Format ErrorsCritical

    E003Invalid Character Encoding

    The file contains non-ASCII or invalid characters

    Description

    Metro 2 files must use ASCII encoding only. Characters must be printable ASCII (decimal 32-126) or specific control characters. This error occurs when the file contains Unicode characters, extended ASCII, or binary data that cannot be interpreted as valid Metro 2 content.

    Common Causes

    • File saved in UTF-8 or other Unicode encoding
    • Special characters in consumer names or addresses
    • Binary file content mixed with text
    • Copy/paste from word processors introducing special characters

    How to Fix

    1. 1Save the file as plain ASCII text
    2. 2Remove or replace special characters (accents, curly quotes, etc.)
    3. 3Use basic alphanumeric characters only
    4. 4Avoid copy/paste from formatted documents

    Examples

    Invalid
    JOSÉ GARCÍA
    Valid
    JOSE GARCIA
    Accented characters must be replaced with ASCII equivalents

    More Format Errors

    E001
    Invalid Record Length
    E002
    Invalid Record Identifier

    Catch Errors Before Submission

    Metro2 software validates every field and catches errors like E003 before you submit to the credit bureaus.

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