ACH return reason code

R33 return code: Return of XCK Entry

The RDFI returns an XCK (destroyed check) entry.

What R33 means

R33 is the return reason code Return of XCK Entry. The RDFI returns an XCK (destroyed check) entry.

XCK (destroyed check) entries.

It is sent by the RDFI as a return entry: the original entry goes back to the ODFI with an addenda record carrying R33, and the ODFI passes the return on to the Originator.

Typical causes

The RDFI returns an XCK entry — a debit collecting a check that was lost or destroyed in transit.

Return timeframe

Extended return: available to the ODFI by opening of business on the banking day after the 60th calendar day following the settlement date of the original entry.

Worked example

For an entry that settled on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, the day before Thanksgiving: must be available to the ODFI by opening of business on Monday, January 25, 2027, the banking day after the 60th calendar day (Sunday, January 24, 2027).

Try your own settlement date in the ACH date calculator

What the Originator can do next

Collect the check another way.

How R33 appears in a NACHA file

A return is the original entry detail record (type 6) sent back with a return transaction code — 21 or 26 for a checking account, 31 or 36 for savings (21 and 31 return a credit, 26 and 36 a debit) — the original amount, and an addenda record of type 99 that carries the reason. The batch keeps the original entry’s SEC code.

Return addenda record (type 99) with R33
Positions	Field	In an R33 return
1	Record Type Code	7 (addenda)
2–3	Addenda Type Code	99 (return)
4–6	Return Reason Code	`R33`
7–21	Original Entry Trace Number	Trace number of the entry being returned
22–27	Date of Death	YYMMDD for R14 and R15; blank otherwise
28–35	Original Receiving DFI Identification	First 8 digits of the original entry’s RDFI routing number
36–79	Addenda Information	Free text from the RDFI
80–94	Trace Number	The return entry’s own trace number

To read a return file record by record, open the file in NACHA Navigator, a free sister site that parses NACHA files in your browser without uploading them.

Look up R33 from code or an AI agent

The code table on this page is the one behind the REST API and the MCP server, so a script or an AI agent gets the same answer as JSON. No key and no account.

REST · GET · no key

curl -s 'https://payopskit.com/api/v1/codes/R33?set=ach-return'

MCP · tools/call · lookup_payment_code

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "lookup_payment_code",
    "arguments": {
      "code": "R33",
      "set": "ach-return"
    }
  }
}

Response (JSON)

{
  "code": "R33",
  "set": "ach-return",
  "found": true,
  "matches": [
    {
      "set": "ach-return",
      "code": "R33",
      "name": "Return of XCK Entry",
      "description": "The RDFI returns an XCK (destroyed check) entry.",
      "details": {
        "category": "return",
        "timeframe": "Extended return: available to the ODFI by opening of business on the banking day after the 60th calendar day following the settlement date of the original entry",
        "timeframeKind": "calendar-days",
        "timeframeDays": 60,
        "timeframeFrom": "original-settlement",
        "account": "any",
        "accountNote": "XCK (destroyed check) entries.",
        "writtenStatement": false,
        "initiatedBy": "RDFI",
        "note": "XCK only",
        "effectiveFrom": null,
        "upcomingChange": null,
        "caveat": null
      }
    }
  ]
}

The MCP server is at /mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key); the API and MCP docs show how to connect Claude, Cursor or VS Code.

The deadline for a settlement date: GET /api/v1/ach/return-deadline?settlement_date=2026-11-25&code=R33 or the MCP tool ach_return_deadline.

Source: Nacha Operating Rules, Appendix Four (Return Entries). The code’s title is the Rules’ own; the rest is this site’s plain-language summary. It is informational and not a substitute for the Rules, your ACH Operator’s schedule or your ODFI agreement.