Complete list of reasons for which a cheque can be returned unpaid by a bank

The list of reasons, for which a cheque could be returned unpaid by a bank, is given below (this list is only illustrative and not exhaustive):

REASON FOR RETURN OF CHEQUES:

Code No. Reason for Return
(01-03) Funds
01 Funds insufficient
02 Exceeds arrangement
03 Effects not cleared, present again.
(04-09) Reference to Drawer
04 Refer to drawer
05 Kindly contact Drawer/Drawee Bank and please present again.
(10-19) Signature
10 Drawer’s signature incomplete
11 Drawer’s signature illegible
12 Drawer’s signature differs
13 Drawer’s signature required
14 Drawer’s signature not as per mandate
15 Drawer’s signature to operate account not received
16 Drawer’s authority to operate account not received
17 Alteration requires drawer’s authentication
(20-29) Stop Payment
20 Payment stopped by drawer
21 Payment stopped by attachment order
22 Payment stopped by court order
23 Withdrawal stopped owing to death of account holder
24 Withdrawal stopped owing to lunacy of account holder
25 Withdrawal stopped owing to insolvency of account holder
(30-49) Instrument
30 Instrument post dated
31 Instrument out dated/stale
32 Instrument undated/ without proper date
33 Instrument mutilated; requires Bank’s guarantee
34 Cheque irregularly drawn/ amount in words and figures differs
35 Clearing House stamp/ date required
36 Wrongly delivered/ Not drawn on us
37 Present in proper zone
38 Instrument contains extraneous matter
39 Image not clear, present again with paper
40 Present with document
41 Item listed twice
42 Paper not received
(50-59) Account
50 Account closed
51 Account transferred to another branch
52 No such account
53 Title of account required
54 Title of account wrong/ incomplete
55 Account blocked (situation covered in 21-25)
(60-69) Crossing/Endorsement
60 Crossed to two banks
61 Crossing stamp not cancelled
62 Clearing stamp not cancelled
63 Instrument specially crossed to another bank
64 Amount in protective crossing incorrect
65 Amount in protective crossing required/illegible
66 Payee’s endorsement required
67 Payee’s endorsement irregular / requires collecting bank’s confirmation
68 Endorsement by mark/ thumb impression requires attestation by Magistrate with seal
(70-79) RBI /Government
70 Advice not received
71 Amount / Name differs on advice
72 Drawee bank’s fund with sponsor bank insufficient
73 Payee’s separate discharge to bank required
74 Not payable till 1st proximo
75 Pay order/ cheque requires counter signature
76 Required information not legible/ correct
(80-99) Miscellaneous
80 Bank’s certificate ambiguous/ incomplete/ required
81 Draft lost by issuing office/ confirmation required from issuing office
82 Draft lost by issuing office/ confirmation required from issuing office
83 Digital Certificate Validation failure
84 Other reasons-connectivity failure
85 Alterations on instrument- Other than “Date” field (Alteration/correction on instruments are prohibited under Cheque Truncation System. Return reason code applicable to instruments presented in CTS)
86 Fake/Forged/Stolen-draft/cheque/cash order/interest warrant/dividend warrant
87 ‘Payee’s a/c credited’- Stamp required
88 Other reasons (Please specify)
92 Bank Excluded