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What is an EDI 812?

The EDI 812 is the credit/debit adjustment: the electronic replacement for a credit or debit memo, securely communicating cost adjustments between businesses for goods or services.

Either direction: sellers notify, buyers request
Written by EDI specialists
Everything is on the page, nothing to fill in

Last reviewed October 6, 2026 by Effective Data's EDI specialists.

Where it fits

When the 812 is used, and which way it travels

How the EDI 812 travelsThe 812 Credit/Debit Adjustment travels in both directions between Seller and Buyer. In sequence with: 850, 810, 812, 820.SellerBuyer812Credit/Debit AdjustmentIn sequence850Purchase order810Invoice812Adjustment820Remittance
How the EDI 812 travelsThe 812 Credit/Debit Adjustment travels in both directions between Seller and Buyer. In sequence with: 850, 810, 812, 820.SellerBuyer812Credit/Debit AdjustmentIn sequence850Purchase order810Invoice812Adjustment820Remittance
Which way the 812 travels, and the documents it is usually traded alongside. Partner implementation guides can add or drop documents from this set.

Sellers typically send an 812 to notify a customer about a pricing increase or decrease related to a previous order, such as an 850 or an 810.

Buyers use it to request an adjustment due to damaged, lost, or wrong items being delivered.

The document typically includes the original transaction or PO number, the amount of the adjustment, the items being adjusted, and the reason for the adjustment.

Also called the Credit or Debit Memo, the Adjustment. Same document, same number.

Inside the document

The segments, and what each one carries

The published X12 structure, minus the segments most partners never use. Each partner's implementation guide narrows this further: which qualifiers, which identifiers, how many decimals. That guide, not the standard, is what your file is validated against.

Structure of the EDI 812An ISA/IEA interchange envelope wraps a GS/GE functional group, which wraps the 812 transaction set from ST to SE. Header: BCD, REF, N1. Detail: CDD. Summary: none listed.ISAInterchange envelopeIEAGSFunctional groupGESTTransaction set 812SEHeaderBCDREFN1Detailrepeats per line or loopCDDSummaryno segments listed
Structure of the EDI 812An ISA/IEA interchange envelope wraps a GS/GE functional group, which wraps the 812 transaction set from ST to SE. Header: BCD, REF, N1. Detail: CDD. Summary: none listed.ISAInterchange envelopeIEAGSFunctional groupGESTTransaction set 812SEHeaderBCDREFN1Detailrepeats per line or loopCDDSummaryno segments listed
The 812 inside its X12 envelope. ISA and GS wrap every interchange; ST and SE open and close this document; the segments between them are the ones listed below, in the part of the document they belong to.
SegmentNamePartWhat it carries
ST Transaction Set Header Header Identifies the document as an 812 and opens the control number the trailer must match.
BCD Beginning Credit/Debit Adjustment Header Credit or debit, the amount, the date, and the invoice or PO it adjusts.
REF Reference Identification Header The reference numbers that locate the original transaction.
N1 Party Identification Header Who is adjusting whom.
CDD Credit/Debit Adjustment Detail Detail The line-level adjustment: the reason code, quantity and amount per item.
SE Transaction Set Trailer Summary Closes the set. Segment count and control number must match the ST.
ST Transaction Set Header Header
Identifies the document as an 812 and opens the control number the trailer must match.
BCD Beginning Credit/Debit Adjustment Header
Credit or debit, the amount, the date, and the invoice or PO it adjusts.
REF Reference Identification Header
The reference numbers that locate the original transaction.
N1 Party Identification Header
Who is adjusting whom.
CDD Credit/Debit Adjustment Detail Detail
The line-level adjustment: the reason code, quantity and amount per item.
SE Transaction Set Trailer Summary
Closes the set. Segment count and control number must match the ST.
The part that costs money

Why yours is being rejected

Every EDI provider publishes what an 812 is. What matters in production is why one fails, and these are the failure modes we can put a source against today:

  1. An adjustment that references nothing. The 812 adjusts a previous transaction; a document whose original PO or invoice reference does not match the counterparty's records cannot be applied and joins the dispute queue.

  2. Reason codes left generic. CDD carries the reason per line; adjustments filed without usable reasons cannot be reconciled to their cause, and the same dispute repeats on the next order.

If one of these is happening to you right now, skip to the bottom of the page and describe it. Diagnosing rejected documents is most of what we do.

Related documents

The documents the 812 travels with

810

Invoice

Read it →
820

Payment Order/Remittance Advice

Read it →
850

EDI 850

Read it →

Frequently asked

+ What is an EDI 812?

A debit/credit adjustment business document that securely communicates costs between businesses for goods or services, replacing the paper credit or debit memo.

+ What does an 812 include?

The original transaction or PO number, the amount of the adjustment, the items being adjusted, and the reason for the adjustment.

+ Who sends the 812?

Both parties. Sellers send it to notify a customer about a pricing increase or decrease related to a previous order; buyers use it to request an adjustment for damaged, lost or wrong items delivered.

+ How does the 812 relate to the 820?

The 812 raises or requests the adjustment; the 820 is where adjustments show up against actual payment. Together they are how deductions are communicated rather than discovered.

Is your 812 failing, or being mandated by a partner?

Describe the situation and a named EDI specialist will tell you what it takes, including when the answer is that you do not need us.

Or call 847.969.9300

Answered by a named EDI specialist on the same business day. If we are not the right answer we will say so on the first call.