ACH Return Codes

ACH Return Codes

Returned ACH payments will always come with an ACH return code indicating why a customer’s payment was rejected. The most common reasons are insufficient funds, closed accounts, or invalid account information.

The returned-code and returned-message fields in the ACH transaction response contain the return code and corresponding message.

The table below lists all of the possible ACH return codes.

Code	Message	Description
R01	Insufficient funds.	The available balance or cash reserve balance is not sufficient to cover the amount of the debit entry.
R02	Account closed.	A previously open account is now closed.
R03	No account or unable to locate account.	The account number does not correspond to the individual identified in the entry or a valid account.
R04	Invalid account number.	The account number fails the check digit validation or may contain an incorrect number of digits.
R05	Unauthorized debit to consumer account.	A business debit entry was transmitted to a members consumer account, and the member had not authorized the entry.
R06	Returned per ODFI’s request.	The ODFI has requested that the RDFI return the entry.
R07	Authorization revoked by customer.	The member who previously authorized an entry has revoked authorization with the Originator.
R08	Payment stopped or stop payment on item.	The member had previously requested a stop payment of a single or recurring entry.
R09	Uncollected funds.	Available balance is sufficient, but collected balance is not sufficient to cover the entry.
R10	Customer advises not authorized.	The member advises not authorized, notice not provided, improper source document, or amount of entry not accurately obtained from source document.
R11	Check truncation entry return.	To be used when returning a check truncation entry.
R12	Branch sold to another DFI.	RDFI unable to post entry destined for a bank account maintained at a branch sold to another financial institution.
R13	Invalid ACH routing number.	The financial institution does not receive commercial ACH entries.
R14	Representment payee deceased or unable to continue in that capacity.	The representative payee is deceased or unable to continue in that capacity, beneficiary is not deceased.
R15	Beneficiary of account holder deceased.	The beneficiary or account Holder Deceased.
R16	Account frozen.	Access to account is restricted due to specific action taken by the RDFI or by legal action.
R17	File record edit criteria.	Fields rejected by RDFI processing (identified in return addenda).
R18	Improper effective entry date.	Entries have been presented prior to the first available processing window for the effective date.
R19	Amount field error.	Improper formatting of the amount field.
R20	Non transaction account.	Policies or regulations (such as Regulation D) prohibit or limit activity to the account indicated.
R21	Invalid company identification.	The company ID information not valid (normally CIE entries).
R22	Invalid individual ID number.	The individual id used by receiver is incorrect (CIE entries).
R23	Credit entry refused by receiver.	Receiver returned entry because minimum or exact amount not remitted, bank account is subject to litigation, or payment represents an overpayment, originator is not known to receiver or receiver has not authorized this credit entry to this bank account.
R24	Duplicate entry.	RDFI has received a duplicate entry.
R25	Addenda error.	Improper formatting of the addenda records information.
R26	Mandatory field error.	Improper information in one of the mandatory fields.
R27	Trace number error.	Original entry trace number is not valid for return entry; or addenda trace numbers do not correspond with entry detail record.
R28	Routing number or check digit error.	Check digit for the transit routing number is incorrect.
R29	Corporate customer advises not authorized.	RDFI has been notified by business account holder that a specific transaction is unauthorized.
R30	RDFI not participant in check truncation program.	The financial institution not participating in automated check safekeeping application.
R31	Permissible return entry.	RDFI has been notified by business account holder that a specific transaction is unauthorized.
R32	RDFI non settlement.	RDFI is not able to settle the entry.
R33	Return of XCK entry.	RDFI determines at its sole discretion to return an XCK entry; an XCK return entry may be initiated by midnight of the sixtieth day following the settlement date if the XCK entry.
R34	Limited participation DFI.	RDFI participation has been limited by a federal or state supervisor.
R35	Return of improper debit entry.	ACH debit not permitted for use with the CIE standard entry class code (except for reversals).
R36	Return of improper credit entry.	None
R37	Source Document Presented for Payment Check used for an ARC, BOC or POP entry has also been presented for payment.	None
R38	Stop payment on source document.	Stop payment has been placed on a check used for an ARC entry.
R39	Improper source document	The RDFI determined that the source document used for an ARC, BOC, or POP entry is improper, or that both the ACH entry and the related source document were presented for payment and posted to the receiver's account.
R40	Return of ENR entry by federal government agency (ENR only).	None
R41	Invalid transaction code (ENR only).	None
R42	Routing number or check digit error (ENR only).	None
R43	Invalid DFI account number (ENR only).	None
R44	Invalid individual ID number (ENR only).	None
R45	Invalid individual name/company name (ENR only).	None
R46	Invalid representative payee indicator (ENR only).	None
R47	Duplicate enrollment.	None
R50	State law affecting RCK acceptance.	None
R51	Item is ineligible, notice not provided, signature not genuine.	None
R52	Stop payment on item.	None
R53	Item and ACH entry presented for payment	An item related to an RCK entry was also presented for payment.
R61	Misrouted return.	Return entry was sent by RDFI to an incorrect ODFI routing/transit number.
R62	Incorrect trace number.	None
R63	Incorrect dollar amount.	None
R64	Incorrect individual identification.	None
R65	Incorrect transaction code.	None
R66	Incorrect company identification.	None
R67	Duplicate return.	ODFI has received more than one return entry for the same original entry.
R68	Untimely return.	Return entry did not meet the return deadline.
R69	Multiple errors.	None
R70	Permissible return entry not accepted.	None
R71	Misrouted dishonored return.	None
R72	Untimely dishonored return.	None
R73	Timely original return.	None
R74	Corrected return.	None
R75	Return not a duplicate.	The return entry was not a duplicate of an entry previously returned by the RDFI.
R76	No errors found.	The original return entry did not contain the errors indicated by the ODFI in the dishonored return entry.
R80	Cross-border payment coding error.	None
R81	Nonparticipant in cross-border program.	None
R82	Invalid foreign receiving DFI identification.	None
R83	Foreign receiving DFI unable to settle.	The IAT entry is being returned because of settlement problems in the foreign payment system.
R84	Entry not processed by gateway.	The outbound IAT entry was not processed and is being returned at the gateway's discretion because processing may expose the gateway to excessive risk or because the foreign payment system does not support the required processing functions.
R85	Incorrectly coded outbound international payment.	The RDFI or gateway identified the entry as an outbound international payment and is returning it because the SEC code does not contain information required by the gateway for OFAC compliance.

