Pattern

Regex for MICR code

9-digit Magnetic Ink Character Recognition code on cheques.

The MICR code regex is ^\d{9}$ — copy it below, or open it in the explainer for a token-by-token breakdown.

The pattern

^\d{9}$

Try in explainer → Download cheat sheet ↓

What it matches

400002001
110002345
560002789

What it doesn't match

40000200
4000020012
MICR12345

Notes & gotchas

Printed on the bottom of cheques. First 3 digits are the city code (matching the PIN code), next 3 are the bank code, last 3 are the branch code. Used in clearing.

Code in your language

Use the explainer's Code tab to generate ready-to-paste snippets in JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, and PHP for this pattern.

Open in explainer →

Token-by-token breakdown

Every part of the pattern, left to right:

Token	Meaning
`^`	start of string (or line in multiline mode)
`\d{9}`	exactly 9 times: digit (0–9)
`$`	end of string (or line in multiline mode)

About this pattern

India-specific identifiers are governed by various authorities (UIDAI for Aadhaar, Income Tax Dept for PAN, RBI for IFSC, GSTN for GSTIN, etc.). Regex confirms format; for definitive validation, integrate with the issuing authority's verification API.

Quick usage in different languages

This exact pattern — with the correct escaping and idioms for each language:

JavaScript: /^\d{9}$/.test(value)
Python: re.match(r"^\d{9}$", value)
Java: Pattern.compile("^\\d{9}$").matcher(value).matches()
C# / .NET: Regex.IsMatch(value, @"^\d{9}$")
Go: regexp.MustCompile(`^\d{9}$`).MatchString(value)
Ruby: /^\d{9}$/.match?(value)
PHP: preg_match('~^\d{9}$~', $value)

The explainer’s Code tab regenerates these for any pattern you paste, and the downloadable cheat sheet bundles the breakdown, all seven snippets, and the pitfalls below onto one printable page.

Common pitfalls

Anchored to the whole string. This pattern uses ^ and $, so it requires the entire input to match. To find it inside a longer text, drop the anchors and use the global (g) flag.
Escape it correctly per language. In Java and JavaScript strings each backslash must be doubled (\\d); in Python, Go, and C# use raw/verbatim strings so the backslashes survive.
Validate beyond format. Matching the format doesn't guarantee the value is real. Confirm the micr code against a source of truth (database, API, or checksum) where it matters.

Standards & sources

This pattern is based on the following authoritative specification(s) and issuing authorities. Formats can change — always confirm against the primary source.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Related patterns

More patterns in the India 🇮🇳 category: