diff --git a/flang/include/flang/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.h b/flang/include/flang/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.h
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flang/include/flang/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.h
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+//===-- Character.h -- generate calls to character runtime API --*- C++ -*-===//
+//
+// Part of the LLVM Project, under the Apache License v2.0 with LLVM Exceptions.
+// See https://llvm.org/LICENSE.txt for license information.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+#ifndef FORTRAN_OPTIMIZER_BUILDER_RUNTIME_CHARACTER_H
+#define FORTRAN_OPTIMIZER_BUILDER_RUNTIME_CHARACTER_H
+
+#include "mlir/Dialect/StandardOps/IR/Ops.h"
+
+namespace fir {
+class ExtendedValue;
+class FirOpBuilder;
+} // namespace fir
+
+namespace fir::runtime {
+
+/// Generate a call to the `ADJUSTL` runtime.
+/// This calls the simple runtime entry point that then calls into the more
+/// complex runtime cases handling left or right adjustments.
+///
+/// \p resultBox must be an unallocated allocatable used for the temporary
+/// result. \p StringBox must be a fir.box describing the adjustl string
+/// argument. Note that the \p genAdjust() helper is called to do the majority
+/// of the lowering work.
+void genAdjustL(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox);
+
+/// Generate a call to the `ADJUSTR` runtime.
+/// This calls the simple runtime entry point that then calls into the more
+/// complex runtime cases handling left or right adjustments.
+///
+/// \p resultBox must be an unallocated allocatable used for the temporary
+/// result.  \p StringBox must be a fir.box describing the adjustr string
+/// argument. Note that the \p genAdjust() helper is called to do the majority
+/// of the lowering work.
+void genAdjustR(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox);
+
+/// Generate a call to the `ADJUST[L|R]` runtime.
+///
+/// \p resultBox must be an unallocated allocatable used for the temporary
+/// result.  \p StringBox must be a fir.box describing the adjustr string
+/// argument.  The \p adjustFunc should be a mlir::FuncOp for the appropriate
+/// runtime entry function.
+void genAdjust(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+               mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox,
+               mlir::FuncOp &adjustFunc);
+
+/// Generate call to a character comparison for two ssa-values of type
+/// `boxchar`.
+mlir::Value genCharCompare(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                           mlir::arith::CmpIPredicate cmp,
+                           const fir::ExtendedValue &lhs,
+                           const fir::ExtendedValue &rhs);
+
+/// Generate call to a character comparison op for two unboxed variables. There
+/// are 4 arguments, 2 for the lhs and 2 for the rhs. Each CHARACTER must pass a
+/// reference to its buffer (`ref<char<K>>`) and its LEN type parameter (some
+/// integral type).
+mlir::Value genCharCompare(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                           mlir::arith::CmpIPredicate cmp, mlir::Value lhsBuff,
+                           mlir::Value lhsLen, mlir::Value rhsBuff,
+                           mlir::Value rhsLen);
+
+/// Generate call to INDEX runtime.
+/// This calls the simple runtime entry points based on the KIND of the string.
+/// No descriptors are used.
+mlir::Value genIndex(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc, int kind,
+                     mlir::Value stringBase, mlir::Value stringLen,
+                     mlir::Value substringBase, mlir::Value substringLen,
+                     mlir::Value back);
+
+/// Generate call to INDEX runtime.
+/// This calls the descriptor based runtime call implementation for the index
+/// intrinsic.
+void genIndexDescriptor(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                        mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox,
+                        mlir::Value substringBox, mlir::Value backOpt,
+                        mlir::Value kind);
+
+/// Generate call to repeat runtime.
+///   \p resultBox must be an unallocated allocatable used for the temporary
+///   result. \p stringBox must be a fir.box describing repeat string argument.
+///   \p ncopies must be a value representing the number of copies.
+/// The runtime will always allocate the resultBox.
+void genRepeat(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+               mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox,
+               mlir::Value ncopies);
+
+/// Generate call to trim runtime.
+///   \p resultBox must be an unallocated allocatable used for the temporary
+///   result. \p stringBox must be a fir.box describing trim string argument.
+/// The runtime will always allocate the resultBox.
+void genTrim(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+             mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox);
+
+/// Generate call to scan runtime.
+/// This calls the descriptor based runtime call implementation of the scan
+/// intrinsics.
+void genScanDescriptor(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                       mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox,
+                       mlir::Value setBox, mlir::Value backBox,
+                       mlir::Value kind);
+
+/// Generate call to the scan runtime routine that is specialized on
+/// \param kind.
