To transfer money to an escrow account, you send a wire transfer or deliver a cashier’s check to the title or settlement company handling your real estate transaction, using written wire instructions from the escrow officer that you have verified by phone. Most buyers do this at least twice: an earnest money deposit of roughly 1–3% of the purchase price when the seller accepts the offer, and the balance of the closing funds shortly before the transaction finalizes.
Which Payment Methods Escrow Companies Accept
Most states have “good funds” laws requiring every dollar used at closing to be immediately available and verifiable. Personal checks fail that test because they can take days to clear. Three forms of payment generally qualify:
- Wire transfer. The standard method for large sums. Funds arrive the same day and the escrow company can verify receipt immediately.
- Cashier’s check. Issued by your bank and drawn on the bank’s own funds. Title companies sometimes cap the amount they will accept this way, occasionally as low as $10,000, so confirm the limit before your closing date.
- Certified check. Your personal check with a bank guarantee attached. Accepted in some jurisdictions but less common than a cashier’s check.
For an earnest money deposit of a few thousand dollars, a cashier’s check is often the simplest route. For closing funds, title companies almost always prefer or require a wire because verification is instant and no returned-check risk can delay signing.
Get the Wire Instructions From Your Escrow Officer
Before you can send anything, the escrow or settlement officer needs to give you a written wire instructions document. It contains the identifiers your bank will use to route the funds:
- The full legal name of the title or escrow company receiving the money.
- The name of the bank where the escrow account is held.
- The nine-digit ABA routing number that identifies that bank inside the Federal Reserve system.
- The escrow trust account number.
- A reference or file number, usually tied to the property address or a transaction ID, so the escrow company can match the funds to your deal.
Accuracy matters at every character. One wrong digit in the routing or account number can land your money in a suspense account, or with an unintended recipient. Read every field twice before you enter it into your bank’s system.
Verify the Instructions Before You Send a Dime
Real estate wire fraud is one of the fastest-growing financial crimes in the country. Criminals break into the email accounts of real estate agents, title officers, or attorneys and send buyers convincing but fraudulent wire instructions that redirect closing funds to an account they control. Reported losses from real estate wire fraud exceeded $500 million in 2024 alone.
The single most important protection is a phone call. Call the settlement office before sending any money, using a number you already have from the signed contract, a business card, or a verified directory. Do not use a phone number that appears in the email carrying the wire instructions. On the call, read the routing number, the account number, and the recipient name back to the escrow officer and confirm each one against their records.
A few habits reinforce the phone call:
- Treat any last-minute email announcing a change to the wire instructions as a red flag until you re-verify by phone.
- Share wire confirmations through a secure portal or encrypted email rather than plain email.
- Expect some offices to ask you to sign a verification form acknowledging you reviewed the instructions in person or by phone.
Send the Wire
Online
Log into your bank’s portal, open the transfers or payments section, and choose a domestic wire transfer. Enter the escrow company’s bank name, routing number, account number, and the exact dollar amount from your closing statement. Most banks require multi-factor authentication, such as a code sent to your phone, before releasing the wire. Review every field once more before you confirm.
At the Branch
If you would rather do this face to face, bring a government-issued photo ID and a printed copy of the wire instructions to your bank.1Chase. How to Wire Money A banker enters the details while you are there, which gives you a second set of eyes on the account numbers before anything moves.
Fees, Limits, and Cutoff Times
Banks typically charge between $15 and $50 for an outgoing domestic wire. Daily wire limits vary widely, from around $25,000 to $1 million depending on the institution and account type. If your closing funds exceed your limit, call your bank in advance; most can raise the cap for a real estate closing with extra identity verification.
Most domestic wires sent before the bank’s daily cutoff settle the same business day. Cutoffs vary. Bank of America’s cutoff for same-day domestic wires is 5:00 PM Eastern, for example, and many banks set theirs between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM local time.2Bank of America. Cutoff Times for Deposits, Transfers and Payments Wires submitted after the cutoff process the next business day, so give yourself a margin ahead of a time-sensitive closing.
Once submitted, a domestic wire is generally final and irrevocable. Under Regulation J, when the Federal Reserve credits the receiving bank the payment cannot be reversed without the recipient’s consent.3eCFR. 12 CFR Part 210 – Collection of Checks and Other Items by Federal Reserve Banks and Transfers of Funds That finality is why verification before sending carries so much weight.
Confirm the Escrow Company Received the Funds
Your bank issues a transaction receipt with a Federal Reference Number that tracks the wire through the Federal Reserve system. Save the receipt and send the reference number to your escrow officer over a secure channel so the settlement agent can watch for the credit. Once the escrow company’s bank acknowledges receipt, the settlement agent sends a formal confirmation to all parties and the closing stays on schedule.
If You Sent Funds to the Wrong Place
If you realize funds went to the wrong account or you suspect fraud, hours matter. Take these steps in parallel:
- Call your bank’s wire transfer department and demand a recall. Then call the receiving bank and ask for a fraud freeze on the account.
- Notify your escrow officer so the title company can coordinate with the banks and pause the closing if needed.
- File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team works with financial institutions to freeze fraudulent transfers.4FBI. The Cyber Threat
- File a police report with local law enforcement to create a formal record of the crime.
Odds of recovery drop sharply the longer the money sits. Within the first 24 to 48 hours, banks can sometimes freeze the receiving account before the criminal moves the funds. After that window, recovery becomes far more difficult.
A Note on Refunds and Interest
Once earnest money reaches the escrow account it does not come back automatically if the deal falls apart. Your right to a refund depends on the contingencies in the purchase contract, and releasing the funds requires both parties to sign a mutual release; if you disagree, the title company holds the money until the dispute is resolved. Separately, if the funds sit long enough to earn $10 or more of interest in a calendar year, the institution holding them must issue you a Form 1099-INT and you report that interest on your federal return.5IRS. Topic No. 403, Interest Received Not every escrow account earns interest; that depends on the servicer and state rules.