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What is an EDI 997?

The EDI 997 Functional Acknowledgment is the receipt: a simple but highly beneficial transaction confirming the date and time a transmitted EDI document was received.

Both directions: every sender of documents is a receiver of 997s
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 997 is used, and which way it travels

How the EDI 997 travelsThe 997 Functional Acknowledgment travels in both directions between Sender and Receiver. In sequence with: 850, 856, 810, 824, 997.SenderReceiver997Functional AcknowledgmentIn sequence850Purchase order856Ship notice810Invoice824Application advice997Functional ack
How the EDI 997 travelsThe 997 Functional Acknowledgment travels in both directions between Sender and Receiver. In sequence with: 850, 856, 810, 824, 997.SenderReceiver997Functional AcknowledgmentIn sequence850Purchase order856Ship notice810Invoice824Application advice997Functional ack
Which way the 997 travels, and the documents it is usually traded alongside. Partner implementation guides can add or drop documents from this set.

It answers everything. After a seller receives an 820, the EDI system generates a 997 Functional Acknowledgment back to the buyer to confirm receipt, and the same reflex applies across the document set.

Trading partners require it: Rite Aid lists the 997 among the transaction types suppliers must send and receive, and it confirms transaction receipt across manufacturing, retail, transportation and healthcare document flows alike.

Its practical value is certainty about timing: knowing exactly the day and time your customer received their invoice, rather than wondering when you will be paid for an order.

Also called the Functional Ack, the FA. 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 997An ISA/IEA interchange envelope wraps a GS/GE functional group, which wraps the 997 transaction set from ST to SE. Header: AK1. Detail: AK2, AK3, AK4, AK5. Summary: AK9.ISAInterchange envelopeIEAGSFunctional groupGESTTransaction set 997SEHeaderAK1Detailrepeats per line or loopAK2AK3AK4AK5SummaryAK9
Structure of the EDI 997An ISA/IEA interchange envelope wraps a GS/GE functional group, which wraps the 997 transaction set from ST to SE. Header: AK1. Detail: AK2, AK3, AK4, AK5. Summary: AK9.ISAInterchange envelopeIEAGSFunctional groupGESTTransaction set 997SEHeaderAK1Detailrepeats per line or loopAK2AK3AK4AK5SummaryAK9
The 997 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 a 997 and opens the control number the trailer must match.
AK1 Functional Group Response Header Header Which functional group is being acknowledged, by its group control number.
AK2 Transaction Set Response Header Detail One loop per transaction set being answered, by set and control number.
AK3 Data Segment Note Detail Where a syntax error sits: the offending segment and its position.
AK4 Data Element Note Detail The element inside that segment, and the error code that names what is wrong with it.
AK5 Transaction Set Response Trailer Detail The verdict per transaction set: accepted, accepted with errors, or rejected.
AK9 Functional Group Response Trailer Summary The verdict for the whole group, with counts of sets received and accepted.
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 997 and opens the control number the trailer must match.
AK1 Functional Group Response Header Header
Which functional group is being acknowledged, by its group control number.
AK2 Transaction Set Response Header Detail
One loop per transaction set being answered, by set and control number.
AK3 Data Segment Note Detail
Where a syntax error sits: the offending segment and its position.
AK4 Data Element Note Detail
The element inside that segment, and the error code that names what is wrong with it.
AK5 Transaction Set Response Trailer Detail
The verdict per transaction set: accepted, accepted with errors, or rejected.
AK9 Functional Group Response Trailer Summary
The verdict for the whole group, with counts of sets received and accepted.
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 997 is. What matters in production is why one fails, and these are the failure modes we can put a source against today:

  1. Treating it as agreement. The 997 is a syntax receipt: AK5 and AK9 say the file arrived and parsed, not that anyone agreed with its contents. Business-level rejection travels separately, in documents like the 824 Application Advice.

  2. Nobody watching. A 997 that reports rejected in AK5 while the sender assumes silence means success is how an invoice goes missing until the remittance arrives short. The receipt only protects you if someone reconciles it.

  3. Not sending it. Partners that require the 997, as Rite Aid's supplier requirements do, treat a missing acknowledgment as a compliance failure by itself, regardless of whether the underlying document processed.

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 997 travels with

850

EDI 850

Read it →
810

Invoice

Read it →
856

Ship Notice/Manifest

Read it →
824

Application Advice

Read it →

Frequently asked

+ What is an EDI 997?

The Functional Acknowledgment: a simple but highly beneficial transaction that confirms the date and time the document transmitted via EDI was received.

+ Does a 997 mean my document was accepted?

Only syntactically. The 997 reports whether the functional group and its transaction sets parsed, with AK5 and AK9 verdicts of accepted, accepted with errors, or rejected. Content-level acceptance or rejection travels in business documents such as the 824.

+ When is a 997 sent?

On receipt of a document. For example, after the seller receives an 820 payment order, the EDI system generates a 997 back to the buyer confirming receipt.

+ What is the difference between a 997 and a 999?

Both are acknowledgments. The healthcare enrolment flow specifies the 999 Implementation Acknowledgment as the required response to an 834, while the 997 is the general functional acknowledgment used across the commercial document set.

Is your 997 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.