Bank teller job description template: drawer and dual control, BSA/AML and robbery training, Section 19 checks and hours

A bank teller job description should name the seat (teller, head teller, universal banker, drive-up or float), the branch hours including Saturdays, the cash duties (opening and balancing a drawer, vault work under dual control), the BSA/AML and robbery training the bank provides, and the background check that Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act requires. Tellers are almost always non-exempt hourly employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the national median pay for tellers at $43,030 a year, or $20.69 an hour, in May 2025; post your own approved range. The rules and sources below are as of October 2026.

Teller postings tend to read like cashier postings with "bank" added, and that misses what candidates and compliance teams check first: whether the role includes vault and override authority, whether there are referral goals, how drawer differences are handled, and what the background check covers. Below are the seat types, a copy-ready template, the training, background, overtime and pay lines with primary sources, screening and scorecard rows, and common mistakes. For the phone screen itself, use bank teller screening questions; for a retail register role, the cashier job description template fits better.

Which teller seat are you hiring?

Then settle the facts with the branch manager: open hours and the Saturday rotation, typical daily transactions (an estimate), whether the drawer is manual or a cash recycler, which overrides the seat can approve, any referral or product goals, and travel for float seats. BLS lists the core duties: counting the cash drawer at the start and end of a shift, cashing checks and taking deposits and payments, preparing money orders, exchanging foreign currency, ordering cards and checks, and referring customers to the right staff (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, tellers, last modified August 27, 2026).

The bank teller job description template

Bank Teller — [Teller / Head Teller / Universal Banker / Float],
[Part-Time / Full-Time]
[Bank or credit union], [branch name, city, state]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per hour, plus [Saturday or float premium,
referral incentive with how it is earned]. Overtime-eligible.
[Benefits summary, if required.]

SUMMARY
You will serve about [N] customers a day (an estimate) at a branch
open [days and hours], with [Saturday rotation: N per month]. You
will run your own cash drawer [and the vault under dual control]
and report to the [head teller / branch manager].

WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Process deposits, withdrawals, check cashing, loan payments,
  transfers and money orders, checking ID on every transaction
  that requires it.
- Count your drawer at open and close and balance to the system;
  report any difference the same day under our procedure.
- [Head teller: order and ship cash, run the vault with a second
  person, approve overrides within your limits.]
- [Universal banker: open accounts and refer customers to
  lenders and advisors when they ask about those products.]
- Follow our BSA/AML procedures, including large cash reporting,
  and tell a supervisor when a transaction looks wrong.
- Follow our security and robbery procedures.

YOU MUST HAVE
- Experience handling cash and balancing to a record, or a
  willingness to learn it in our paid training.
- Availability for [days, hours, Saturdays].
- Attendance at all of training: [dates, location].
- Ability to stand or sit at a teller line for the shift, count
  and strap currency by hand and lift coin boxes up to [N]
  pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.

NICE TO HAVE
- Teller, cash office or casino cage experience.
- [Language] for customers who speak it.
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.

CASH DIFFERENCES
Differences are recounted and reported the same day and handled
through review and coaching [state your policy accurately].

FIXED CONDITIONS
- Offers depend on a background check, including the review
  federal banking law requires, carried out as permitted by law.

[EEO STATEMENT]
To request an adjustment to apply or interview, contact [contact].

Training, background checks, overtime and pay: the lines with sources

Education and licensing. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent and short-term on-the-job training as typical, with new tellers usually trained by a head teller or experienced teller on drawer balancing, signature verification, software and products (BLS profile above). The one registration that can apply is for universal bankers who take mortgage applications: each employee of a covered financial institution who acts as a mortgage loan originator must register with the Registry and keep a unique identifier (12 CFR 1007.103). If the seat only refers mortgage customers to a loan officer, leave registration out.