+/// The \param kind represents the kind of the elements in the strings.
+mlir::Value genScan(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc, int kind,
+                    mlir::Value stringBase, mlir::Value stringLen,
+                    mlir::Value setBase, mlir::Value setLen, mlir::Value back);
+
+/// Generate call to verify runtime.
+/// This calls the descriptor based runtime call implementation of the scan
+/// intrinsics.
+void genVerifyDescriptor(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                         mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox,
+                         mlir::Value setBox, mlir::Value backBox,
+                         mlir::Value kind);
+
+/// Generate call to the verify runtime routine that is specialized on
+/// \param kind.
+/// The \param kind represents the kind of the elements in the strings.
+mlir::Value genVerify(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc, int kind,
+                      mlir::Value stringBase, mlir::Value stringLen,
+                      mlir::Value setBase, mlir::Value setLen,
+                      mlir::Value back);
+
+} // namespace fir::runtime
+
+#endif // FORTRAN_OPTIMIZER_BUILDER_RUNTIME_CHARACTER_H
diff --git a/flang/lib/Optimizer/Builder/CMakeLists.txt b/flang/lib/Optimizer/Builder/CMakeLists.txt
--- a/flang/lib/Optimizer/Builder/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/flang/lib/Optimizer/Builder/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
   FIRBuilder.cpp
   MutableBox.cpp
   Runtime/Assign.cpp
+  Runtime/Character.cpp
   Runtime/Reduction.cpp
   Runtime/Transformational.cpp
 
diff --git a/flang/lib/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.cpp b/flang/lib/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.cpp
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flang/lib/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
+//===-- Character.cpp -- runtime for CHARACTER type entities --------------===//
+//
+// Part of the LLVM Project, under the Apache License v2.0 with LLVM Exceptions.
+// See https://llvm.org/LICENSE.txt for license information.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+#include "flang/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.h"
+#include "flang/Lower/Todo.h"
+#include "flang/Optimizer/Builder/BoxValue.h"
+#include "flang/Optimizer/Builder/Character.h"
+#include "flang/Optimizer/Builder/FIRBuilder.h"
+#include "flang/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/RTBuilder.h"
+#include "flang/Runtime/character.h"
+#include "mlir/Dialect/StandardOps/IR/Ops.h"
+
+using namespace Fortran::runtime;
+
+/// Generate calls to string handling intrinsics such as index, scan, and
+/// verify. These are the descriptor based implementations that take four
+/// arguments (string1, string2, back, kind).
+template <typename FN>
+static void genCharacterSearch(FN func, fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                               mlir::Location loc, mlir::Value resultBox,
+                               mlir::Value string1Box, mlir::Value string2Box,
+                               mlir::Value backBox, mlir::Value kind);
+
+/// Helper function to recover the KIND from the FIR type.
+static int discoverKind(mlir::Type ty) {
+  if (auto charTy = ty.dyn_cast<fir::CharacterType>())
+    return charTy.getFKind();
+  if (auto eleTy = fir::dyn_cast_ptrEleTy(ty))
+    return discoverKind(eleTy);
+  if (auto arrTy = ty.dyn_cast<fir::SequenceType>())
+    return discoverKind(arrTy.getEleTy());
+  if (auto boxTy = ty.dyn_cast<fir::BoxCharType>())
+    return discoverKind(boxTy.getEleTy());
+  if (auto boxTy = ty.dyn_cast<fir::BoxType>())
+    return discoverKind(boxTy.getEleTy());
+  llvm_unreachable("unexpected character type");
+}
+
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+// Lower character operations
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+void fir::runtime::genAdjustL(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                              mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox) {
+  auto adjustFunc =
+      fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Adjustl)>(loc, builder);
+  fir::runtime::genAdjust(builder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, adjustFunc);
+}
+
+void fir::runtime::genAdjustR(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                              mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox) {
+  auto adjustFunc =
+      fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Adjustr)>(loc, builder);
+  fir::runtime::genAdjust(builder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, adjustFunc);
+}
+
+void fir::runtime::genAdjust(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                             mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox,
+                             mlir::FuncOp &adjustFunc) {
+
+  auto fTy = adjustFunc.getType();
+  auto sourceLine =
+      fir::factory::locationToLineNo(builder, loc, fTy.getInput(3));
+  auto sourceFile = fir::factory::locationToFilename(builder, loc);
+  auto args = fir::runtime::createArguments(builder, loc, fTy, resultBox,
+                                            stringBox, sourceFile, sourceLine);
+  builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, adjustFunc, args);
+}
+
+mlir::Value
+fir::runtime::genCharCompare(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                             mlir::arith::CmpIPredicate cmp,
