Last reviewed October 6, 2026 by Effective Data's EDI specialists.
When the 861 is used, and which way it travels
The receiver sends it after inspecting an inbound shipment, reporting received, accepted, damaged and rejected quantities with condition codes. In vendor-managed and consignment relationships it can double as the acceptance certificate that triggers payment.
Effective Data lists the 861 among the routing and receiving documents, where it is the receipt-confirmation half: the document that closes the loop the routing instructions opened.
Also called the Receiving Advice, the Acceptance Certificate. Same document, same number.
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.
| Segment | Name | Part | What it carries |
|---|---|---|---|
| ST | Transaction Set Header | Header | Identifies the document as a 861 and opens the control number the trailer must match. |
| BRA | Beginning Segment for Receiving Advice or Acceptance Certificate | Header | The advice number, its date, its purpose and whether it is a receiving advice or an acceptance certificate. |
| N1 | Party Identification | Header | Who received, who shipped, and whose order it answers. |
| RCD | Receiving Conditions | Detail | The line-level answer: quantity received, quantity accepted, and quantities in question with receiving-condition codes (damaged, short, rejected). |
| 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 a 861 and opens the control number the trailer must match.
- BRA Beginning Segment for Receiving Advice or Acceptance Certificate Header
- The advice number, its date, its purpose and whether it is a receiving advice or an acceptance certificate.
- N1 Party Identification Header
- Who received, who shipped, and whose order it answers.
- RCD Receiving Conditions Detail
- The line-level answer: quantity received, quantity accepted, and quantities in question with receiving-condition codes (damaged, short, rejected).
- SE Transaction Set Trailer Summary
- Closes the set. Segment count and control number must match the ST.
Why yours is being rejected
Every EDI provider publishes what an 861 is. What matters in production is why one fails, and these are the failure modes we can put a source against today:
-
Quantities that do not reconcile to the 856. An 861 reporting receipt against a shipment the ASN described differently sends both parties hunting through pack structure; the dispute is cheaper when the RCD condition codes say short or damaged explicitly rather than leaving a bare mismatch.
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.
The documents the 861 travels with
Frequently asked
+ What is an EDI 861?
The Receiving Advice / Acceptance Certificate: the receiver’s report of what actually arrived and in what condition, line by line, against what was shipped.
+ How does the 861 relate to the 856 and 810?
The 856 says what the supplier shipped; the 861 says what the receiver accepted; the 810 bills. When the three disagree, the 861 is the document that localizes the discrepancy to the dock rather than the mailroom.
+ Where does the 861 fit in logistics operations?
In the receiving half of the routing-and-receiving group: it is the receipt confirmation that ensures delivery coordination actually ended in delivery.
Is your 861 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 847.969.9300Answered 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.