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N261 Remark Code: Operating Provider Name Missing

N261 means the operating provider's name was missing, incomplete, or invalid. On a facility claim that reports a surgical procedure, the payer expects the name of the surgeon who performed it, matching the operating provider NPI.

Quick facts

Code
N261 (RARC N261)
Status
Active In use since December 2, 2004.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The facility can fix the name and resubmit. The amount is not transferred to the patient.
Official description
Missing/incomplete/invalid operating provider name.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N261 means

Institutional claims have a dedicated role for the operating provider: the surgeon who performed the principal surgical procedure reported on the claim. The payer uses the operating provider’s name and NPI together to know who performed the surgery. N261 says the name did not meet the payer’s requirements, either because it was blank, partial, or inconsistent with the NPI.

The service has not been reviewed on its merits. Expect to see N261 attached to CARC 16, and expect the fix to be clerical.

Common causes

  • The surgical case was billed from an outpatient or ambulatory surgery workflow that captured the procedure but not the surgeon in the operating provider fields.
  • Only the surgeon’s NPI flowed from the OR scheduling system into the claim; the name did not.
  • The attending physician’s name was reused in the operating fields when a different surgeon actually operated.
  • The last and first names were swapped, or credentials were included in the name.
  • A visiting surgeon was entered with a nickname or an old legal name.

Correcting the claim

  1. Open the operative report to confirm who performed the principal procedure.
  2. Match that surgeon to their NPPES entry and copy the legal last and first name.
  3. Populate the operating provider fields (UB-04 form locator 77 or the 837I operating physician section) with the name and NPI together.
  4. Rebill as a replacement claim with frequency code 7 and the original claim number.

How to prevent it

Connect the surgeon captured in the operative record directly to the claim, instead of relying on registration staff to key the operating physician. Add a scrubber rule: if the claim includes a surgical procedure, the operating provider name and NPI must both be present. Credentialing should add visiting and locum surgeons to the provider master before their first case, not after the claim fails.

See our CARC 16 guide for more on missing-information denials on facility claims.

Codes that may appear with N261

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): The claim has a data error; N261 isolates it to the operating provider's name.
  • N262 (Missing/incomplete/invalid operating provider primary identifier.): Addresses the operating provider's NPI instead of the name.
  • N263 (Missing/incomplete/invalid operating provider secondary identifier.): Addresses the operating provider's secondary identifier.
  • N252 (Missing/incomplete/invalid attending provider name.): The name problem for the attending provider rather than the surgeon.

N261 FAQ

When is an operating provider required?

Generally when the facility claim reports a surgical procedure. The operating provider is the clinician primarily responsible for performing that procedure.

Where does the operating provider name go?

Form locator 77 on the UB-04, which also holds the NPI and an optional secondary identifier. The 837I has a matching operating physician section.

Can the attending and operating provider be the same person?

Yes. If the same surgeon was both, report them in both roles. Leaving the operating fields blank because the name appears as attending can trigger N261.