+                             mlir::Value lhsBuff, mlir::Value lhsLen,
+                             mlir::Value rhsBuff, mlir::Value rhsLen) {
+  mlir::FuncOp beginFunc;
+  switch (discoverKind(lhsBuff.getType())) {
+  case 1:
+    beginFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(CharacterCompareScalar1)>(
+        loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 2:
+    beginFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(CharacterCompareScalar2)>(
+        loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 4:
+    beginFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(CharacterCompareScalar4)>(
+        loc, builder);
+    break;
+  default:
+    llvm_unreachable("runtime does not support CHARACTER KIND");
+  }
+  auto fTy = beginFunc.getType();
+  auto args = fir::runtime::createArguments(builder, loc, fTy, lhsBuff, rhsBuff,
+                                            lhsLen, rhsLen);
+  auto tri = builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, beginFunc, args).getResult(0);
+  auto zero = builder.createIntegerConstant(loc, tri.getType(), 0);
+  return builder.create<mlir::arith::CmpIOp>(loc, cmp, tri, zero);
+}
+
+mlir::Value fir::runtime::genCharCompare(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                                         mlir::Location loc,
+                                         mlir::arith::CmpIPredicate cmp,
+                                         const fir::ExtendedValue &lhs,
+                                         const fir::ExtendedValue &rhs) {
+  if (lhs.getBoxOf<fir::BoxValue>() || rhs.getBoxOf<fir::BoxValue>())
+    TODO(loc, "character compare from descriptors");
+  auto allocateIfNotInMemory = [&](mlir::Value base) -> mlir::Value {
+    if (fir::isa_ref_type(base.getType()))
+      return base;
+    auto mem =
+        builder.create<fir::AllocaOp>(loc, base.getType(), /*pinned=*/false);
+    builder.create<fir::StoreOp>(loc, base, mem);
+    return mem;
+  };
+  auto lhsBuffer = allocateIfNotInMemory(fir::getBase(lhs));
+  auto rhsBuffer = allocateIfNotInMemory(fir::getBase(rhs));
+  return genCharCompare(builder, loc, cmp, lhsBuffer, fir::getLen(lhs),
+                        rhsBuffer, fir::getLen(rhs));
+}
+
+mlir::Value fir::runtime::genIndex(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                                   mlir::Location loc, int kind,
+                                   mlir::Value stringBase,
+                                   mlir::Value stringLen,
+                                   mlir::Value substringBase,
+                                   mlir::Value substringLen, mlir::Value back) {
+  mlir::FuncOp indexFunc;
+  switch (kind) {
+  case 1:
+    indexFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Index1)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 2:
+    indexFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Index2)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 4:
+    indexFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Index4)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  default:
+    fir::emitFatalError(
+        loc, "unsupported CHARACTER kind value. Runtime expects 1, 2, or 4.");
+  }
+  auto fTy = indexFunc.getType();
+  auto args =
+      fir::runtime::createArguments(builder, loc, fTy, stringBase, stringLen,
+                                    substringBase, substringLen, back);
+  return builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, indexFunc, args).getResult(0);
+}
+
+void fir::runtime::genIndexDescriptor(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                                      mlir::Location loc, mlir::Value resultBox,
+                                      mlir::Value stringBox,
+                                      mlir::Value substringBox,
+                                      mlir::Value backOpt, mlir::Value kind) {
+  auto indexFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Index)>(loc, builder);
+  genCharacterSearch(indexFunc, builder, loc, resultBox, stringBox,
+                     substringBox, backOpt, kind);
+}
+
+void fir::runtime::genRepeat(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                             mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox,
+                             mlir::Value ncopies) {
+  auto repeatFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Repeat)>(loc, builder);
+  auto fTy = repeatFunc.getType();
+  auto sourceFile = fir::factory::locationToFilename(builder, loc);
+  auto sourceLine =
+      fir::factory::locationToLineNo(builder, loc, fTy.getInput(4));
+
+  auto args = fir::runtime::createArguments(
+      builder, loc, fTy, resultBox, stringBox, ncopies, sourceFile, sourceLine);
+  builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, repeatFunc, args);
+}
+
+void fir::runtime::genTrim(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Location loc,
+                           mlir::Value resultBox, mlir::Value stringBox) {
+  auto trimFunc = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Trim)>(loc, builder);
+  auto fTy = trimFunc.getType();
+  auto sourceFile = fir::factory::locationToFilename(builder, loc);
+  auto sourceLine =
+      fir::factory::locationToLineNo(builder, loc, fTy.getInput(3));
+
+  auto args = fir::runtime::createArguments(builder, loc, fTy, resultBox,
+                                            stringBox, sourceFile, sourceLine);
+  builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, trimFunc, args);
+}
+
+/// Generate call to scan runtime routine.
