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N334 Remark Code: Re-evaluation Date Missing or Invalid

N334 means the date the patient was last re-evaluated was missing, incomplete, or invalid. Payers use it to confirm that ongoing treatment, such as therapy under a plan of care, has been reassessed as required.

Quick facts

Code
N334 (RARC N334)
Status
Active In use since December 2, 2004; last modified March 14, 2014.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The claim was denied for a missing or invalid re-evaluation date. It is correctable by the provider and not billable to the patient.
Official description
Missing/incomplete/invalid re-evaluation date.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N334 means

Ongoing care often comes with checkpoints. A therapy plan of care, for example, may need to be reassessed after a set number of visits or weeks, or when the patient’s condition changes. N334 shows up when the payer expected the date of that re-evaluation on the claim and could not find a valid one.

The remark usually explains CARC 16. Physical, occupational, and speech therapy claims receive it most, but any payer that tracks reassessment dates for a course of treatment can use it.

Common causes

  • The practice reports the initial evaluation date and never updates it after later re-evaluations.
  • The re-evaluation was documented, but the date was not carried into the billing data.
  • The date entered is after the date of service or before the initial evaluation, which makes it invalid.
  • The payer defines re-evaluation differently from the clinic, so the date reported refers to a routine progress note.
  • A new plan of care was started but the claim still references the old one.

How to fix it

  1. Review the chart to find the most recent formal re-evaluation before the denied dates of service.
  2. Confirm that visit meets the payer’s definition of a re-evaluation.
  3. Enter the date where the payer expects it and verify that it falls between the start of care and the service dates billed.
  4. Send a corrected claim with frequency code 7 and the original claim number. Attach the re-evaluation note if the payer asks for documentation.
  5. If a required re-evaluation was missed, schedule it and check with the payer whether prior visits can be reconsidered.

How to prevent it

Track visit counts and plan-of-care dates in your scheduling system so re-evaluations happen on time. Have the clinical note template feed the re-evaluation date directly into the billing record, and read each payer’s rules on what counts as a re-evaluation.

Codes that may appear with N334

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): Claim information is incomplete; N334 specifies the re-evaluation date.
  • CO-252 (An attachment/other documentation is required to adjudicate this claim/service.): Documentation is required; some payers want the re-evaluation note itself with the claim.
  • N309 (Missing/incomplete/invalid assessment date.): Used when the assessment date is missing or invalid, which some payers distinguish from a re-evaluation.
  • N312 (Missing/incomplete/invalid begin therapy date.): Covers the date therapy began, often reported together with re-evaluation dates.
  • N322 (Missing/incomplete/invalid last certification date.): Addresses the last certification date for a plan of care.

N334 FAQ

Is a re-evaluation the same as a progress report?

Not always. Many payers define a re-evaluation as a formal reassessment that may be separately billable, while a progress report is a periodic update. Check the payer's definition before choosing which date to report.

Where is the re-evaluation date reported?

It depends on the payer and claim type. Some want it in the claim's date fields with a qualifier, others in additional claim information or on documentation. Follow the payer's billing instructions.

What if no re-evaluation was done?

Then there is no date to add. If the payer required one before continuing treatment, you may need to perform it and review whether the denied visits can be supported.