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N276 Remark Code: Other Payer Referring Provider ID

N276 means the identifier another payer uses for the referring provider was missing, incomplete, or invalid. It appears on coordination of benefits claims when the secondary payer needs to know how the prior payer identified the referring clinician.

Quick facts

Code
N276 (RARC N276)
Status
Active In use since December 2, 2004.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): Provider-correctable COB information; the patient is not liable.
Official description
Missing/incomplete/invalid other payer referring provider identifier.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N276 means

Claims for referred services name the referring provider. On a secondary claim, the electronic format can also report the number the primary payer uses for that referring clinician. When the secondary payer requires that number and it is not there, or cannot be read, the payer uses N276.

This is purely a coordination of benefits data issue. It is not a finding that the referral was missing or invalid, and it is usually listed with CARC 16.

Common causes

  • Your secondary claims copy the referring NPI but not the primary payer’s identifier for that clinician.
  • The referring clinician changed between the primary and secondary versions of the claim.
  • The identifier was reported without a qualifier.
  • The secondary payer’s companion guide asks for other-payer referring IDs in specific circumstances, and your COB setup wasn’t configured for them.

What to do

  1. Check the primary payer’s remittance and any referral documentation for the identifier it used.
  2. Confirm the referring provider on the secondary claim matches the primary claim.
  3. Add the prior payer’s referring provider identifier and qualifier in the other-payer section.
  4. Send a replacement claim with frequency code 7 and the original claim number.

If the root problem turns out to be the referral itself, rather than the identifier, see authorization and referral denials.

How to prevent it

Referring clinicians are often outside your organization, so you won’t have their payer-assigned numbers unless you collect them. For payers that require prior-payer referring IDs, ask the referring office for them when you receive the referral, and store them in your referral directory.

Codes that may appear with N276

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): Missing or invalid information; N276 points to the other payer's referring provider ID.
  • N286 (Missing/incomplete/invalid referring provider primary identifier.): The referring provider's own NPI on this claim is missing or invalid.
  • N285 (Missing/incomplete/invalid referring provider name.): The referring provider's name is missing or invalid.
  • N277 (Missing/incomplete/invalid other payer rendering provider identifier.): The other payer's identifier for the rendering provider is the problem.

N276 FAQ

Is N276 the same as a missing referral?

No. A missing referral or authorization uses different codes. N276 is only about the identifier the prior payer used for the referring clinician.

What if the referring provider isn't known to the primary payer?

Then there may be no prior-payer identifier to report. Ask the secondary payer how it wants the claim sent in that case.

Should I add the referring NPI in the other-payer section?

Only if the payer's companion guide says to. Many payers want a prior-payer secondary ID there, not the NPI already reported for the referring provider.