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ISO 20022 reason code

MD01: No mandate

No valid mandate exists for this direct debit. MD01 is an ISO 20022 reason code used as a status reason and a return reason: you will see it in pain.002, pacs.004 and camt.053.

MD01 at a glance
CodeMD01
NameNo mandate
ISO code listsExternalStatusReason1Code (status reason); ExternalReturnReason1Code (return reason)
WhereStsRsnInf/Rsn/Cd; RtrRsnInf/Rsn/Cd (pacs.004), TxDtls/RtrInf/Rsn/Cd (camt)

What MD01 means

There is no valid mandate for the direct debit, or the debtor says they never authorised it.

Not to be confused with: MD01 says no valid mandate exists; MD02 says the mandate exists but data in the collection is missing or wrong, and MD06 is a refund of a collection the debtor did authorise.

A reason code always comes with a status or an action: on its own it says why, not what happened. In a status report look at the status next to it (RJCT means the payment will not be executed); on a statement the returned entry tells you the money has come back.

Where MD01 appears

MD01 belongs to two of the ISO 20022 reason code lists, so it can arrive in these places:

  • Status reason (ExternalStatusReason1Code): in a payment status report (pain.002 from a bank to its customer, pacs.002 between banks) that rejects or holds a payment.
  • Return reason (ExternalReturnReason1Code): in a payment return (pacs.004) after the money has moved, and the returned entry on the account statement (camt.053) or notification (camt.054).

On the account statement, the returned amount is an entry of its own, and MD01 sits in the return information of its transaction details (pacs.004, the interbank return, carries it in TxInf/RtrRsnInf/Rsn/Cd):

camt.053.001.08 · a returned payment on the statement
<Ntry>
  <Amt Ccy="EUR">2100.00</Amt>
  <CdtDbtInd>CRDT</CdtDbtInd>
  <Sts><Cd>BOOK</Cd></Sts>
  <NtryDtls>
    <TxDtls>
      <Refs>
        <EndToEndId>INV-2026-0042</EndToEndId>
      </Refs>
      <RtrInf>
        <Rsn>
          <Cd>MD01</Cd>
        </Rsn>
      </RtrInf>
    </TxDtls>
  </NtryDtls>
</Ntry>

What to do about MD01

  • If you sent the payment or the collection: Check that you hold a signed mandate for this debtor with the mandate id and date of signature you sent. Collect again only once a valid mandate exists.
  • On the other side: A debtor who did not authorise a collection can ask their bank for a refund.

Under the SEPA Core rulebook, a debtor can claim a refund of an unauthorised collection for 13 months after the debit; it comes back to the creditor as a return with MD01.

Your bank’s implementation guide and the scheme’s rulebook (for SEPA, the EPC rulebooks) say exactly when it may use MD01; banks do not all apply a code the same way.

Look up MD01 from a script or an AI agent

Scripts and AI agents get this code’s name, definition, where it sits and the address of this page from GET /api/v1/explain, keyless, or from the explain_code tool of the MCP server (API and MCP docs; add it to Claude, Cursor or VS Code).

REST · curl
curl -s 'https://iso20022-navigator.com/api/v1/explain?code=MD01&kind=status_reason'