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 | |
