	2 char	Will be CU if the bank office cannot accept CU transaction types, otherwise will be blank. See Appendix 1 at end of this document.
30		BACSTransactionsDisallowedPR	2 char	Will be null.
31		BACSTransactionsDisallowedBS	2 char	Will be BS if the bank office cannot accept BS transaction types, otherwise will be blank. See Appendix 1 at end of this document.
32		BACSTransactionsDisallowedDV	2 char	Will be DV if the bank office cannot accept DV transaction types, otherwise will be blank. See Appendix 1 at end of this document.
33		BACSTransactionsDisallowedAU	2 char	Will be AU if the bank office cannot accept AU transaction types, otherwise will be blank. See Appendix 1 at end of this document.
34		BACSTransactionsDisallowedSpare1	2 char	Will be null.
35		BACSTransactionsDisallowedSpare2	2 char	Will be null.
36		BACSTransactionsDisallowedSpare3	2 char	Will be null.
37		BACSSpare1	n/a	Will be null.
38	CHAPS Sterling	CHAPSSTERLINGReturnIndicator	1 char	Will be either: * R If the bank office is the nominated return office The office to which returned C HAPS £ payments should be sent * blank.
39		CHAPSSTERLINGStatus	1 char	Will be either: * D Bank office is a direct office of a C HAPS member that accepts C HAPS £ payments * I Bank office is an indirect office of a C HAPS member or agency bank that accepts C HAPS £ payments * N Bank office does not accept C HAPS £ payments See field 41. Note: a direct office is bank office that is part of the S WIFT closed user group.
40		CHAPSSTERLINGEffectiveDateOfLastChange	10 char	Will be the effective date of the last amendment made to this data group (ie the bank office's C HAPS £ information).
41		CHAPSSTERLINGDateClosed	10 char	Will be the date the bank office will be closed in the C HAPS £ clearing. The date will be set at the same time as the status (field 39) is set to N.
42		CHAPSSTERLINGSettlementMember	3 char	Will be the numeric C HAPS ID of the C HAPS £ member that settles the C HAPS £ payments for this bank office. For C HAPS £ members this will be the same as field 9. For agencies in C HAPS £ this will be the bank code of one of the C HAPS £ members. Note: this is not the B ACS bank code. It is a numeric code used in both C HAPS clearings, and the first digit is always zero.
43		CHAPSSTERLINGRoutingBICField1	8 char	Will be alphanumeric. Specifies the S WIFT closed user group to which C HAPS £ payments for this bank office should be routed.
44		CHAPSSTERLINGRoutingBICField2	3 char	Will be alphanumeric. Specifies the S WIFT closed user group to which C HAPS £ payments for this bank office should be routed.
45	CHAPS Euro	CHAPSEUROStatus	1 char	Will be either: * D Bank office is a direct office of a C HAPS member that accepts C HAPS € payments * I Bank office is an indirect office of a C HAPS member or agency bank that accepts C HAPS € payments * N Bank office does not accept C HAPS € payments See field 47. Note: a direct office is bank office that is part of the S WIFT closed user group.
46		CHAPSEUROEffectiveDateOfLastChange	10 char	Will be the effective date of the last amendment made to this data group (ie the bank office's C HAPS € information).
47		CHAPSEURODateClosed	10 char	Will be the date the bank office will be closed in the C HAPS € clearing. The date will be set at the same time as the status (field 45) is set to N.
48		CHAPSEURORoutingBICField1	8 char	Will be alphanumeric. Specifies the S WIFT closed user group to which C HAPS € payments for this bank office should be routed.
49		CHAPSEURORoutingBICField2	3 char	Will be alphanumeric. Specifies the S WIFT closed user group to which C HAPS € payments for this bank office should be routed.
50		CHAPSEUROSettlementMember	3 char	Will be the numeric C HAPS ID of the C HAPS € member that settles the C HAPS € payments for this bank office. For C HAPS € members this will be the same as field 9. For agencies in C HAPS € this will be the bank code of one of the C HAPS € members. Note: this is not the B ACS bank code. It is a numeric code used in both C HAPS clearings, and the first digit is always zero.
51		CHAPSEUROReturnIndicator	61 char	Will be either: * R If the bank office is the nominated return office The office to which returned C HAPS € € payments should be sent * blank.
52		CHAPSEUROSwiftData	5 char	Will be alphanumeric. For bank offices not in Chaps €, will be blank. For bank offices in C HAPS €, will be the RTGS indicator and the Target status separated by a forward slash character (/). The RTGS indicator will be either: * Y Where C HAPS € is the preferred real time gross settlement system to be used for payments to this bank office * N Where C HAPS € is not the preferred real time gross settlement system to be used for payments to this bank office. The Target status will be either: * CHP The owning bank of the bank office is a C HAPS € member, and the country code part of the B IC is GB * CH+ For all other circumstances.
53		CHAPSEUROSpare1	n/a	Will be null.
54	C&CCC	CCCCStatus	1 char	Will be either: * M Bank office of a C&CCC member * F Bank office of a full agency bank * D Bank office of a debit agency bank * N Bank office is not part of C&CCC clearing See field 56.
55		CCCCeffectiveDateofLastChange	10 char	Will be the effective date of the last amendment made to this data group (ie the bank office's C&CCC information).
56		CCCCDateClosed	10 char	Will be the date the bank office will be closed in the C&CCC clearing. The date will be set at the same time as the status (field 54) is set to N.
57		CCCCSettlementBank	3 char	Will be the numeric, Voca generated, bank code of the C&CCC member that settles the C&CCC output for this bank office. For C&CCC members this will be the same as field 9. For agencies in C&CCC this will be the bank code of one of the C&CCC members. Note: This field will be space filled to 4 characters.
58		CCCCDebitAgencySortingCode	6 char	If the status (field 54) is set to D, will be the sorting code of the bank office that handles cheque clearing for this bank office. Otherwise will be blank.
