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CO-220 Denial Code (Deactivated): Code Not in Fee Schedule

CO-220 meant the fee schedule or fee database a property and casualty payer used did not contain the billed code, and asked the provider to resubmit with a code that is in it. X12 deactivated it and its notes direct payers to code P7.

X12 deactivated CARC220 on July 1, 2014. Payers should no longer use it on new remittances, but it can still appear on older ERAs, corrected claims, and appeals.

Quick facts

Code
CO-220 (CARC 220)
Status
Deactivated StoppedJuly 1, 2014 (in use since January 27, 2008).
Code set
Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (CARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The provider needed to rebill with a recognized code; the patient was not billed for the rejected line.
Official description
The applicable fee schedule/fee database does not contain the billed code. Please resubmit a bill with the appropriate fee schedule/fee database code(s) that best describe the service(s) provided and supporting documentation if required. (Note: To be used for Property and Casualty only)
X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What CO-220 meant

CARC 220 was a property and casualty code. The payer priced bills using a specific fee schedule or database, and the procedure code you submitted was not in it. Rather than pricing the line some other way, the payer asked for a new bill using a code from its schedule that best described the service, with documentation if needed.

What replaced it

The note on this code says to use P7. CO-P7 carries the same request in the P-series. Two related active codes show different outcomes: CO-P18 when the payer instead allows a comparable service, and CO-P9 when no code exists to describe the service at all.

If you still see CO-220

It may appear on older auto or workers’ compensation bills. Look up the fee schedule that applies in that state and for that date of service, find the closest listed code, and resubmit with a note explaining the substitution. Keep the original bill and the denial, since some jurisdictions have deadlines for corrected bills.

  • CO-P7 (The applicable fee schedule/fee database does not contain the billed code.): Named replacement: the applicable fee schedule does not contain the billed code.
  • CO-P18 (Procedure is not listed in the jurisdiction fee schedule.): Procedure not in the jurisdiction fee schedule, with an allowance made for a comparable service.
  • CO-P9 (No available or correlating CPT/HCPCS code to describe this service.): No available or correlating procedure code to describe the service.

CO-220 FAQ

Why would a valid code be missing from the fee schedule?

State workers' compensation and auto fee schedules are updated on their own timelines, and some use their own code sets. A newly created code, or one the state chose not to adopt, may not be listed.

What should the resubmission include?

The code or codes in that fee schedule that best describe the service, plus supporting documentation if the payer requires it, as the code's text instructs.