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N135 Remark Code: Record Fees Limited to Copayment

N135 means charges for medical record fees are the patient's responsibility, limited to the specified co-payment. The payer did not pay the record fee itself, and the patient can be charged no more than the copayment amount stated.

Quick facts

Code
N135 (RARC N135)
Status
Active In use since October 31, 2002.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • PR (Patient Responsibility): The patient owes the record fee up to the copayment shown; any amount above that is not collectible.
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The part of the record fee above the patient's copayment is written off by the provider.
Official description
Record fees are the patient's responsibility and limited to the specified co-payment.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N135 means

N135 is narrow: it deals only with fees for producing medical records. The payer considers those fees the patient’s responsibility, but it caps what the patient can be charged at a specified copayment. In practice, the line is split between a patient copay and a write-off.

Common causes

  • The practice billed a fee for copying records sent to the payer for a review or claim.
  • A record fee was billed as a line item with other services.
  • The plan treats record fees as a member expense with a fixed copay.

What to do

  1. Post the patient copayment shown on the remittance to the patient’s account.
  2. Adjust off the remainder of the record fee.
  3. Bill the patient only for the copayment, with a clear description of what it covers.
  4. Check your fee policy for requests from payers. If records were requested by the payer for its own review, confirm whether charging any fee is appropriate under your contract.

How to prevent it

Review whether billing record fees to this payer is worth the administrative cost and patient friction. Where record fees are allowed, set up the charge so the patient portion is limited to the copayment.

Codes that may appear with N135

  • PR-3 (Co-payment Amount): Co-payment amount, the patient's share for the record fee.
  • CO-96 (Non-covered charge(s).): The record fee is not covered beyond the patient's copayment.
  • N621 (Charges for Jurisdiction required forms, reports, or chart notes are not payable.): Charges for jurisdiction-required forms, reports, or chart notes are not payable.
  • N390 (This service/report cannot be billed separately.): The service or report cannot be billed separately.

N135 FAQ

When would a record fee be billed to a payer?

Some plans or programs allow charges for producing records, for example when records are requested for a claim or review. Whether a fee is billable at all depends on the payer and any state rules on record copying.

Can I charge the patient my full record fee?

Not with N135. The patient's responsibility is capped at the copayment shown, and the rest must be adjusted off.

Does N135 affect state limits on record copying charges?

State law may separately limit what patients can be charged for copies. Follow whichever limit is lower.