59		CCCCReturnIndicator	1 char	Will be null.
60		CCCCGBNIIndicator	2 char	Will be alphanumeric. For C&CCC purposes, this field identifies whether an office is in mainland Great Britain (GB) or Northern Ireland (NI). This field may be blank. Note: This field will be space filled to 20 characters.
61	Print	PRINTBranchTypeIndicator	1 char	Will be either: * M Bank office is a main bank office * S Bank office is a subbank office Same sorting code as the main bank office but with a subbank office suffix * L Bank office is a linked bank office Linked to a main bank office with different sorting code.
62		PRINTSortcodeOfMainBranch	6 char	If the branch type indicator (field 61) is set to L, will be the sorting code of the bank office this bank office is linked to. Otherwise will be blank.
63		PRINTMajorLocationName	30 char	Will be alphanumeric, and all characters will be upper case. Used to effect the layout of the information about this bank office in the UKCD. Principally, these are the Post Office postal districts eg MANCHESTER, LONDON. Voca maintains a table of major locations.
64		PRINTMinorLocationName	30 char	Will be alphanumeric. Used to effect the layout of the information about this bank office in the UKCD. These can be any values.
65		PRINTBranchNameOrPlace	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. Used for bank offices that are to appear in the UKCD, it defines the actual place of the bank office.
66		PRINTSecondEntryIndicator	1 char	If the bank office details are to be printed in the alphabetical section of the UKCD (see field 14), determines whether the details of the bank office appear once or twice. Will be either: * 1 Bank office is to appear once in alphabetical section Under the branch or place name * 2 Bank office is to appear twice in alphabetical section Under the branch or place name and branch name for second entry.
67		PRINTBranchNameForSecondEntry	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. If field 66 is set to 2, this field will contain the alternative branch name used for the bank office's second entry in the alphabetical section of the UKCD.
68		PRINTFullBranchTitlePart1	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. This is an extended title for the bank office. If the institution does not provide a full branch title, the details in field 5 will be copied here.
69		PRINTFullBranchTitlePart2	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. This is an extended title for the bank office. If the institution does not provide a full branch title, the details in field 5 will be copied here.
70		PRINTFullBranchTitlePart3	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. This is an extended title for the bank office. If the institution does not provide a full branch title, the details in field 5 will be copied here.
71		PRINTAddressLine1	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the address of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional. Note: the database is not guaranteed to have the correct pieces of data in the correct fields to conform to Post Office address standards.
72		PRINTAddressLine2	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the address of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional. Note: the database is not guaranteed to have the correct pieces of data in the correct fields to conform to Post Office address standards.
73		PRINTAddressLine3	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the address of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional. Note: the database is not guaranteed to have the correct pieces of data in the correct fields to conform to Post Office address standards.
74		PRINTAddressLine4	35 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the address of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional. Note: the database is not guaranteed to have the correct pieces of data in the correct fields to conform to Post Office address standards.
75		PRINTTown	30 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the address of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional. Note: the database is not guaranteed to have the correct pieces of data in the correct fields to conform to Post Office address standards.
76		PRINTCounty	30 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the address of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional. Note: the database is not guaranteed to have the correct pieces of data in the correct fields to conform to Post Office address standards.
77		PRINTPostcodeField1	4 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the post code of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional.
78		PRINTPostcodeField2	4 char	Will be alphanumeric. For main bank offices (see field 61) to be printed in the UKCD, the post code of the bank office. For sub and linked bank offices this field is optional.
79		PRINTTelephoneArea	10 char	Will be alphanumeric. Note: international telephone numbers are not split into area and number. The number is stored as if fields 79 and 80 are one. Note: Field 80 will be space filled to 10 characters.
80		PRINTTelephoneNumber	8 char	Will be alphanumeric. Note: international telephone numbers are not split into area and number. The number is stored as if fields 79 and 80 are one. Note: Field 80 will be space filled to 10 characters.
81		PRINTTelephone2Area	10 char	Will be alphanumeric. Note: international telephone numbers are not split into area and number. The number is stored as if fields 81 and 82 are one. Note: Field 82 will be space filled to 10 characters.
82		PRINTTelephone2Number	8 char	Will be alphanumeric. Note: international telephone numbers are not split into area and number. The number is stored as if fields 81 and 82 are one. Note: Field 82 will be space filled to 10 characters.

