EDI 842 Nonconformance Report: Quality Guide

The EDI 842 is the supplier quality complaint, sent as data. When a receiving inspector or a line operator finds a bracket with a hole in the wrong place, the plant raises a nonconformance report. In many supply chains that report still goes out as an email with a PDF form, and the supplier's quality engineer retypes it into their own system. The 842 sends the part number, shipment, defect, measurement and required action in a structure both quality systems can file and track.

This guide covers what the 842 carries, how it fits a supplier corrective action process, every segment you will map, a live example from a fictional automotive plant, the status and disposition codes, and the mistakes that leave reports unresolved.

What Is an EDI 842?

An EDI 842 is the Nonconformance Report transaction set defined by ASC X12, used to report the nonconformance of an item to an established specification or requirement, and the actions taken or requested. Its functional group code in GS01 is NC. The header opens with a BNR segment, and the detail is built from hierarchical HL loops, so a single 842 can describe several parts or several defects on one part.

Authoritative references for 842 work:

• The X12 transaction set catalog defines the 842 and its segment order
• The Stedi 004010 842 reference lists every loop, including the NCD (nonconformance description), NCA (nonconformance action), RC (root cause) and EFI/BIN (attached file) structures
• The code lists for report status, nonconformance determination and resultant action are X12 elements 886, 888 and 887, listed on the Stedi element reference
• The customer's own supplier quality manual governs what triggers a report, which fields are required, and how fast the supplier must respond

Who sends it? Usually the customer: the manufacturing plant, its receiving inspection, or its supplier quality team. Some suppliers also send 842s to their customers or to their own sub-tier suppliers.

Who receives it? The supplier's quality team, ideally straight into its corrective action system.

When is it sent? When a nonconformance is found, at receiving inspection, on the line, or in the field, and again when the report's status changes.

Why does it matter? A nonconformance usually starts a clock. The customer contains the suspect stock, and the supplier is expected to respond with containment, root cause and corrective action within the time its customer's quality manual sets. Reports that sit in an inbox can turn into a supplier scorecard hit or a debit for sorting and scrap costs.

How a Nonconformance Report Moves

A typical automotive or aerospace cycle:

1. Detection. The plant finds a defect at receiving, in production or in a customer return.
2. Containment. Suspect stock is quarantined. The plant may sort its inventory, and may ask the supplier to sort stock in transit.
3. 842 sent. The plant reports the part, the shipment or lot, what was wrong, how many pieces are affected, and what it wants: return, scrap, use as is, rework, or a cause and corrective action report.
4. Supplier response. The supplier contains its own stock, investigates, and replies through the customer's process. Many customers use a structured problem-solving format such as an 8D report, sent through a portal or a follow-up 842.
5. Disposition. Rejected material is returned, scrapped or reworked. Returns often move with a separate return authorization and, in some supply chains, a 180 return merchandise authorization.
6. Closure. When the corrective action is verified, the report status moves to closed.

The BNR05 status code tracks where a report sits in this cycle, from open and waiting for a corrective action report to final or closed.

Interactive Example: Automotive Nonconformance Report (842)

A fictional axle assembly plant receives 2,400 front mounting brackets from a fictional stamping supplier. Receiving inspection finds 240 with the mounting hole out of tolerance: measured at 10.6 mm against a 9.8 to 10.2 mm limit. The 842 carries report number NCR-26-01187 with status OC (open, waiting for a cause and corrective action report), the part and its engineering change level, the ASN reference, the defect description and measurement in the NCD loop, and two NCA actions: return the 240 pieces, and send a corrective action report.

Use the Plain English tab for a readable summary, or click any segment to break it down element by element.

842 Structure at a Glance

Customer guides use a fraction of this. Read the guide to see which levels, quantities and actions it sends, and which it expects back.

Key Segments Explained

BNR: Beginning Segment for Nonconformance Report

BNR*00*NCR-26-01187*20261105*0930*OC~

BNR05 status codes

Track the status per report number. An 842 with OC is asking you for something; an 842 with CL is telling you the matter is done.

HL and LIN: What Is Nonconforming

HL*1**I~
LIN**BP*7731-4402-A*EC*C~
PID*F****FRONT MOUNTING BRACKET~
REF*SI*ASN-889102~

HL*1**I opens an item level. LIN carries the part as qualifier and value pairs: BP is the buyer's part number and EC the engineering change level. The revision matters: a part made to revision B and inspected against revision C is a different conversation from a part made wrong. REF*SI is the shipper's identifying number, which ties the report to the ASN that delivered the stock. Some guides use lot (LT) or serial (SN) identifiers here too.

NCD: Nonconformance Description

NCD*52*5*1****MOUNTING HOLE POSITION OUT OF TOLERANCE~

At least one of NCD01 and NCD02 is required. NCD02 codes say what kind of requirement was missed:

The segments inside the NCD loop add detail to that defect. In the example, NTE explains that 240 of 2,400 pieces failed the gauge check, and MEA*TR**10.6*MM*9.8*10.2 records the measured value against its limits. RC carries a root cause when one is known, and EFI with BIN can embed a photo or drawing, though many customers send images through a portal instead.

NCA: Nonconformance Action

NCA*1*RT**240*EA~
NCA*2*RS*SUPPLIER TO SUBMIT CAUSE AND CORRECTIVE ACTION REPORT~

HE (hold exhibit) is worth noticing: it means the customer is keeping samples as evidence, so do not expect them back with the return. P (prepare claim) signals the customer intends to recover costs, which its supplier agreement governs.

842 vs 863, 861 and 824

The 863 says "here are the results for this lot." The 842 says "this lot or part did not meet the requirement, and here is what we need from you." The 861 may record that quantities were rejected, but it does not carry the defect, the measurement or the corrective action request.

Common 842 Errors and How to Prevent Them

842 Implementation Checklist

• Get the customer's 842 guide and its supplier quality manual
• Confirm whether you only receive 842s, or must also send them (for example, as status updates)
• Map BNR05 status codes to the states in your corrective action system
• Map NCA02 actions to your disposition workflow: return, scrap, rework, use as is
• Load the customer's defect code list, if it has one
• Make sure part numbers and revisions in LIN match your item master
• Route GS01 = NC groups to the quality team and send 997s
• Agree how corrective action responses go back: follow-up 842, portal, or email
• Test an original report, a status update, a reopened report and a closed report

For more on X12 structure, see our essential guide to EDI and the EDI document types reference.

Where OrderSync Fits

OrderSync works on the order side of a manufacturer's EDI. It reads inbound purchase orders and releases in any format (EDI 850 and 830, PDF, email, spreadsheets), matches customers, parts and units to your item master, and outputs ERP data or valid X12. Parts suppliers can read more on EDI for automotive parts and EDI for contract manufacturing.

For the quality side, paste any 842 into the free EDI inspector to see the part, the defect, the measurement and the required actions explained in plain English. To see your own orders processed, book a 15-minute walkthrough.

Frequently Asked Questions