There is a form or letter for almost every bank-related task — but the hard part is usually knowing which one. Set up pay at a new job, dispute a charge you did not make, prove your account to a landlord, stop a payment, share your details safely, document a down-payment gift: each calls for a different, specifically worded document, and using the wrong one wastes time or gets ignored. This page is the router. Tell it what you want to happen, and it points you to the exact form to generate and the plain-English guide that explains it.
Use the tables below as a decision guide: find the row that matches your situation, and follow it to the form and the explainer. If you would rather browse everything at once, the full forms catalog lists every document by category. This is a routing guide, not legal or financial advice; each linked guide covers the rules for its situation in detail.
Getting paid, splitting, or proving income (payroll)
Anything to do with how your wages arrive — starting direct deposit, splitting a paycheck, stopping it, or proving your income or deposits to someone else — is a payroll document. See the direct deposit & payroll guides for the full set.
| If you want to… | Use this form | Read the guide |
|---|---|---|
| Get your wages paid into your bank account at a new job | Direct deposit authorization | Set up direct deposit at a new job |
| Split each paycheck across two or more accounts | Payroll deposit allocation | Split a paycheck across multiple accounts |
| Stop direct deposit to an old account (switching banks) | Direct deposit cancellation | Change direct deposit when switching banks |
| Prove your direct deposit is active for a lender or agency | Direct deposit verification | Prove your direct deposit is active |
| Prove your job and income to a landlord or lender | Employment verification letter | How an employment verification letter works |
Proving, changing, closing, or protecting an account (banking)
These cover the account itself — proving it exists, sharing its details, changing or closing it, locking it down after fraud, or disputing a bank fee. The banking documents guides explain each, and the voided check generator handles the most common request of all: sharing your routing and account numbers.
| If you want to… | Use this form | Read the guide |
|---|---|---|
| Share your routing and account numbers for deposit or autopay | Voided check generator | What is a voided check? |
| Prove your account ownership and status to a third party | Bank account verification letter | How to get a bank verification letter |
| Tell billers and payroll your bank details changed | Bank account change notification | Notify companies of a bank account change |
| Close a bank account in writing | Bank account closure request | How to close a bank account the right way |
| Freeze your account after a lost card or suspected fraud | Account freeze request | Freeze a bank account after fraud |
| Dispute an incorrect or unfair bank fee | Bank fee dispute letter | How to dispute a bank fee |
| Add or remove someone on a joint account | Joint account authorization | Joint account vs. authorized user vs. POA |
Credit, debt, and loan letters (credit)
When something is wrong with your credit or a debt — a report error, a collector you do not recognize, a payment to stop, a bounced check, a loan to pay off — federal law gives you specific, time-bound rights, each exercised with a letter. The credit & debt guides explain the FCRA and FDCPA deadlines that apply.
| If you want to… | Use this letter | Read the guide |
|---|---|---|
| Fix an error on your credit report | Credit dispute letter | Dispute a credit report error |
| Make a collector prove a debt is yours | Debt validation letter | Debt validation and your FDCPA rights |
| Block a specific check or scheduled payment | Stop payment request | Stop payment on a check or ACH |
| Demand payment on a check that bounced | Returned check demand | Send a returned-check demand letter |
| Get an exact loan payoff figure in writing | Payoff request letter | Request a loan payoff amount |
Home buying and tax forms (mortgage & tax)
Two more situations have a single common document each: documenting a down-payment gift for a mortgage underwriter, and supplying your taxpayer ID to a business that pays you. See the mortgage guides and tax form guides for the details.
| If you want to… | Use this form | Read the guide |
|---|---|---|
| Document gifted down-payment money for a lender | Mortgage gift letter | How a mortgage gift letter works |
| Give a business your taxpayer ID as a contractor | W-9 form | W-9 vs. W-4 vs. 1099: which do you need? |
Still not sure which form?
If your situation does not map cleanly to one row, narrow it down by asking what you are trying to make happen. Are you trying to receive money (a deposit), send or stop money (a payment), prove something about your account (a verification), or assert a right when something went wrong (a dispute or demand)? That category points you to the right table above. A few quick disambiguations help with the most common mix-ups:
- Sharing your account numbers (for a deposit or autopay) → a voided check, not a payment instrument. To compare it with cashier's and certified checks, see cashier's vs. certified vs. voided.
- Stopping a payment → use a stop payment for one item not yet paid, an ACH cancellation to end a recurring series, or a dispute for a charge that already posted — explained in stop payment vs. cancel vs. dispute.
- Proving income or an account → a verification letter or employment verification, which share only what is needed — not a full statement.
- Paying someone electronically → an ACH authorization for recurring debits or a wire for a one-off; see ACH vs. wire.
The bottom line
Almost every bank task has a matching document; the skill is picking the right one. Match the form to the outcome you want: receive money with a direct deposit authorization, prove your account with a verification letter, change or close it with a change notice or closure request, authorize or stop a payment with the right ACH or stop-payment form, and assert a right with a dispute or demand letter. Use the tables above to route your exact situation to the form and its guide — or browse the complete forms catalog to see everything in one place.