How to Fill Out and Submit the CalWORKs Direct Deposit Authorization Form (CW 2203)

To have your CalWORKs cash aid deposited straight into your bank account instead of loaded onto an EBT card, you need to complete your county’s CalWORKs direct deposit authorization form, attach proof of your bank account, and turn it in to your local social services office. There is no single statewide form number, so the first step is asking your caseworker which version your county uses. After you submit, the county runs a roughly ten-day bank verification before any money moves electronically.¹

What You Need Before You Fill Anything Out

You need a checking or savings account that is already open and active at a bank or credit union.² The name on that account has to match the payee name on your CalWORKs case exactly, middle initial included. You must be the sole owner or a joint owner.³

Have these items in front of you when you sit down with the form:

Your CalWORKs case number.
Your Social Security number.
Your bank’s nine-digit routing number (bottom left of a personal check) and your account number (to the right of it).
A voided check if you are using a checking account, or a bank letter or statement showing the routing and account numbers if you are using savings. Some counties ask the bank itself to complete a section of the form for savings or credit union accounts.³

A quick boundary worth checking: mobile-only banks and credit unions that issue real routing and account numbers may qualify, but confirm with your county office before you submit. Peer-to-peer apps like Venmo and Cash App, which do not provide standard routing numbers, are unlikely to work.

Which Form Does Your County Use?

Each county uses its own version of the authorization form. Santa Clara County uses the SCD 1948. Los Angeles County uses the PA 1675.² Ask your caseworker, or look in your county’s forms library, for the correct version before you start writing anything down. The fields are the same no matter the form number.

How to Complete the Form

Fill in each field carefully. The two mistakes that most often sink an enrollment are a name mismatch between your case file and your bank account, and a mistyped account number.

Full legal name. Write it exactly as it appears on your CalWORKs case.
Social Security number. All nine digits; most forms do not want dashes.
Case number. This ties the deposit to your benefit record.
Account type. Mark checking or savings.
Routing transit number. The nine-digit code identifying your bank.
Account number. Double-check every digit. One wrong number can route your payment to someone else’s account or cause the whole transaction to reject.

Read the authorization line before you sign. By signing, you are allowing the county to deposit your benefits into the account and, if an overpayment later occurs, to debit the account to recover the excess. Attach your voided check or bank documentation.

Where to Turn the Form In

Submit the completed, signed form to your county social services office. Most counties accept it three ways:

In person, handed to your caseworker or dropped in a secure drop box at the office.
By mail, to the address printed on the form.
Through an encrypted upload on your county’s benefits portal, if one is offered.

Keep a copy of the form and anything you attached. If verification fails, having a copy means you are not starting from scratch.

What Happens After You Submit

The county sends a zero-dollar test transaction, called a pre-note, to your bank. This confirms the account exists and can receive electronic transfers, and it takes about ten calendar days.¹ Some counties quote a longer total processing window; Los Angeles County allows up to 20 business days from the date the form reaches the Auditor-Controller.³

Your first direct deposit lands on the first of the month after the next fiscal month-end run following a successful pre-note. In practice, that often means a wait of several weeks. Submit in early April, clear the pre-note in late April, and your first deposit may not arrive until June 1. Until then, your benefits keep arriving on your EBT card or as a paper warrant; your caseworker can set up whichever you prefer for the gap.¹

If the pre-note fails, it usually means the routing or account number was wrong, the account is closed, or the name on file does not match the bank’s records. The county notifies you by mail. You submit a new form with corrected information, and the ten-day clock starts over.

Changing or Canceling Later

Switching banks? Submit a new authorization form with the updated details before you close the old account. Account-change processing can take up to 30 calendar days from the date the county receives your request.⁴ Close the old account too soon and the bank will reject the deposit; rejected funds eventually come back to the county and get reissued through EBT or a paper warrant, but there is no set turnaround.

You can cancel direct deposit at any time and return to EBT. Ask your county for the cancellation form. In Los Angeles County that is the PA 1675-3.³ Cancellations typically move faster than enrollments; Riverside County processes them within five business days.⁴ Send the cancellation in well before your next payment date so a deposit does not head to an account you planned to close.

One Risk to Weigh Before You Enroll

If your bank account is overdrawn when the CalWORKs deposit arrives, the bank applies the money to the negative balance and any fees first. Whatever is left is what you can spend. The county does not replace benefits lost to bank fees or overdraft deductions.³ EBT does not carry that risk, because EBT funds are held separately and are not subject to bank garnishments or overdraft deductions. If keeping a positive balance is a struggle, staying on EBT is the safer path.

1
Santa Clara County Social Services Agency. CalSAWS Issuance Information and Direct Deposit Process – Section: Pre-Note Process
2
Santa Clara County Social Services Agency. EFT – Direct Deposit Overview
3
Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services. 44-303 Direct Deposit
4
Riverside County Department of Public Social Services. Direct Deposit Frequently Asked Questions