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CO-112 Denial Code: Service Not Furnished or Documented

CO-112 means the payer decided the service was not furnished directly to the patient, was not documented, or both. It often follows a records review where the documentation did not show the billed service was performed for this patient by the billing provider.

Quick facts

Code
CO-112 (CARC 112)
Status
Active In use since January 1, 1995; last modified September 30, 2007.
Code set
Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (CARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The provider bears the loss. Services that are undocumented or not furnished to the patient cannot be billed to the patient.
Official description
Service not furnished directly to the patient and/or not documented.
X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What CO-112 means

CARC 112 reads service not furnished directly to the patient and/or not documented. It combines two related problems. First, the payer may believe the service was not provided directly to the patient, for instance, non-face-to-face work the payer does not recognize as a separate billable service. Second, the payer may not find documentation showing the service happened at all.

The code often appears after a records request, a pre-payment review, or a post-payment audit. If the records do not show who did what, for which patient, and when, the payer treats the claim as unsupported.

Example: a payer requests records for a batch of claims. For one date of service, the chart has no signed note. The payer denies the claim with CO-112 and remark M127.

Common causes

  • No signed and dated progress note for the date of service billed.
  • Records were requested but never sent, or were sent to the wrong address or portal.
  • Notes that do not identify the rendering provider or lack a legible signature.
  • Services performed by staff whose work the payer does not accept under the billing provider’s NPI.
  • Non-face-to-face work, such as chart review or coordination, billed as though it were a direct service.
  • A service billed for the wrong patient or wrong date because of a charge entry error.

How to fix it

  1. Pull the record for the date of service and confirm the service was performed, by whom, and that the note is complete and signed.
  2. If records were never received, send them through the payer’s documentation channel with the claim number, then ask for reprocessing.
  3. If the documentation supports the claim, file a reconsideration or appeal with the full record and a short cover letter tying the note to the billed code.
  4. If the charge was wrong (wrong patient, wrong date, wrong provider), void or correct the claim. Use resubmission code 7 or 8 in box 22 as the payer requires.
  5. If the service was not furnished or not documented, write off the charge. Do not bill the patient.

How to prevent it

  • Require providers to sign notes before charges are released.
  • Match each charge to a completed note during charge review.
  • Respond to records requests quickly and track them to completion.
  • Train staff on which services must be delivered directly to the patient to be billable.
  • See medical claim denials and their preventable causes for documentation controls that reduce this type of denial.

Specialty notes

Behavioral health and therapy practices face the most scrutiny on time-based services. Notes should record start and stop times or total time when the code depends on it, along with who delivered the service.

Remark codes that may appear with CO-112

  • M127 (Missing patient medical record for this service.): The payer did not receive the patient's medical record for the service.
  • N237 (Incomplete/invalid patient medical record for this service.): The medical record received was incomplete or invalid for the service.
  • N163 (Medical record does not support code billed per the code definition.): The record does not support the code billed under its definition.
  • CO-B12 (Services not documented in patient's medical records.): Services not documented in the patient's medical records, a narrower documentation code.
  • CO-150 (Payer deems the information submitted does not support this level of service.): The information submitted does not support the level of service billed.
  • CO-252 (An attachment/other documentation is required to adjudicate this claim/service.): An attachment or documentation is required before the payer can adjudicate.
  • CO-B20 (Procedure/service was partially or fully furnished by another provider.): The service was partly or fully furnished by another provider.

CO-112 FAQ

What does 'not furnished directly to the patient' mean?

The payer believes the service was not provided face to face or directly for this patient, for example a review, call, or report the payer does not treat as a direct service, or work performed for someone else.

Can I appeal a CO-112 denial?

Yes, if the service was furnished and documented. Send the signed, dated record that shows who performed the service, when, and for which patient.

Can I add documentation after the fact?

Late entries must follow your record-keeping rules and be clearly dated and identified as late. Payers may give them less weight, and creating records to support a claim after a denial is a compliance risk.