The California STD 699 form is the Direct Deposit Enrollment Authorization that state employees once used to start, change, or cancel electronic deposit of their pay. As of January 1, 2025, the State Controller’s Office no longer accepts paper STD 699 forms from employees. Direct deposit requests now go through the Cal Employee Connect (CEC) portal.1State Controller’s Office. Direct Deposit – Process Change Effective January 1, 2025 If you have access to the state’s computer network, your enrollment starts with a CEC account, not a printed form.
Enrolling Online Through Cal Employee Connect
Go to connect.sco.ca.gov, log in, and open the Employee Services Direct Deposit feature to submit your enrollment.2State Controller’s Office. Enroll in Direct Deposit You’ll get a confirmation email once the request is submitted. Save it. If you need to check status later, your departmental HR office will ask for a copy.
No CEC account yet? Register at connect.sco.ca.gov/register. You’ll need your Social Security number, date of birth, and information from any earnings statement issued between January 2017 and now. An earnings statement can be a direct deposit notice or a paper warrant notice. After the system validates your identity, you’ll create a username and password.3Cal Employee Connect. Register for Cal Employee Connect
Before you start, gather your bank’s nine-digit routing number and your account number. Both appear at the bottom of a physical check or in the account details section of your bank’s website or app. Know whether the account is checking or savings. Verify the numbers with your financial institution directly. An incorrect routing or account number is the most common reason enrollments fail, and the consequences — delayed pay or a returned deposit — are avoidable.
When the Paper STD 699 Is Still Used
The paper form hasn’t disappeared entirely. Departments with employees who don’t have access to the state’s computer network, such as field workers, can still have those employees complete a paper STD 699. The department’s payroll office then keys the information into the SCO’s 699 Excel File Generator and submits it electronically through ConnectHR.4State Controller’s Office. Payroll Procedures Manual Section J – Direct Deposit The employee never mails the paper form to the SCO; it stays with departmental payroll.
If your department has instructed you to use a paper STD 699 for this reason, the sections below walk through each part.
Filling Out the Paper STD 699
The form has five sections. Employees complete A through D. Section E belongs to the department’s payroll office.
Section A: Enrollment Action and Identity
Check the box for new enrollment, change, or cancellation. Enter your Social Security number and your full legal name — first, middle, last — as it appears in your state payroll records.5State of California Controller’s Office. STD 699 Direct Deposit Enrollment Authorization
Section B: Financial Institution Details
Required for new enrollments and changes. Skip it if you’re canceling. Mark whether the account is checking or savings. If you leave that blank, the SCO processes the account as checking. Enter the nine-digit routing number, your depositor account number, and the financial institution’s name and address.5State of California Controller’s Office. STD 699 Direct Deposit Enrollment Authorization
Section C: Authorization and Signature
Signing Section C gives the SCO permission to deposit your net pay electronically, recover overpayments from the designated account, and cancel the enrollment if the financial institution rejects the deposit. You also certify that 100% of the net deposit will not be sent to a financial institution outside the jurisdiction of the United States. Sign and date.5State of California Controller’s Office. STD 699 Direct Deposit Enrollment Authorization
Section D: Cancellation
If you checked “Cancel” in Section A, sign and date Section D. Skip Sections B and C.
Section E: Department Use Only
Your department’s payroll or personnel office fills Section E with the agency name, agency code, unit, authorized signature, and the date it received the form. Don’t complete this section yourself. Hand the completed form to your payroll office and let them finish it.5State of California Controller’s Office. STD 699 Direct Deposit Enrollment Authorization
What Happens After You Submit
Whether you enrolled online or your department keyed in a paper form, the SCO doesn’t start depositing right away. It first sends a prenote, a zero-dollar test transaction, to your financial institution so the bank can confirm your account type, routing number, and account number are valid before real money moves.4State Controller’s Office. Payroll Procedures Manual Section J – Direct Deposit
If the information clears, direct deposit activates within 15 to 20 working days after the prenote is sent.4State Controller’s Office. Payroll Procedures Manual Section J – Direct Deposit You’ll continue to receive paper warrants in the meantime. Once “direct deposit” appears on your earnings statement, the switch is complete.
If the prenote turns up a problem, the bank notifies the SCO. When the bank supplies the correct information, the SCO processes an administrative change and sends a new prenote. When it can’t, the SCO cancels the enrollment and contacts your department’s payroll office for corrected details. Paper warrants continue until the issue is resolved.
Changing or Canceling Direct Deposit
Switching banks or updating an account number follows the same path as a new enrollment. Submit the change through CEC, or through a paper STD 699 if you lack network access. The SCO terminates the old enrollment, sends a new prenote to the new institution, and the updated deposit takes roughly 15 to 20 working days to go live. Expect a paper warrant during that window.4State Controller’s Office. Payroll Procedures Manual Section J – Direct Deposit
To cancel direct deposit and return to paper warrants, submit a cancellation through CEC or have your department process one via ConnectHR. The only required information is your Social Security number and name.4State Controller’s Office. Payroll Procedures Manual Section J – Direct Deposit
The state can also cancel your enrollment on its own: if a payment is returned by the bank, if you request a disability benefit, or if it needs to recover or prevent an overpayment.6State Controller’s Office. Direct Deposit FAQ
If a Deposit Gets Returned
When a financial institution rejects a direct deposit, usually because the account was closed or the account number is invalid, the SCO can’t reissue your pay until the bank returns the funds. The bank typically sends the money back within five to seven days. Once the SCO has it, the office cancels the direct deposit enrollment and issues a paper warrant mailed to your address on file. Plan on three to five working days after the SCO receives the funds for the replacement warrant to arrive.6State Controller’s Office. Direct Deposit FAQ
This is where people get caught. Close a bank account without updating direct deposit first and your pay sits in limbo for roughly two weeks while the return-and-reissue cycle runs. Open the new account first, submit the change through CEC, and keep the old account open until you confirm deposits are hitting the new one.
Retirees Use a Different Form
The STD 699 is for active state employees. CalPERS retirees use a CalPERS-specific Direct Deposit Authorization form, available as a PDF on the CalPERS website, or they can enroll and update online by logging in to myCalPERS and choosing Payment Options under the Retirement tab.7CalPERS. Direct Deposit CalSTRS retirees likewise use a CalSTRS form rather than the STD 699. Retiree enrollment runs through the retirement system, not the SCO’s payroll system.