How to Get a Bank Statement

To get a bank statement, the fastest method is online: sign in to your bank's website or app, open the Statements or Documents section, choose the account and the period you want, and download it as a PDF. That PDF is the official document banks, landlords, and lenders accept. If you need a paper copy or a statement older than what appears online, you can request one at a branch, by phone, or by mail, sometimes for a small fee.

What is the quickest way to download a statement?

Online banking is the quickest route, and the path is nearly identical at every bank. Sign in, find the Statements menu, pick the month, and download the PDF. The exact menu name is the only thing that differs between banks.

If you only have a screenshot or a transaction-history export, note that many institutions reject those and require the official PDF statement. Our explainer on what a bank statement is covers why the official document differs from a live transaction list. One thing the official statement carries that a screenshot does not is the bank's identifying details and, for deposit accounts, language tied to the institution's status as an FDIC-insured bank, which is part of why recipients treat the PDF as the authoritative record.

How do you get a statement at major US banks?

The steps below assume you are signed in to each bank's website or app. Mobile apps follow the same labels with the menu usually behind an account or profile icon.

• Chase. Open the account, select the Statements & documents link, choose the statement period, and download the PDF. Chase also lets you set a paperless or paper preference here.
• Bank of America. Go to the Statements & Documents tab, pick the account and month, and open the PDF. Older statements beyond the online window can be ordered, sometimes with a fee.
• Wells Fargo. Use the Statements & Documents menu, select the account, and download the cycle you need.
• Citi. From the account view, open Statements, choose the period, and download. Citi separates statements by individual account.
• Capital One. Open the specific account's details, select Statements or View Statements, and download the month you want.
• US Bank. From My Accounts, choose the account, open Statements, and download the cycle. US Bank keeps deposit and card statements in the same area.
• PNC. Open the account's activity view, select Statements and Documents, pick the period, and download the PDF.
• Truist. From the account view, open Documents, choose the statement month, and download. Truist groups statements and notices together under Documents.
• Ally. As an online-only bank, Ally keeps statements inside each account with no branch fallback, so download the PDF directly and contact support for anything older than the online window.

Wording changes from time to time as banks redesign their apps, but the destination is always a menu containing the word Statements or Documents. If you cannot find it, search the help center for the word statements, or look inside the specific account rather than the global navigation, since several banks file statements per account rather than in one combined list.

What if you bank only at a branch or by phone?

If you cannot or do not use online banking, you have two other routes: visit a branch or call the bank. Both can produce a printed statement, but they are slower than downloading.

For account holders who have switched to paperless, paper statements can usually be re-enabled in the same Statements settings where you download PDFs.

How do you get statements from online banks and credit unions?

Online-only banks and credit unions follow the same pattern as the big banks, with statements behind a Statements or Documents menu and delivered as PDFs. The main difference is that online banks have no branch to visit, so phone, secure message, or in-app support is your only route for archived copies.

• Online banks. Banks without branches keep statements in the app under Documents or Statements. Because there is no counter to walk up to, retrieving a statement older than the online window means contacting support directly.
• Credit unions. Most credit unions offer the same online statement download as banks, and members can also visit a branch. Smaller credit unions sometimes keep a shorter online history, so check before assuming an old statement is gone.
• Brokerage and prepaid accounts. These also issue statements, usually under a Documents or Tax & Statements section, though the cycle may be monthly or quarterly depending on activity.

Whatever the institution, the official document is the downloadable PDF, and that is the version to use whenever something needs to be proven.

What if you switched to paperless and need a paper copy?

If you opted into paperless statements, you can still get a paper copy two ways: print the official PDF yourself, or switch the account back to paper delivery. A printed PDF carries the same content and letterhead as a mailed statement, so it is accepted in most situations.

Some recipients, such as certain government offices, ask for a copy stamped or signed by the bank. That is the one case where printing your own PDF is not enough and you must request an official copy from the bank.

How far back can you get statements, and how long should you keep them?

There are two separate questions hiding inside how far back statements go, and people often conflate them. The first is how long the bank keeps your statements available to retrieve. The second is how long you should keep your own copies. They have different answers and different sources.

On retrieval, most large US banks show several years of statements in online banking, and the exact depth varies by institution, which is why the table above flags each one to verify. When a statement predates the online window, the bank can usually still pull it from its archives on request, because banks are subject to federal recordkeeping rules that require them to retain certain account records for a set number of years. That archived retrieval is the route for a statement you no longer see in your dashboard, and it is where a per-copy fee is most likely to apply.

On keeping your own copies, the practical anchor is tax recordkeeping. The IRS advises keeping records that support income or a deduction generally for three years, and longer in specific situations, for example six years if you under-reported income by more than 25 percent and seven years for certain bad-debt or worthless-security claims, per its guidance on how long to keep records. A safe default for most people is to download and archive each year's statements that touch anything tax-related and hold them for at least the relevant period, rather than relying on the bank to keep them accessible online indefinitely.

For a deeper look at retention specifically, our guide on how long to keep bank statements breaks the timelines down by document type.

Paper statements versus electronic statements: which to choose?

When you open an account or revisit your delivery settings, you choose between paper statements mailed to you and electronic statements you download. Both are the same official document with the same legal standing; the difference is delivery, speed, cost, and how easy the statement is to lose.

For most people the electronic statement is the better default: it is free, it arrives sooner, and you can re-download it if you lose your saved copy. Paper still makes sense if you do not use online banking, if a recipient specifically wants an original mailed document, or if you simply prefer a physical file. A common middle path is to stay on electronic delivery and download each statement to your own folder as it posts, which gives you the speed and zero cost of e-statements with the durable personal archive of paper. Note that some banks attach a small monthly fee to paper delivery, so switching to electronic can also remove a recurring charge.

After you download: turning the PDF into usable data

Getting the PDF is step one. If you then need to total a column, categorize spending, or import the transactions into accounting software, the locked PDF format gets in the way. Converting the statement to CSV turns each transaction into a spreadsheet row you can sort, filter, and reconcile. Free accounts cover 5 pages per month, which is enough for a typical monthly statement, so you can try it free on the statement you just downloaded.