+/// This calls the descriptor based runtime call implementation of the scan
+/// intrinsic.
+void fir::runtime::genScanDescriptor(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                                     mlir::Location loc, mlir::Value resultBox,
+                                     mlir::Value stringBox, mlir::Value setBox,
+                                     mlir::Value backBox, mlir::Value kind) {
+  auto func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Scan)>(loc, builder);
+  genCharacterSearch(func, builder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, setBox, backBox,
+                     kind);
+}
+
+/// Generate call to scan runtime routine that is specialized on
+/// \param kind.
+/// The \param kind represents the kind of the elements in the strings.
+mlir::Value fir::runtime::genScan(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                                  mlir::Location loc, int kind,
+                                  mlir::Value stringBase, mlir::Value stringLen,
+                                  mlir::Value setBase, mlir::Value setLen,
+                                  mlir::Value back) {
+  mlir::FuncOp func;
+  switch (kind) {
+  case 1:
+    func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Scan1)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 2:
+    func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Scan2)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 4:
+    func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Scan4)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  default:
+    fir::emitFatalError(
+        loc, "unsupported CHARACTER kind value. Runtime expects 1, 2, or 4.");
+  }
+  auto fTy = func.getType();
+  auto args = fir::runtime::createArguments(builder, loc, fTy, stringBase,
+                                            stringLen, setBase, setLen, back);
+  return builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, func, args).getResult(0);
+}
+
+/// Generate call to verify runtime routine.
+/// This calls the descriptor based runtime call implementation of the
+/// verify intrinsic.
+void fir::runtime::genVerifyDescriptor(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                                       mlir::Location loc,
+                                       mlir::Value resultBox,
+                                       mlir::Value stringBox,
+                                       mlir::Value setBox, mlir::Value backBox,
+                                       mlir::Value kind) {
+  auto func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Verify)>(loc, builder);
+  genCharacterSearch(func, builder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, setBox, backBox,
+                     kind);
+}
+
+/// Generate call to verify runtime routine that is specialized on
+/// \param kind.
+/// The \param kind represents the kind of the elements in the strings.
+mlir::Value fir::runtime::genVerify(fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                                    mlir::Location loc, int kind,
+                                    mlir::Value stringBase,
+                                    mlir::Value stringLen, mlir::Value setBase,
+                                    mlir::Value setLen, mlir::Value back) {
+  mlir::FuncOp func;
+  switch (kind) {
+  case 1:
+    func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Verify1)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 2:
+    func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Verify2)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  case 4:
+    func = fir::runtime::getRuntimeFunc<mkRTKey(Verify4)>(loc, builder);
+    break;
+  default:
+    fir::emitFatalError(
+        loc, "unsupported CHARACTER kind value. Runtime expects 1, 2, or 4.");
+  }
+  auto fTy = func.getType();
+  auto args = fir::runtime::createArguments(builder, loc, fTy, stringBase,
+                                            stringLen, setBase, setLen, back);
+  return builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, func, args).getResult(0);
+}
+
+/// Generate calls to string handling intrinsics such as index, scan, and
+/// verify. These are the descriptor based implementations that take four
+/// arguments (string1, string2, back, kind).
+template <typename FN>
+static void genCharacterSearch(FN func, fir::FirOpBuilder &builder,
+                               mlir::Location loc, mlir::Value resultBox,
+                               mlir::Value string1Box, mlir::Value string2Box,
+                               mlir::Value backBox, mlir::Value kind) {
+
+  auto fTy = func.getType();
+  auto sourceFile = fir::factory::locationToFilename(builder, loc);
+  auto sourceLine =
+      fir::factory::locationToLineNo(builder, loc, fTy.getInput(6));
+
+  auto args = fir::runtime::createArguments(builder, loc, fTy, resultBox,
+                                            string1Box, string2Box, backBox,
+                                            kind, sourceFile, sourceLine);
+  builder.create<fir::CallOp>(loc, func, args);
+}
diff --git a/flang/unittests/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/CharacterTest.cpp b/flang/unittests/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/CharacterTest.cpp
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flang/unittests/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/CharacterTest.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+//===- CharacterTest.cpp -- Character runtime builder unit tests ----------===//
+//
+// Part of the LLVM Project, under the Apache License v2.0 with LLVM Exceptions.
