Understand ACH Return Codes and Best Practices
Last updated on Aug 26, 2026
Common ACH return codes carry different severity levels, and how a Merchant should respond varies accordingly. Whether the issue is as simple as insufficient funds or as serious as an unauthorized debit, following these practices can help Merchants resolve payment issues efficiently and in compliance with banking regulations.
| ACH Return Code / Reason | Severity | Merchant Action |
|---|---|---|
| R01 Insufficient Funds | Low Risk | Safe to reattempt after a short wait. If it continues, contact the customer for an alternative payment. |
| R02 Account Closed | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Contact the customer to update with an active bank account. |
| R03 No Account/Unable to Locate Account | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Confirm account and routing details with the customer. |
| R04 Invalid Account Number | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Ask the customer to provide a valid bank account number. |
| R05 Unauthorized Debit to Consumer Account | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Contact the customer for authorization or alternate payment. |
| R07 Authorization Revoked by Customer | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Authorization has been revoked. Contact the customer for a new method. |
| R08 Payment Stopped | High Risk | Do not reattempt. The customer has stopped this payment. Request a new method. Related Article: Resolve Stop Payment ACH Returns |
| R09 Uncollected Funds | Low Risk | Safe to reattempt after a short wait. If it continues, contact the customer for an alternative method. |
| R10 Customer Advises Unauthorized | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Transaction was flagged as unauthorized. Contact customer for resolution. |
| R16 Account Frozen | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Contact the customer for an alternate payment method. |
| R20 Non-Transaction Account | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Account is not valid for ACH. Request a different payment method. |
| R29 Corporate Customer Advises Not Authorized | High Risk | Do not reattempt. The customer must whitelist Originator ID 8263863381 with their bank, then Maxio's Risk team reviews the case before re-enabling the Payment Profile. Related Article: Resolve Stop Payment ACH Returns |
| R51 Item Related to R10 (Unauthorized) | High Risk | Do not reattempt. Considered unauthorized. Contact the customer for an alternate method. |
For R02, R03, R04, R05, R07, R10, R16, R20, and R51, Maxio automatically disables the Payment Profile and notifies the Merchant as soon as the return is received. Unlike R29, this disablement has no re-enablement path at all, not even for Maxio staff: the customer needs an entirely new payment method before the Merchant can collect from them again. R01, R08, and R09 don't trigger this automatic disablement, so for those three codes, following the Merchant Action guidance above is manual Merchant discipline, not an automatic system safeguard.
Related information
For an overview of ACH payments and how fraud-related rejects affect the Payment Profile, see Understand ACH Payments and Rejects.
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