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MA36 Remark Code: Missing or Invalid Patient Name

MA36 means the patient's name on the claim is missing, incomplete, or invalid. The payer could not accept the name as reported, so the claim needs a corrected patient name that matches the payer's enrollment records.

Quick facts

Code
MA36 (RARC MA36)
Status
Active In use since January 1, 1997; last modified February 28, 2003.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The provider must correct the name. The patient is not billed because of a data-entry problem.
Official description
Missing/incomplete/invalid patient name.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What MA36 means

MA36 is a name-level data error. The payer either received no patient name or received one it could not accept, for example with invalid characters, missing parts, or a format that does not match its record. It is distinct from MA27, which covers the member ID and name together.

The claim was not evaluated on its services; it stopped at identification.

Common causes

  • A nickname was used instead of the legal name on the card.
  • Hyphenated or compound last names were split or joined differently from the payer’s record.
  • Punctuation, apostrophes, or special characters were included where the payer does not allow them.
  • When the patient is not the insured, the insured’s name was entered in the patient field.
  • Registration left the middle initial or first name blank.

How to fix it

  1. Compare the name with the patient’s insurance card and an eligibility response.
  2. Correct box 2, or form locator 8 for institutional claims, and the patient loop on electronic claims.
  3. Resubmit the corrected claim; if the original was processed, follow the payer’s replacement claim rules with resubmission code 7 in box 22.

How to prevent it

Scan cards at check-in and require the name to be entered exactly as printed. Real-time eligibility checks flag mismatches at registration. For more on stopping front-end errors, read claim rejection vs. denial.

Codes that may appear with MA36

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): Information needed to adjudicate is missing or invalid, with MA36 pointing to the patient name.
  • CO-140 (Patient/Insured health identification number and name do not match.): The patient's ID number and name do not match.
  • MA27 (Missing/incomplete/invalid entitlement number or name shown on the claim.): The entitlement number or name is missing or invalid, combining ID and name.
  • MA21 (SSA records indicate mismatch with name and sex.): Name and sex do not match Social Security records.
  • MA37 (Missing/incomplete/invalid patient's address.): The patient's address is missing or invalid.

MA36 FAQ

Where is the patient name on a CMS-1500?

Box 2, entered as last name, first name, and middle initial. On institutional claims it is form locator 8.

Should I include suffixes like Jr. or III?

Include them only if they appear on the patient's insurance card, in the format the payer's instructions specify.

What if the patient's name changed?

Bill with the name the payer has on file until the patient updates it with their insurer, then change your records to match.