# File status 44: Record length not allowed on WRITE or REWRITE Source: https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-44 ### File status 44: Record length not allowed on WRITE or REWRITE File status 44 means a WRITE or REWRITE used a record length the file doesn't allow. Either a REWRITE tried to change the length of the record, or the record is outside the RECORD VARYING limits. #### Other names for this code Also written as `FS 44`, `file status code 44`, `COBOL status 44`, `VSAM status 44`, `status key 44`, `REWRITE record length COBOL`, `SK44`. ### What it means Status 44 is a logic error about record size. IBM sets it in two cases. A REWRITE supplies a record whose length differs from the record it replaces, on a file where the length can't change. Or a WRITE or REWRITE supplies a record larger than the maximum or smaller than the minimum allowed by the FD's RECORD IS VARYING clause. For a QSAM file updated in place, a REWRITE must keep the exact length of the record read. The access method overwrites the record inside its block and can't make room. For VSAM, a KSDS or RRDS with variable-length records can take a new length on REWRITE, within the FD's limits, but an ESDS record can't change length. VSAM itself rejects a length it can't use with register 15 = 8 and feedback code 108 (X'6C'), and a length change during an addressed update with feedback code 100 (X'64'). Under the older CMPR2 behavior a QSAM length problem of this kind was reported as 00 and a VSAM one as 00 or 92, so old programs sometimes passed bad lengths without any error. ### Common causes - The DEPENDING ON item of a RECORD VARYING clause, or the OCCURS DEPENDING ON count that sets the record length, wasn't set, or was set wrongly, before the WRITE. - A REWRITE of a variable-length QSAM record after changing a count field, which changes the record's length. - A REWRITE that moves a different record layout, of a different length, into the record area of an ESDS or QSAM file. - Input data with more occurrences than the copybook's maximum, so the built record is too long. ### How to find the problem - DISPLAY the record length, meaning the DEPENDING ON item or the length you compute, just before the failing WRITE or REWRITE. - Compare it with the RECORD VARYING FROM and TO values in the FD, and for VSAM with MAXLRECL from IDCAMS LISTCAT ALL. - For a REWRITE, compare the length with the length of the record the READ returned. - Display data-name-8 for a VSAM file. Feedback 108 (X'6C') means VSAM rejected the length. ### How to fix it - Set the record length item before every WRITE, and before a REWRITE when the length may change. - Keep the REWRITE length equal to the length read for QSAM and ESDS files. To change lengths, copy the file and write new records. - Check occurrence counts against the copybook maximum before building the record. ### IBM documentation [IBM Enterprise COBOL documentation](https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cobol-zos/6.4.0). Use the documentation for your installed release. This link opens the relevant IBM reference library or lookup instructions. Match the complete code and your installed product release; it is not a code-specific review. [Report a correction to WND Software](https://wndsoftware.com/contact#message). Last reviewed 2026-10-18 by the WND Software team. Written in our own words. For the full reference, check IBM’s Enterprise COBOL documentation for your release. ### Related codes [File status 04 Record length doesn't match the FD Read →](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-04) [File status 43 REWRITE or DELETE without a prior READ Read →](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-43) [File status 39 File attributes conflict with the program Read →](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-39) [File status 24 Boundary violation on an indexed or relative file Read →](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-24) [File status 34 Boundary violation on a sequential file Read →](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-34) ### Questions #### Can I change a record's length with REWRITE? On a VSAM KSDS or RRDS with variable-length records, yes, within the FD's limits. On a QSAM file or an ESDS, no. The new record must be the same length as the old one. #### What is the difference between 44 and 04? 04 is a warning on READ when a record's length is outside the FD's range. 44 is an error on WRITE or REWRITE, and the record isn't written. [COBOL file status codes](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/cobol-file-status) · [File status 43](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-43) · [File status 46](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/file-status-46) [← All error codes](https://wndsoftware.com/mainframe-errors/)