Appendix 1 - Transaction Types

The following table shows the transaction codes that are cannot be sent to a bank office, when the corresponding transaction type is set for a bank office (fields 27 to 36).

Transaction codes E1 and E2 are not disallowed at sorting codes by any of the above transaction types, however they automatically disallowed at all but a small number of sorting codes. For details of the sorting codes at which E1 and E2 are allowed, contact Voca.

	Transaction Type Code	Transaction Codes
DR	Direct Debits	01, 17, 18, 19
CR	Direct Credits	99
CU	Claims for Unpaid Cheques	01, 17, 18, 19
PR	Life Office Debit	No longer used
BS	Building Society Credits	Z4
DV	Dividend Interest Payments	Z5
AU	Direct Debit Instructions	0N, 0C, 0S

Appendix 2 - ISO Country Codes

Field 10 of the ISCD records is used to specify which bank offices are the national central banks (NCB) in the C HAPS Sterling and C HAPS Euro clearings. For those bank offices that are an NCB, field 10 is populated with the country code for that country. The following table details the countries and their ISO country codes.

Country	Code
Austria	AT
Belgium	BE
Denmark	DK
Germany	DE
Spain	ES
Finland	FI
France	FR
United Kingdom	GB
Greece	GR
Ireland	IE
Italy	IT
Luxembourg	LU
The Netherlands	NL
Portugal	PT
Sweden	SE