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What is an EDI 824?

The EDI 824 notifies a supplier of acceptance, rejection or needed changes to a received EDI document. It is how a buyer says your file arrived, parsed, and still has a problem.

Buyer → supplier, about a document already received
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 824 is used, and which way it travels

How the EDI 824 travelsThe 824 Application Advice goes from Buyer to Supplier. In sequence with: 850, 856, 810, 824.BuyerSupplier824Application AdviceIn sequence850Purchase order856Ship notice810Invoice824Application advice
How the EDI 824 travelsThe 824 Application Advice goes from Buyer to Supplier. In sequence with: 850, 856, 810, 824.BuyerSupplier824Application AdviceIn sequence850Purchase order856Ship notice810Invoice824Application advice
Which way the 824 travels, and the documents it is usually traded alongside. Partner implementation guides can add or drop documents from this set.

The 824 is typically used by buyers in retail to notify suppliers of the status of a received EDI document, replacing the fax, phone call or paper document that used to carry the bad news.

It typically includes reference numbers, dates, monetary amounts, quantities of product, trading partner information, and technical error descriptions.

It exists for time-sensitive matters: inconsistencies from the originator can be notified and addressed promptly, before they become downstream failures.

Also called the Application Acknowledgment. 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 824An ISA/IEA interchange envelope wraps a GS/GE functional group, which wraps the 824 transaction set from ST to SE. Header: BGN, N1. Detail: OTI, REF, DTM, TED. Summary: none listed.ISAInterchange envelopeIEAGSFunctional groupGESTTransaction set 824SEHeaderBGNN1Detailrepeats per line or loopOTIREFDTMTEDSummaryno segments listed
Structure of the EDI 824An ISA/IEA interchange envelope wraps a GS/GE functional group, which wraps the 824 transaction set from ST to SE. Header: BGN, N1. Detail: OTI, REF, DTM, TED. Summary: none listed.ISAInterchange envelopeIEAGSFunctional groupGESTTransaction set 824SEHeaderBGNN1Detailrepeats per line or loopOTIREFDTMTEDSummaryno segments listed
The 824 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 824 and opens the control number the trailer must match.
BGN Beginning Segment Header Transaction purpose, reference number, date and time.
N1 Party Identification Header Who is advising whom.
OTI Original Transaction Identification Detail Which document this advice is about, and the verdict: accepted, accepted with change, or rejected.
REF Reference Identification Detail The reference numbers that locate the problem in the original document.
DTM Date/Time Reference Detail The dates of the original transaction.
TED Technical Error Description Detail What is actually wrong, as an error code and free-form description.
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 824 and opens the control number the trailer must match.
BGN Beginning Segment Header
Transaction purpose, reference number, date and time.
N1 Party Identification Header
Who is advising whom.
OTI Original Transaction Identification Detail
Which document this advice is about, and the verdict: accepted, accepted with change, or rejected.
REF Reference Identification Detail
The reference numbers that locate the problem in the original document.
DTM Date/Time Reference Detail
The dates of the original transaction.
TED Technical Error Description Detail
What is actually wrong, as an error code and free-form description.
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 824 is. What matters in production is why one fails, and these are the failure modes we can put a source against today:

  1. Confusing it with a 997. The 997 Functional Acknowledgment says a file arrived and parsed; the 824 says the content was evaluated and rejected or needs change. A supplier who treats a 997 as business acceptance misses the 824 that follows with the real answer.

  2. Received and unworked. The 824 exists so inconsistencies can be addressed promptly; an advice that lands in a mailbox nobody monitors converts a fixable error into a rejected invoice or a deduction.

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 824 travels with

810

Invoice

Read it →
856

Ship Notice/Manifest

Read it →
850

EDI 850

Read it →

Frequently asked

+ What is an EDI 824?

The Application Advice. It notifies a supplier of acceptance, rejection or needed changes to a received EDI document, and it is typically used by buyers in retail.

+ What does an 824 contain?

Reference numbers, dates, monetary amounts, quantities of product, trading partner information, and technical error descriptions.

+ What is the difference between an 824 and a 997?

The 997 Functional Acknowledgment is a receipt: the file arrived and parsed. The 824 is a judgment: the document's content was rejected or needs changes. A document can pass the 997 and fail the 824.

+ What should happen when an 824 arrives?

It should be worked promptly. The 824 exists so time-sensitive inconsistencies can be notified and addressed with accuracy and speed, replacing notification by fax, phone or paper.

Is your 824 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.