+// See https://llvm.org/LICENSE.txt for license information.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+#include "flang/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/Character.h"
+#include "RuntimeCallTestBase.h"
+#include "gtest/gtest.h"
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genAdjustLTest) {
+  auto loc = firBuilder->getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Value result = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value string = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  fir::runtime::genAdjustL(*firBuilder, loc, result, string);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(result, "_FortranAAdjustl", 2);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genAdjustRTest) {
+  auto loc = firBuilder->getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Value result = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value string = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  fir::runtime::genAdjustR(*firBuilder, loc, result, string);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(result, "_FortranAAdjustr", 2);
+}
+
+void checkCharCompare(
+    fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, mlir::Type type, llvm::StringRef fctName) {
+  auto loc = builder.getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Type i32Ty = IntegerType::get(builder.getContext(), 32);
+  mlir::Value lhsBuff = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, type);
+  mlir::Value lhsLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value rhsBuff = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, type);
+  mlir::Value rhsLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value res = fir::runtime::genCharCompare(builder, loc,
+      mlir::arith::CmpIPredicate::eq, lhsBuff, lhsLen, rhsBuff, rhsLen);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(lhsBuff, fctName, 4, /*addLocArgs=*/false);
+  EXPECT_TRUE(mlir::isa<mlir::arith::CmpIOp>(res.getDefiningOp()));
+}
+
+void checkCharCompareAllTypeForKind(
+    fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, llvm::StringRef fctName, unsigned kind) {
+  mlir::Type charTy = fir::CharacterType::get(builder.getContext(), kind, 10);
+  mlir::Type seqCharTy = fir::SequenceType::get(charTy, 10);
+  mlir::Type refCharTy = fir::ReferenceType::get(charTy);
+  mlir::Type boxCharTy = fir::BoxCharType::get(builder.getContext(), kind);
+  mlir::Type boxTy = fir::BoxType::get(charTy);
+  checkCharCompare(builder, charTy, fctName);
+  checkCharCompare(builder, seqCharTy, fctName);
+  checkCharCompare(builder, refCharTy, fctName);
+  checkCharCompare(builder, boxCharTy, fctName);
+  checkCharCompare(builder, boxTy, fctName);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genCharCompareTest) {
+  checkCharCompareAllTypeForKind(
+      *firBuilder, "_FortranACharacterCompareScalar1", 1);
+  checkCharCompareAllTypeForKind(
+      *firBuilder, "_FortranACharacterCompareScalar2", 2);
+  checkCharCompareAllTypeForKind(
+      *firBuilder, "_FortranACharacterCompareScalar4", 4);
+}
+
+void checkGenIndex(
+    fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, llvm::StringRef fctName, unsigned kind) {
+  auto loc = builder.getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Type i32Ty = IntegerType::get(builder.getContext(), 32);
+  mlir::Value stringBase = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value stringLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value substringBase = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value substringLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value back = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value res = fir::runtime::genIndex(builder, loc, kind, stringBase,
+      stringLen, substringBase, substringLen, back);
+  checkCallOp(res.getDefiningOp(), fctName, 5, /*addLocArgs=*/false);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genIndexTest) {
+  checkGenIndex(*firBuilder, "_FortranAIndex1", 1);
+  checkGenIndex(*firBuilder, "_FortranAIndex2", 2);
+  checkGenIndex(*firBuilder, "_FortranAIndex4", 4);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genIndexDescriptorTest) {
+  auto loc = firBuilder->getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Value resultBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value stringBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value substringBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value backOpt = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value kind = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  fir::runtime::genIndexDescriptor(
+      *firBuilder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, substringBox, backOpt, kind);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(resultBox, "_FortranAIndex", 5);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genRepeatTest) {
+  auto loc = firBuilder->getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Value resultBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value stringBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value ncopies = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  fir::runtime::genRepeat(*firBuilder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, ncopies);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(resultBox, "_FortranARepeat", 3);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genTrimTest) {
