Resources
Return Codes
There are currently 85 distinct ACH return codes.
While these codes are standardized by NACHA, interpretation and enforcement can vary across financial institutions. This means resolving payment failures with return codes may require different communication and actions depending on the financial institutions involved.
Most Common Return Codes
| Code | Title | Account Type | Time Frame | Suggested Customer Message |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R01 | Insufficient Funds | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days | This transaction has failed due to NACHA code R01, insufficient account funds. Please correct your balance and try again. Retry limit is 2. |
| R02 | Account Closed | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days | Account is closed. Please update with a valid account. |
| R03 | No Account / Unable to Locate Account | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days | Unable to find the account. Please check the account details and try again. |
| R04 | Invalid Account Number Structure | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days | Invalid account structure. Please re-enter the account number and retry. |
| R05 | Unauthorized Consumer Debit using Corporate SEC Code | Consumer | 60 Calendar Days | The transaction was marked incorrectly as corporate (CCD). Use WEB for consumer. |
| R06 | ODFI Requested Return | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Undefined | The bank marked this transaction for return. Please contact the bank before retrying. |
| R07 | Customer Revoked Authorization | Consumer | 60 Calendar Days | Customer has revoked authorization. Contact the customer before retrying. |
| R08 | Payment Stopped | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days | Payment was stopped. Contact the payor to resolve the issue. |
| R09 | Uncollected Funds | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days | Funds could not be retrieved. Contact the payor and retry. |
| R10 | Originator not known / not authorized | Consumer; Non-Consumer (ARC, BOC, IAT, POP) | 60 Calendar Days | Payer not authorized. Contact the banks to resolve before retrying. |
| R29 | Not Authorized by Corporate Customer | Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days | The corporate customer did not authorize the debit. |
Less Common Return Codes
| Code | Title | Account Type | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| R11 | Not Within Authorization Terms | Consumer; Non-Consumer | 60 Calendar Days |
| R12 | Account Sold to Another DFI | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R13 | Invalid ACH Routing No. | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R14 | Representative Payee Deceased | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R15 | Beneficiary / Account Holder Deceased | Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R16 | Account Frozen / Returned per OFAC | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R17 | File Edit Criteria / Suspicious Entry | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R18 | Improper Effective Date | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R19 | Amount Field Error | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R20 | Non-Transaction Account | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R21 | Invalid Company ID | Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R22 | Invalid Individual ID | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R23 | Receiver Refused Credit | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Upon Receipt |
| R24 | Duplicate Entry | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R25 | Addenda Error | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R26 | Mandatory Field Error | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R27 | Trace Number Error | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R28 | Routing No. Check Digit Error | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R30 | RDFI not in Check Truncation Program | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R31 | Permissible Return (CCD/CTX only) | Non-Consumer | Undefined |
| R32 | RDFI Non-Settlement | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R33 | Return of XCK | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 60 Calendar Days |
| R34 | Limited Participation DFI | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R35 | Improper Debit | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R36 | Improper Credit | Consumer or Non-Consumer | Next File Delivery |
| R37 | Source Document Presented | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 60 Calendar Days |
| R38 | Stop Payment on Source Document | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 60 Calendar Days |
| R39 | Improper Source Document | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
| R40–R47 | Enrollment/Identity/Routing Errors | N/A | N/A |
| R50–R53 | RCK-Related Errors | Consumer | 60 Banking Days |
| R61 | Misrouted Return | Consumer | 60 Calendar Days |
| R62 | Erroneous / Reversing Debit | Consumer | 5 Business Days |
| R67 | Duplicate Return | — | — |
| R68–R73 | Timeliness or Routing Issues | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 5 Banking Days |
| R74 | Corrected Return | — | — |
| R75–R77 | Return Disputes / Validity Conflicts | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2–5 Banking Days |
| R80–R85 | IAT / Foreign / Gateway Errors | Consumer or Non-Consumer | 2 Banking Days |
Not all codes require the same resolution path. Work closely with your RDFI and ODFI to ensure compliance when retrying or correcting transactions.