Customer Advises Originator is Not Known to Receiver and/or Originator is Not Authorized by Receiver to Debit Receiver’s Account
Category: Authorization & consumer dispute Initiated by: RDFI
Applies to (SEC scope)
ALL EXCEPT CCD, CTX
camt.053 mapping
AG01 — Transaction Forbidden
ISO code shared with other Nacha codes
Reinitiation
Do not debit again without a new authorization
Nacha's definition
RDFI has been notified by the Receiver that the Receiver does not know the identity of the Originator; has no relationship with the Originator; or has not authorized the Originator to debit his account.
Verbatim from Nacha — ISO 20022 Guide to Mapping U.S. ACH Return Items and Notifications of Change, August 2023, Version 2.01 (Table 1, return reason codes) (return reason code table). Applies to: ALL EXCEPT CCD, CTX.
How it appears in an ISO 20022 statement
Nacha's mapping guide maps R10 to camt.053 reason code AG01 (Transaction Forbidden) — ISO definition: Transaction forbidden on this type of account (formerly no Agreement) Nacha marks this ISO code as mapped to more than one Nacha return code, so the ISO code alone does not identify the Nacha reason; read the narrative or the original return record.
Return time frame
Nacha's rule page on reinitiation describes R10 as the code "currently used for Extended Returns", for which the RDFI must obtain the Receiver's Written Statement of Unauthorized Debit. Nacha's R10/R11 rule page states that R11 returns have many of the same requirements and characteristics as an R10 return, and that R11's return time frame is 60 days. Nacha's public pages do not state R10's own day-count directly; the extended time frame is set in the Nacha Operating Rules.
Can the entry be reinitiated?
Nacha's reinitiation rule page is explicit: "an unauthorized debit cannot be remedied. Reinitiating any entry that was returned as unauthorized would be considered an improper reinitiation practice." A debit is not treated as a reinitiation if the Originator obtains a new authorization after receiving the return. Nacha's R10/R11 page adds the contrast: R11 permits correcting and resubmitting without a new authorization; R10 does not.
treat the authorization as absent, stop billing, and obtain a fresh authorization before any further debit.
Nacha counts this code toward an Originator's unauthorized entry return rate, whose threshold Nacha set at 0.5 percent. Each return under this code moves that ratio for your ODFI, independently of the money involved.
What an operator does next
The Receiver says they do not know you or did not authorize you. Treat the authorization as absent: stop billing, keep your authorization evidence ready for your ODFI, and do not debit again without a fresh, valid authorization. Since April 2020 an error on an otherwise authorized payment comes back as R11 instead — if you are seeing R10 for what you believe are authorized relationships, review how the authorization was captured.
PaymentBrief guidance, not Nacha text. Your ODFI's procedures and the current Nacha Operating Rules govern.
Where this comes up on PaymentBrief
Direct debit explained: ACH, SEPA, Bacs and eGIRO
Where ACH debit returns sit in the mandate and collection lifecycle, and how the return-rate thresholds bear on your ODFI relationship.
Recurring payments and billing operations
What a return means for the next billing cycle, dunning and mandate status.
Sources for this code
- Nacha — ISO 20022 Guide to Mapping U.S. ACH Return Items and Notifications of Change, August 2023, Version 2.01 (Table 1, return reason codes) — nacha-mapping-guide, retrieved 2026-09-06
- Nacha — rule page 'Differentiating Unauthorized Return Reasons' (R10 / R11; effective 1 April 2020 and 1 April 2021) — nacha-rule-page, retrieved 2026-09-06
- Nacha — rule page 'ACH Network Risk and Enforcement Topics' (unauthorized return rate threshold; reinitiation of entries) — nacha-rule-page, retrieved 2026-09-06