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N319 Remark Code: Hearing or Vision Rx Date

N319 means the date of the hearing or vision prescription was missing, incomplete, or invalid. Payers use it to confirm that eyewear, contact lenses, or hearing aids were supplied under a current prescription.

Quick facts

Code
N319 (RARC N319)
Status
Active In use since December 2, 2004.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The supplier or provider must correct the prescription date; the patient is not responsible for this adjustment.
Official description
Missing/incomplete/invalid hearing or vision prescription date.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N319 means

Eyeglasses, contact lenses, and hearing aids are supplied against a prescription from an eye care or hearing professional. Plans check that the prescription was current when the item was dispensed, and some limit how often items can be replaced based on prescription changes. N319 means the prescription date was not reported or could not be accepted.

Typically paired with CARC 16, it is a correctable claim error.

Common causes

  • Optical or hearing aid claims were billed without any prescription date.
  • The dispensing date was used as the prescription date.
  • The prescription date is later than the dispensing date.
  • The prescription came from an outside provider, and the date wasn’t recorded when the patient brought it in.
  • Box 15 carried the date with the wrong qualifier.

Steps to resolve

  1. Pull the prescription on file and note the date it was issued.
  2. Confirm it was issued on or before the dispensing date and falls within the plan’s validity window.
  3. Enter the date with the correct qualifier (box 15 or the payer’s specified field).
  4. If the prescription had expired when the item was dispensed, don’t simply change the date; address the underlying issue with the patient and payer.
  5. Resubmit the corrected claim with frequency code 7.

How to prevent it

Scan and index every outside prescription at intake, with the prescription date as a required field. For in-house exams, have the prescription date flow automatically from the exam record to the dispensing order. A pre-billing check that compares the prescription date with the dispensing date, and against each plan’s validity window where known, prevents most N319 remarks.

Codes that may appear with N319

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): Missing or invalid information; N319 names the hearing or vision prescription date.
  • N667 (Missing prescription.): The prescription itself is missing.
  • N668 (Incomplete/invalid prescription.): The prescription is incomplete or invalid.
  • N304 (Missing/incomplete/invalid dispensed date.): The dispensed date is missing or invalid.

N319 FAQ

Where does the prescription date go on the CMS-1500?

Box 15 can carry other dates with a qualifier, including a prescription date. Electronic claims have a matching date field. Some vision and hearing plans use their own claim forms.

Does the prescription have to be recent?

Many plans require the prescription to be within a certain time before the item is dispensed. The limit varies by plan and by product.

Should I use the exam date or the prescription date?

Report the date the prescription was written. Often that is the exam date, but not always, for example when a prescription is updated later.