RMA

An RMA, return merchandise authorization, is the number a manufacturer or distributor issues before it will accept a returned part. Contact support, describe the fault and give the part's serial number, and the vendor opens a case and issues the number. Freight sent back without one gets refused at the receiving dock.

Most enterprise hardware carries a DOA window, commonly 14 to 30 days from the invoice date, where the manufacturer swaps a dead unit with no diagnostic questions asked. Ordinary warranty terms take over after that. Server boards and chassis usually carry three years, enterprise drives three to five, and the vendor may run its own tests before approving a replacement. A cross-ship RMA sends the replacement before the defective unit arrives back, against a credit hold. A standard RMA waits for receipt and testing first, which commonly adds one to three weeks.

Log the serial number and invoice date for every part at intake, before it goes into a build. A cross-ship RMA lives or dies on matching the returned serial to the original order, and a claim outside the warranty window gets rejected on the date alone.

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Last verified August 29, 2026.