Documentation Indicator is a code carried in the F60 (Additional Data) DE05 field of clearing transactions. It is used in second presentment/reversal presentment transactions and shows the sending status of the supporting document.
The values that can be sent in the Documentation Indicator field and their descriptions are listed below:
| Code (in Second Presentment/Reversal Presentment Transactions) | Description |
| space | No document required |
| 0 | Document not sent |
| 1 | Document mailed |
| 2 | An invalid Acquirer Reference Number was entered and supporting documents were not requested or not received |
| 3 | An invalid Acquirer Reference Number was entered and supporting documents were received |
| 4 | Supporting document not received |
| 5 | Incomplete document sent (EC) |
Why do documents matter?
In the dispute process, the parties must support their claims with documents. For example, the merchant's bank can submit a signed receipt, a delivery document or an invoice against the cardholder's dispute. The Documentation Indicator tells the other party whether these documents have been sent together with the second presentment or reversal presentment record.
How the code values are used
- For dispute reasons that do not require documents, the field is left blank.
- If a document has been sent or will be sent, the other party learns from this field that it should wait for the document.
- Situations such as a missing or faulty document are also indicated with separate codes.
This way, before starting to evaluate the dispute, the other party knows which documents it should have in hand.
Electronic document sharing
Values such as “Document mailed” in this article date from the period when documents were sent physically. Today, documents are mostly shared through electronic systems such as CDYS. Electronic sharing shortens the time it takes for a document to reach the other party and keeps a record of the process.
