CARC 267 Active

CO-267: Claim Spans Multiple Months

TL;DR

Multi-month claim format is incorrect per your contract. Add the required remark code or split by month and resubmit.

Action

Resubmit

Who Pays

Provider

Appeal

Patient Impact

None

Disclaimer

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional billing advice. Always verify information against your payer contracts and current coding guidelines. Consult a certified billing specialist for specific claim issues.

What Does CO-267 Mean?

CO-267 is the standard pairing for this technical denial. The payer denied the multi-month claim as a contractual requirement — your agreement with the payer requires claims to either include the proper remark code or be submitted on a per-month basis. This is not a coverage denial; it is a formatting requirement. Once corrected and resubmitted, the claim should process normally.

When CARC 267 appears on a remittance, the payer is flagging that the dates of service on your claim cross from one calendar month into another — and the claim does not include the required remark code to accompany a multi-month service. This is a technical formatting denial, not a clinical or coverage issue. The payer's adjudication system requires either a specific remark code (NCPDP Reject Reason Code or a non-ALERT Remittance Advice Remark Code) on multi-month claims, or it requires you to split the claim into separate monthly submissions.

This code surfaces most frequently with long-term care facilities, home health agencies, behavioral health providers, and any practice that bills for services spanning weeks or months — such as rental DME, ongoing therapy courses, or residential treatment programs. The root cause is almost always a billing system configuration issue: the system either failed to attach the required remark code or did not automatically split the claim at month boundaries.

The resolution is straightforward but varies by payer. Some payers accept multi-month claims when accompanied by the proper remark code. Others require one claim per calendar month regardless. Check the specific payer's billing guidelines to determine which approach to take, then correct and resubmit. No appeal is necessary since this is a formatting requirement, not a coverage dispute.

Common Causes

Cause	Frequency
Service spans multiple calendar months on a single claim The claim was submitted with dates of service that cross from one calendar month into the next, and the payer requires separate claims for each month	Most Common
Missing required remark code The claim spans multiple months but did not include the required remark code (NCPDP Reject Reason Code or Remittance Advice Remark Code that is not an ALERT) to accompany the multi-month service	Most Common
Incomplete documentation for extended services Missing treatment plans, progress notes, or other documentation that demonstrates the medical necessity of services spanning multiple months	Common
Incorrect service date formatting The date-of-service range on the claim was entered incorrectly, making it appear to span multiple months when it should not	Common
Payer-specific multi-month billing requirements not met The payer has specific guidelines for billing multi-month services that the provider did not follow, such as requiring specific modifiers or claim formats	Occasional

How to Resolve

Determine whether the payer requires a remark code on multi-month claims or separate monthly claims, then correct the submission format and resubmit.

Identify the missing remark code Determine which remark code the payer requires on multi-month claims. Common options include NCPDP Reject Reason Codes or non-ALERT RARCs. Check the payer's billing manual.
Correct the claim format Either add the required remark code to the existing multi-month claim or split it into separate claims for each calendar month, based on the payer's requirements.
Resubmit the corrected claim(s) Submit the corrected claim(s) with all required documentation. If splitting, ensure each claim has the correct date range and proportional charges.

Do Not Appeal This Code

This is a standard contractual adjustment. The amount is a provider write-off per your payer contract.

How to Prevent CO-267

Configure billing system rules to automatically flag or split claims that span multiple calendar months before submission
Maintain a reference of payer-specific requirements for multi-month claim formatting
Include required remark codes in billing templates for service types that routinely span multiple months
Train billing staff on proper date-of-service entry and multi-month billing requirements

General Prevention

Split claims by calendar month before submission when payer guidelines require monthly billing
Include required remark codes on all claims that legitimately span multiple months
Document all services clearly with treatment duration and medical necessity for extended services
Validate claims before submission to ensure date ranges do not inadvertently cross month boundaries
Stay current with payer-specific guidelines for multi-month service billing
Use billing system rules to automatically flag claims that span multiple calendar months before submission

Also Filed As

The same CARC 267 may appear with different Group Codes:

OA-267

Related Denial Codes

CO-13 — Date of Death Precedes Date of Service CO-14 — Date of Birth Follows Date of Service CO-16 — Missing Information or Billing Error CO-31 — Patient Not Identified as Insured CO-107 — Related or Qualifying Service Not Identified

Sources

https://www.mdclarity.com/denial-code/267
https://x12.org/codes/claim-adjustment-reason-codes
Codes maintained by X12. Visit x12.org for official definitions.