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CO-14 Denial Code: Date of Birth Follows Date of Service

CO-14 means the patient's date of birth is after the date of service on the claim, which is impossible, so the payer denies it. It is almost always a data entry error in the date of birth, the date of service, or the patient selected.

Quick facts

Code
CO-14 (CARC 14)
Status
Active In use since January 1, 1995.
Code set
Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (CARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The standard group. The provider is responsible for fixing the data error; the amount cannot be billed to the patient.
Official description
The date of birth follows the date of service.
X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What CO-14 means

CARC 14 says the date of birth follows the date of service. A patient can’t receive care before they were born, so the payer treats the claim as containing bad data. The date of birth in box 3 (or in the payer’s own member file) and the date of service in box 24A cannot both be right.

This denial is almost always a clerical problem, which makes it one of the easier ones to fix. The main question is which date is wrong, and whether the error is in your system or the payer’s.

Example: a newborn is seen in the hospital on day one. The baby’s record in the practice system was created with the date of registration a week later as the DOB. The claim now shows a DOB after the service date, and CO-14 follows.

Common causes

  • Typo in the birth year, such as the current year instead of the actual year.
  • Month and day transposed in either date.
  • Newborn records created with the registration date rather than the actual birth date.
  • Wrong date of service, for example a future date keyed in by mistake.
  • Wrong patient selected, such as a sibling born after the service date.
  • Payer member file error, where the payer has an incorrect DOB for the member.

How to fix it

  1. Compare the claim’s DOB with the insurance card, photo ID, and eligibility response.
  2. Check the date of service against the medical record.
  3. Correct the wrong date in your system so future claims are also fixed.
  4. If the payer’s file is wrong, ask the member or employer to correct enrollment, then request reprocessing.
  5. Send a corrected claim with resubmission code 7 in box 22. If the claim was rejected before adjudication, submit a new claim instead. See claim rejection vs. denial.

How to prevent it

  • Verify DOB from the eligibility response at registration, not just from an intake form.
  • Block future dates of service and impossible date combinations in charge entry.
  • Set up newborn records carefully, with the actual birth date and the baby’s own coverage once available.
  • Scrub claims for date logic. A Claims Validator can catch a DOB after the service date before the claim is sent.

Specialty notes

Pediatric, neonatal, and obstetric practices see CO-14 most, usually on newborn claims billed in the first days of life. Confirm whether the newborn should be billed under their own ID or temporarily under a parent’s coverage per the payer’s newborn rules.

Remark codes that may appear with CO-14

  • N329 (Missing/incomplete/invalid patient birth date.): The patient's birth date is missing, incomplete, or invalid.
  • N301 (Missing/incomplete/invalid procedure date(s).): The service date is missing, incomplete, or invalid.
  • CO-13 (The date of death precedes the date of service.): The reverse date conflict: the date of death is before the date of service.
  • CO-6 (The procedure/revenue code is inconsistent with the patient's age.): Procedure inconsistent with the patient's age, which a wrong DOB can also cause.
  • CO-34 (Insured has no coverage for newborns.): No coverage for newborns, a common next issue once newborn DOB errors are fixed.
  • CO-110 (Billing date predates service date.): Billing date predates service date, a different date sequencing error.

CO-14 FAQ

How can a date of birth come after the date of service?

Usually through a typo in the year, swapped month and day, or a newborn claim where the baby's record was created with the wrong date. It can also happen when the wrong patient is attached to the charge.

How do I fix CO-14?

Find which date is wrong by checking the ID card, eligibility response, and medical record. Correct it in your system and send a corrected claim with resubmission code 7 and the original claim number in box 22.

Is CO-14 a front-end rejection?

Many clearinghouses and payers catch impossible dates before adjudication and return a rejection instead. If you receive CO-14 on an ERA, the claim was adjudicated and denied, so you send a corrected claim.