The Woodforest direct deposit form is a one-page PDF you download from woodforest.com, fill in with your routing number, account number, and employer details, sign, and hand to your employer’s payroll department. Woodforest’s routing number for ACH direct deposits is 113008465, and your account number is printed on the bottom of your checks or visible in online banking. The form itself takes about five minutes to complete.
What You Need Before You Start
Three pieces of information drive the whole form. Get any of them wrong and the deposit bounces back to your employer, which means starting over.
The first is Woodforest’s routing number: 113008465. This nine-digit number is the same for every Woodforest account regardless of which branch opened yours. You can confirm it on the bottom-left corner of any Woodforest check or inside your online banking portal.
The second is your personal account number, typically 8 to 12 digits long.1Xe. WOODFOREST NATIONAL BANK Routing Numbers It appears on the bottom of your checks to the right of the routing number, on your monthly statement, and in online banking. Do not confuse it with the check number, which is the shorter sequence at the far right.
The third is account type: checking or savings. The ACH network uses different transaction codes for each, so marking “savings” while writing a checking account number will cause the deposit to fail. The form has separate fields for the two; fill in only the one that applies.
Where to Get the Form
Download the “Direct Deposit – Automated Payment Request Form” as a PDF from Woodforest’s website.2Woodforest National Bank. Direct Deposit – Automated Payment Request Form Printed copies are also available at any Woodforest branch, including the ones located inside Walmart stores.
Some employers hand out their own direct deposit authorization form instead. Either version works. Your employer only needs the routing number, account number, and account type, and both forms collect the same core information.
How to Fill Out the Form
The form is split into two sections: your employer’s information at the top, your personal banking details below. Here is what belongs in each field.
- Employer or company name: your employer’s legal business name as it appears on your pay stub. If you work for a franchise or subsidiary, use the name on your paycheck rather than the parent company’s.
- Employer address, city, state, zip: the mailing address of your employer’s payroll office or corporate headquarters.
- Checking account number and routing number: fill in if your deposit goes to a checking account. Routing number is 113008465.
- Savings account number and routing number: fill in instead if the deposit goes to savings. Same routing number.
- Customer name: your first, middle, and last name exactly as they appear on your Woodforest account.
- Customer address, city, state, zip: your current home address on file with the bank.
- Telephone number: a number where payroll or the bank can reach you if something goes wrong.
- Signature and date: an unsigned form will be rejected. Your signature is what authorizes your employer to send electronic payments into the account.
Print clearly. A misread digit in the account number is the most common reason direct deposit setups fail.
How to Submit It
Hand the completed form to your employer’s payroll or human resources department. Many payroll offices also want a voided check attached so they can cross-check the routing and account numbers. To void a check, write “VOID” in large letters across the front.
If you don’t have checks, which is common with savings accounts and some checking accounts, ask a Woodforest teller for a direct deposit verification letter or print your account details from online banking. Most employers accept either substitute.
If your employer uses an online payroll portal such as ADP or Paychex, you may be able to skip the paper form entirely and type your Woodforest routing and account numbers straight into the system. Ask HR which method they prefer.
When Deposits Actually Start
Expect one to two full pay cycles before the first electronic deposit lands. Most payroll systems send a prenote first, a zero-dollar test transaction that confirms the routing and account numbers are valid before any real money moves.3DepositFix. ACH Deposit Prenote The prenote typically clears within three to five business days. If Woodforest’s system flags a problem, such as a mismatched name or a typo in the account number, the bank sends a notification-of-change code back so your employer can correct it.
During that transition window, you keep receiving paper checks or whatever payment method you were using. Once the first electronic deposit shows up, the setup is active. If a full pay cycle passes after the expected activation date and nothing arrives, contact your payroll department first. The issue is almost always on their end.
Woodforest’s own materials note that direct deposits may arrive up to one day before your scheduled payday.4Woodforest National Bank. Nine Tips to Simplify Your Finances Whether you actually see early access depends on when your employer transmits the payroll file to the ACH network. If they send it a day or two early, Woodforest can credit the account as soon as the file arrives.
Splitting Pay Between Multiple Accounts
To send part of your paycheck to savings and the rest to checking, or to accounts at different banks, set that up through your employer’s payroll system rather than through the bank. Most payroll platforms let you allocate deposits by a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of net pay, with one account designated as the “remainder” that catches whatever is left.
You typically need a separate direct deposit form, or a separate entry in the online portal, for each destination account. Woodforest’s form has fields for both a checking and a savings account, so if both target accounts are at Woodforest, a single form may cover it. If your employer’s payroll system does not support splits, you can set up an automatic transfer inside Woodforest’s online banking to move a set amount from checking to savings after each payday.
Federal Benefits Are Different
The Woodforest direct deposit form is for payments from an employer. Federal payments, including Social Security, VA benefits, and federal retirement pay, are set up through the paying agency instead. Federal law requires nearly all federal payments to be delivered electronically, with narrow hardship waivers from Treasury.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 3332 – Required Direct Deposit
For Social Security and SSI, sign in to the “my Social Security” portal at ssa.gov, select “Update bank details,” and enter Woodforest’s routing number and your account number.6Social Security Administration. Update Direct Deposit Some benefit types require a phone call instead, and the portal will tell you if yours is one of them. For VA benefits, update your information through VA.gov or by calling the VA. In either case, keep your old bank account open until the first payment arrives at Woodforest to avoid a gap.
Switching Banks Without a Gap
If you close your Woodforest account while deposits are still being sent to it, the ACH network returns the payment to the sender with a code indicating the account is closed, and your employer has to reissue your pay, usually as a paper check. That can delay your money by a week or more.
The safer sequence when switching banks is to open the new account first, submit a new direct deposit form to your employer, and wait until at least one full paycheck successfully lands in the new account before closing Woodforest. Keeping both accounts open for two to three pay cycles gives any straggling automatic payments time to catch up.