ACH Notification of Change codes
NOC codes: what each one corrects.
When an entry carries outdated or wrong details the RDFI can still post, it sends a Notification of Change instead of a return. Here are the 10 change codes in use, what the Corrected Data holds for each, the 9 codes an ODFI uses to refuse a bad NOC, and the 4 retired codes old lists still show.
Change codes in use
Corrected Data positions count within the 29-character field, which is positions 36–64 of the addenda record.
| Code | Title | Corrected data |
|---|---|---|
| C01 | Incorrect DFI Account Number | Correct DFI Account Number in positions 1–17 |
| C02 | Incorrect Routing Number | Correct routing number (9 digits, with check digit) in positions 1–9 |
| C03 | Incorrect Routing Number and Incorrect DFI Account Number | Correct routing number in positions 1–9, blanks in 10–12, correct DFI Account Number in 13–29 |
| C05 | Incorrect Transaction Code | Correct Transaction Code in positions 1–2 |
| C06 | Incorrect DFI Account Number and Incorrect Transaction Code | Correct DFI Account Number in positions 1–17, blanks in 18–20, correct Transaction Code in 21–22 |
| C07 | Incorrect Routing Number, Incorrect DFI Account Number, and Incorrect Transaction Code | Correct routing number in positions 1–9, DFI Account Number in 10–26, Transaction Code in 27–28 |
| C08 | Incorrect Receiving DFI Identification (IAT only) | Correct foreign Receiving DFI Identification (IAT entries; the Rules give the layout) |
| C09 | Incorrect Individual Identification Number/Incorrect Receiver Identification Number | Correct Individual (or Receiver) Identification Number in positions 1–22 |
| C13 | Addenda Format Error | No fixed layout: the correction concerns how the addenda record was formatted |
| C14 | Incorrect SEC Code for Outbound International Payment | "IAT" in positions 1–3 |
How a Notification of Change works
- The RDFI posts the entry (the money moves as usual) and sends a zero-dollar NOC back through the ODFI with the corrected information.
- Timing: The RDFI transmits the NOC within 2 banking days of the settlement date of the original entry; the Originator makes the change within 6 banking days of receiving the NOC information or before its next entry, whichever is later.
- NOCs also answer prenotifications, the zero-dollar test entries some Originators send before the first live entry.
- The Corrected Data field holds only the fields being corrected, laid out as each code specifies.
Retired change codes (C04, C10, C11, C12)
Nacha removed C10, C11 and C12 in 2003 and C04 in 2015, so no RDFI should send them today. They still appear in older files and in some vendors’ code lists; the code lookup, the REST API and the MCP server decode them with retired: true.
| Code | Title | Removed |
|---|---|---|
| C04 | Incorrect Individual Name/Receiving Company Name | Removed from the Nacha Rules by the amendment "Removal of Change Code C04", effective March 20, 2015: an RDFI would have been warranting a name that might not match the Originator’s authorization. |
| C10 | Incorrect Company Name | Removed from the Nacha Rules in 2003, with C10–C12, because RDFIs seldom used them. |
| C11 | Incorrect Company Identification | Removed from the Nacha Rules in 2003, with C10–C12, because RDFIs seldom used them. |
| C12 | Incorrect Company Name and Company Identification | Removed from the Nacha Rules in 2003, with C10–C12, because RDFIs seldom used them. |
Refused NOC codes (C61–C69)
An ODFI that receives a NOC with errors can refuse it with one of these codes, sent back to the RDFI. The ODFI may refuse a NOC within 15 days of receiving it; confirm the refused-NOC timeframe in the current Rules.
| Code | Title | Refused because |
|---|---|---|
| C61 | Misrouted Notification of Change | The NOC was sent to the wrong ODFI. |
| C62 | Incorrect Trace Number | The NOC carries a trace number that doesn’t match the original entry. |
| C63 | Incorrect Company Identification Number | The NOC carries an incorrect company identification number. |
| C64 | Incorrect Individual Identification Number/Identification Number | The NOC carries an incorrect individual identification number. |
| C65 | Incorrectly Formatted Corrected Data | The Corrected Data in the NOC isn’t formatted the way its change code requires. |
| C66 | Incorrect Discretionary Data | The NOC carries incorrect discretionary data. |
| C67 | Routing Number Not From Original Entry Detail Record | The routing number in the NOC is not the one from the original entry detail record. |
| C68 | DFI Account Number Not From Original Entry Detail Record | The DFI account number in the NOC is not the one from the original entry detail record. |
| C69 | Incorrect Transaction Code | The NOC carries an incorrect transaction code. |
Where NOCs sit in a NACHA file
NOCs travel in batches with the COR SEC code. Each is an entry detail record with a zero amount and one addenda record of type 98: the change code in positions 4–6, the original entry’s trace number in 7–21 and the Corrected Data in 36–64.
To read a NOC file record by record, open the file in NACHA Navigator, a free sister site that parses NACHA files in your browser without uploading them.
Related reference
When the RDFI can’t post an entry at all, it returns it instead: ACH return codes R01–R85.
Source: Nacha Operating Rules, Appendix Five. Titles are the Rules’ own; the Corrected Data layouts and timing are this site’s reading of them, the same table the code lookup, the REST API and the MCP server use. Informational only.