+  auto loc = firBuilder->getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Value resultBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value stringBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  fir::runtime::genTrim(*firBuilder, loc, resultBox, stringBox);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(resultBox, "_FortranATrim", 2);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genScanDescriptorTest) {
+  auto loc = firBuilder->getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Value resultBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value stringBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value setBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value backBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value kind = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  fir::runtime::genScanDescriptor(
+      *firBuilder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, setBox, backBox, kind);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(resultBox, "_FortranAScan", 5);
+}
+
+void checkGenScan(
+    fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, llvm::StringRef fctName, unsigned kind) {
+  auto loc = builder.getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Type charTy = fir::CharacterType::get(builder.getContext(), kind, 10);
+  mlir::Type boxTy = fir::BoxType::get(charTy);
+  mlir::Type i32Ty = IntegerType::get(builder.getContext(), 32);
+  mlir::Value stringBase = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value stringLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value setBase = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value setLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value back = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value res = fir::runtime::genScan(
+      builder, loc, kind, stringBase, stringLen, setBase, setLen, back);
+  checkCallOp(res.getDefiningOp(), fctName, 5, /*addLocArgs=*/false);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genScanTest) {
+  checkGenScan(*firBuilder, "_FortranAScan1", 1);
+  checkGenScan(*firBuilder, "_FortranAScan2", 2);
+  checkGenScan(*firBuilder, "_FortranAScan4", 4);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genVerifyDescriptorTest) {
+  auto loc = firBuilder->getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Value resultBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value stringBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value setBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value backBox = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value kind = firBuilder->create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  fir::runtime::genVerifyDescriptor(
+      *firBuilder, loc, resultBox, stringBox, setBox, backBox, kind);
+  checkCallOpFromResultBox(resultBox, "_FortranAVerify", 5);
+}
+
+void checkGenVerify(
+    fir::FirOpBuilder &builder, llvm::StringRef fctName, unsigned kind) {
+  auto loc = builder.getUnknownLoc();
+  mlir::Type charTy = fir::CharacterType::get(builder.getContext(), kind, 10);
+  mlir::Type boxTy = fir::BoxType::get(charTy);
+  mlir::Type i32Ty = IntegerType::get(builder.getContext(), 32);
+  mlir::Value stringBase = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value stringLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value setBase = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, boxTy);
+  mlir::Value setLen = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value back = builder.create<fir::UndefOp>(loc, i32Ty);
+  mlir::Value res = fir::runtime::genVerify(
+      builder, loc, kind, stringBase, stringLen, setBase, setLen, back);
+  checkCallOp(res.getDefiningOp(), fctName, 5, /*addLocArgs=*/false);
+}
+
+TEST_F(RuntimeCallTest, genVerifyTest) {
+  checkGenVerify(*firBuilder, "_FortranAVerify1", 1);
+  checkGenVerify(*firBuilder, "_FortranAVerify2", 2);
+  checkGenVerify(*firBuilder, "_FortranAVerify4", 4);
+}
diff --git a/flang/unittests/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/RuntimeCallTestBase.h b/flang/unittests/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/RuntimeCallTestBase.h
--- a/flang/unittests/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/RuntimeCallTestBase.h
+++ b/flang/unittests/Optimizer/Builder/Runtime/RuntimeCallTestBase.h
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@
     c16Ty = fir::ComplexType::get(firBuilder->getContext(), 16);
 
     seqTy10 = fir::SequenceType::get(fir::SequenceType::Shape(1, 10), i32Ty);
+    boxTy = fir::BoxType::get(mlir::NoneType::get(firBuilder->getContext()));
   }
 
   mlir::MLIRContext context;
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@
   mlir::Type c10Ty;
   mlir::Type c16Ty;
   mlir::Type seqTy10;
+  mlir::Type boxTy;
 };
 
 /// Check that the \p op is a `fir::CallOp` operation and its name matches
diff --git a/flang/unittests/Optimizer/CMakeLists.txt b/flang/unittests/Optimizer/CMakeLists.txt
--- a/flang/unittests/Optimizer/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/flang/unittests/Optimizer/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
   Builder/DoLoopHelperTest.cpp
   Builder/FIRBuilderTest.cpp
   Builder/Runtime/AssignTest.cpp
+  Builder/Runtime/CharacterTest.cpp
   Builder/Runtime/ReductionTest.cpp
   Builder/Runtime/TransformationalTest.cpp
   FIRContextTest.cpp