Xplor Pay also returns additional ACH expedited return codes from the processor. These codes are returned in the returned-code and returned-message fields of the ACH transaction response.

The table below lists the additional ACH expedited return codes.

Code	Message	Description
E02	Account closed.	A previously open account is now closed.
E03	No account or unable to locate account.	The account number does not correspond to the individual identified in the entry or a valid account.
E04	Invalid account number.	The account number fails the check digit validation or may contain an incorrect number of digits.
E05	Unauthorized debit to consumer account using corporate SEC code.	A business debit entry was transmitted to a members consumer account, and the member had not authorized the entry.
E07	Authorization revoked by customer.	The member who previously authorized an entry has revoked authorization with the Originator.
E08	Payment stopped.	The member had previously requested a stop payment of a single or recurring entry.
E10	Customer advises not authorized.	The member advises not authorized, notice not provided, improper source document, or amount of entry not accurately obtained from source document.
E11	Customer advises entry not in accordance with the terms of the authorization.	The transaction does not conform to the terms of the authorization and must be corrected by the merchant.
E13	RDFI not qualified to participate.	The RDFI is not qualified to participate in ACH processing.
E14	Representment payee deceased or unable to continue in that capacity.	The representative payee is deceased or unable to continue in that capacity, beneficiary is not deceased.
E15	Beneficiary of account holder deceased.	The beneficiary or account holder is deceased.
E16	Account frozen.	Access to account is restricted due to specific action taken by the RDFI or by legal action.
E17	File record edit criteria.	Fields rejected by RDFI processing (identified in return addenda).
E20	Non transaction account.	Policies or regulations (such as Regulation D) prohibit or limit activity to the account indicated.
E29	Corporate customer advises not authorized.	RDFI has been notified by business account holder that a specific transaction is unauthorized.
E92	Invalid image.	The image was not accepted by the processing bank for a prior check, and the processor has blocked future submissions.
E93	Non-negotiable.	The check is non-negotiable and cannot be processed.
E95	Breach of warranty.	The check was returned because a warranty associated with the check or its processing was breached.
E96	Counterfeit or forgery.	The check was identified as counterfeit or forged.
E97	Refer to maker.	Customer should contact the bank to determine why the check was returned.

ACH Authorization Decline Messages

ACH transaction decline includes a DECLINE CHECK message that provides information about why the transaction was declined.

Unlike ACH return codes (for example, R01 ,R03, etc.), these messages are returned during real time authorization. The text following DECLINE CHECK is not an exhaustive list and may vary depending on the validation or authorization rule that triggered the decline, such as unpaid checks, E-Code verification, velocity limits, merchant check limits, or fraud detection.

The table below lists common decline check authorization messages.

Authorization message	Decline reason	Description
DECLINE CHECK E-CODE FLAG	E-code validation	The check was previously returned with a fatal ACH return code (for example, R03, or R10). If E-Code declines are enabled, this message can be returned during real-time authorization.
DECLINE CHECK DAY LOC $25000	Velocity or transaction amount limit exceeded	The transaction exceeded the configured merchant or checkwriter velocity limit for the day, location, or rolling time window. In this example, the configured transaction limit is $25,000.
DECLINE CHECK – Failed Advanced Account Validation	Account validation failure	The transaction failed advanced account validation during authorization.
DECLINE CHECK DAY LOC #CHKS=1	Check count limit exceeded	The configured check-count limit was exceeded. In this example, only one check is permitted during the applicable validation period.
DECLINE CHECK DAY LOC #CHKS=3	Check count limit exceeded	The configured check-count limit was exceeded. In this example, the configured limit is three checks during the applicable validation period.
DECLINE CHECK DAY LOC	Velocity or transaction limit exceeded	The transaction exceeded a configured merchant or checkwriter velocity limit. The message does not include the configured threshold and may be returned for daily, location-based, or rolling time-window validation rules.