Also called: Substitute check
What an Image Replacement Document is
An Image Replacement Document, or IRD, is a paper reproduction of the front and back of an original check. A bank creates it from the check's digital image when a paper item is needed in the clearing process. It is also called a substitute check.
A check image on your phone or scanner is not itself an IRD. The bank must accept and process the image, then create the substitute check. Under Check 21, a properly prepared substitute check is the legal equivalent of the original paper check. Check 21 is the law; the IRD is the paper item used under that law.
An IRD is the paper substitute check, not the digital image and not the Check 21 law.
How an IRD moves through check clearing
Your business might deposit a check through a teller, ATM, scanner or mobile banking app. The bank captures the front and back, then processes the check electronically or creates an IRD if a downstream bank needs a paper item. A returned item can also come back as an image or an IRD.
Only a bank creates a substitute check. Your business sends the original check or its image for deposit, but it does not print its own document and make it an IRD. This is check-image clearing, not an ACH payment. A check converted into an electronic payment follows a different process and payment rail.
What an IRD means for your cash flow
An IRD does not carry a card-processing fee because it is part of check clearing, not card acceptance. Your bank may charge for a mobile or remote deposit service under its fee schedule, but that is a service charge, not a standard IRD-specific amount.
A deposit can receive provisional credit before the check is finally settled. If an image is incomplete, fails quality requirements or cannot be processed, the bank can reject the item or charge the credit back to your account. That reversal can reduce your available balance after you have recorded the sale.
What to keep with your deposit records
Banks do not have to return original checks or retain them as long as businesses did before image-based clearing. Keep the deposit confirmation and a readable image of both sides so you can match a returned item or account adjustment to the original check.
Follow the original-check retention period in your bank's mobile or remote deposit instructions. One mobile deposit agreement requires keeping the check for 14 calendar days after deposit acknowledgment, then securely destroying it. That period is specific to that agreement, not a universal IRD rule.
What you can actually change
You cannot choose whether another bank needs an IRD. You can reduce avoidable deposit exceptions by following your bank's image and duplicate-deposit rules.
- Capture clear images of the front and back, including the amount, signature, routing number and MICR line.
- After submitting a check image, do not deposit or present the original through another channel.
- Keep the deposit acknowledgment and image with the transaction record until the check has cleared.
- Follow the exact retention period in your bank's remote-deposit terms, then destroy the original securely if instructed.
- Prevent duplicate deposits. Mark submitted checks and keep them separate from items that still need to be deposited.
- Save deposit records. Match acknowledgments and check images to your books so a returned item or credit reversal is easier to identify.
Frequently asked questions
Is an IRD the same as a check image?
No. A check image is a digital picture of the original. An IRD is a paper substitute check a bank creates from that image when paper clearing is needed. A business's image alone does not become an IRD.
Is an IRD the same as Check 21?
No. Check 21 is the federal law that permits substitute checks to serve as legal equivalents of original checks when properly prepared. An IRD is the paper substitute check used in the clearing process under that law.
Does an IRD create a separate merchant fee?
There is no standard IRD-specific fee amount in the process described here. Your bank can charge fees for a mobile or remote deposit service under its fee schedule, so identify the service charge separately from check clearing.