BSA/AML training. A bank's anti-money laundering program must include "training for appropriate personnel" (31 CFR 1020.210(a)(2)(iv)). Tellers meet these rules every week: banks report a transaction in currency of more than $10,000 (31 CFR 1010.311), multiple transactions by or for one person in a business day are added together (31 CFR 1010.313), and a suspicious activity report, and any information that would reveal it, is confidential; no bank employee may disclose one (31 CFR 1020.320(e)). The posting line is simple: "We train you on our BSA/AML procedures before you work a window alone."

Security and robbery training. Bank security programs must provide initial and periodic training of employees in their responsibilities under the program and in proper conduct during and after a robbery, under the OCC's rule for national banks (12 CFR 21.3) and the FDIC's rule for the institutions it supervises (12 CFR 326.3). The posting can say plainly that you provide this training before the first shift on the line.

Section 19 and the background check. Section 19 bars a person convicted of a criminal offense involving dishonesty, breach of trust or money laundering, or who entered a pretrial diversion program for one, from working at an FDIC-insured institution without the FDIC's written consent (12 CFR 303.220). The FDIC's rules exclude many older and minor offenses, and the bank or the person can apply for consent; the screening page summarises the exclusions. The check is usually a consumer report, so the FCRA background check process applies, and some states limit employer credit checks; see credit check laws for employers. Write "as permitted by law", not "clean record required".

Exempt or non-exempt. The administrative exemption requires a salary of at least the standard level ($684 a week, per the Department of Labor's salary levels page) and a primary duty that includes discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance (DOL Fact Sheet 17C). The regulation says that does not include clerical work, recording data, or applying procedures described in manuals (29 CFR 541.202(e)). A teller is almost always non-exempt; review a head teller seat against the executive test before calling it exempt. More in exempt vs. non-exempt for new hires.

Drawer shortages. The Department of Labor gives a minimum wage cashier made to reimburse a drawer shortage as an example of an illegal deduction; deductions may not cut pay below the minimum wage or into overtime (DOL Fact Sheet #16). Many states restrict them further, so describe the coaching process instead.

Physical requirements and pay. Write the physical lines as the tasks that make up the job (standing or sitting at the line, counting by hand, lifting coin boxes) and keep health questions out until after a conditional offer (42 U.S.C. 12112(d)). For pay, the BLS national median for tellers was $43,030 a year ($20.69 an hour) in May 2025; local rates differ, so post your own range and check pay transparency laws by state. Close with an EEO statement covering the characteristics the EEOC lists.

From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows

The full call, with fraud scenarios and a scorecard, is in bank teller screening questions. The later rounds for tellers, personal bankers and branch managers are in the interview guide for banking roles. Keep anything a candidate volunteers about a record out of interview notes and leave it to the bank's background process.

Common mistakes in bank teller job descriptions

"Must have a clean background"

It overstates Section 19, which covers specific offenses and excludes many old and minor ones, and it can conflict with state and city fair chance rules; see ban-the-box interview questions. Say the check happens and that it follows the law.

"Tellers are responsible for all shortages"

That wording describes a deduction the Department of Labor treats as illegal when it cuts below minimum wage. State the recount, reporting and coaching process.

Hiding Saturdays, float travel or referral goals

These are the conditions that end teller hires in the first month. Put them in the summary.

Requiring teller experience you will train anyway

BLS describes teller training as short-term and on the job. Cashiers, cage staff and servers who closed out cash learn a teller line quickly; ask for cash balancing, not a bank title.

Calling the seat salaried or exempt

Teller work does not meet the administrative duties test. Post it as overtime-eligible and track Saturday and closing time.

Before you publish

• The seat, branch hours, Saturday rotation and any float travel are in the summary.
• Drawer, vault and dual-control duties match the seat.
• BSA/AML and robbery training are stated as provided by the bank.
• The background check line names the process, not a "clean record" standard.
• The seat is posted as overtime-eligible with an hourly range, the EEO statement and an accommodation contact.