What Is a NACHA Addenda Record? (07 and 05 Records Explained)

Last updated July 2026.

A NACHA addenda record is the optional line in an ACH file that carries extra payment information for the entry above it, most often the remittance detail that tells the receiver which invoices a payment covers. In the file it is a record type 7 that sits directly after the type 6 entry detail record it belongs to. Consumer payments rarely use one, but business to business payments lean on them heavily, because the addenda is where the invoice numbers, adjustments, and reference data travel alongside the dollars.

Where the addenda sits in a NACHA file

A NACHA file is built from numbered record types stacked in a fixed order. The addenda is record type 7, and it only appears when an entry needs to carry more than the entry detail record can hold.

What the addenda record contains

The addenda record is 94 characters like every other line, and its main payload is an 80-character field the NACHA rules call the Payment Related Information. That field is where the remittance data lives, and it is free-form within a batch type but usually structured. For a CCD entry, one addenda can carry a block of invoice and adjustment detail. For a CTX entry, the file can carry many addenda records for a single payment, holding a full ANSI X12 820 or EDI remittance so a supplier can auto-apply cash against dozens of invoices. Each addenda also carries a sequence number and a reference back to the entry it belongs to, which is what keeps the remittance tied to the right payment when a batch is large.

Addenda by SEC code

How many addenda an entry can have depends on the Standard Entry Class code on the batch header. This is the practical rule that trips up AP teams building files.

The pattern is simple: a single addenda is enough to pass a short reference or one invoice, while CTX exists precisely so a payment can carry a full remittance advice across many addenda. If you are paying a vendor for one invoice, CCD with one addenda is normal. If you are paying a supplier for fifty invoices in one payment, CTX is what lets the whole schedule travel with the money.

Why the addenda matters for reconciliation

For the receiver, the addenda is the difference between a payment they can auto-apply and one they have to chase. A payment that arrives with clean remittance detail can be matched to open invoices without a phone call, which is the whole point of straight-through cash application. When the addenda is missing or vague, the receiver sees money land with no idea which invoices it clears, and someone has to reconcile it by hand. That is why suppliers push customers toward CTX or a well-populated CCD addenda: the remittance data is what makes the cash usable.

Reading addenda records in a spreadsheet

Addenda are hard to read in the raw file because they are fixed-width 94-character lines with no delimiters, and the remittance sits inside a single packed field. The fastest way to review them is to turn the file into rows. Upload the ACH file to the NACHA file to Excel converter and each entry, with its addenda payment information alongside, becomes a spreadsheet row you can filter and total. From there you can tie the file out, check the remittance is present, and confirm the batch balances. For the field-by-field layout of the whole file, see how to read a NACHA file, and before you send one, the guide to validating a NACHA file covers the control totals. Finance teams that send high volumes of vendor payments and want the remittance built and matched automatically usually run this through accounts payable automation rather than hand-keying each addenda.