Return codes from RACF commands

All of the RACF® commands (except RVARY) issue the following return codes. RVARY issues return codes of 0, 8, and 12.

Decimal code

Meaning

0

Normal completion.

4

The command encountered a user error or an authorization failure and attempted to continue processing. Refer to documentation of the error message that RACF issues to determine what part of the current entity (if any) was completed. If additional entities were specified on the command, RACF attempts to process them.

8

The command encountered a user error or an authorization failure and terminated processing.

12

The command encountered a system error and terminated processing.

Except for commands entered using the AT keyword or the RACLINK command, you can use CLIST processing or REXX exec processing to check for these return codes. Commands entered using the AT keyword or the RACLINK command run in two phases:

• The first phase validates the issuer's authority to use the function and determines whether the RACF subsystem address space is available to handle the second phase. A return code of 0 from the first phase means the request was successfully passed to the RACF subsystem address space. A return code of 8 means the command was rejected.
• The second phase runs in the RACF subsystem address space. Return codes within the address space cannot be interrogated by the issuer's CLIST or REXX exec. The success of the command processing within the second phase must be determined from the returned output messages, if any.