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N370 Remark Code: Rental Months Exceed Payer Approval

N370 means the supplier billed for more rental months of equipment than the payer covered or approved. The months beyond that limit were not paid.

Quick facts

Code
N370 (RARC N370)
Status
Active In use since August 1, 2006.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): Rental months past the payer's limit are a supplier write-off unless an approved extension or new rental period applies.
Official description
Billing exceeds the rental months covered/approved by the payer.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N370 means

Many equipment items are rented month by month up to a limit set by the payer or by an approval. N370 tells a DME supplier that its claim reached past that limit. The payer has already covered or approved all the months it will, so the extra month on this claim isn’t paid.

The remark usually pairs with CARC 119 or 198, and sometimes CARC 108 when rent-to-purchase rules are involved.

Common causes

  • Rental count not tracked across the full episode, so billing continued automatically.
  • Earlier supplier months. Another supplier rented the same equipment, and those months count toward the limit.
  • Approval ended. The authorization covered a set number of months and was not renewed.
  • Break in service not recognized. The supplier believed a new rental period began, but the payer did not accept the break.
  • Wrong modifier sequence on rental months, so the payer’s count differs from yours.

What to do

  1. Compare your rental history with the payer’s count and reconcile any months billed by other suppliers.
  2. Check the payer’s rules for the item: does ownership transfer, or must you continue servicing without further rental payment?
  3. If an approval expired, request an extension for medically necessary continued use before billing more months.
  4. If a new rental period is justified, gather documentation of the break or change in condition and submit it per the payer’s process.
  5. Write off months that exceed the limit and stop recurring rental billing.

How to prevent it

Track each rental’s month count and cap in your billing system and stop recurring charges automatically at the limit. At intake, ask whether the patient has rented the same item before, and verify with the payer when possible.

Codes that may appear with N370

  • PR-119 (Benefit maximum for this time period or occurrence has been reached.): The benefit maximum for the period has been reached, here the number of rental months.
  • CO-198 (Precertification/notification/authorization/pre-treatment exceeded.): Authorization was exceeded when the approval covered fewer months.
  • CO-108 (Rent/purchase guidelines were not met.): Rent or purchase guidelines were not met.
  • M5 (Monthly rental payments can continue until the earlier of the 15th month from the first rental month, or the month when the equipment is no longer…): Explains how long monthly rental payments can continue for capped rental items.
  • M7 (No rental payments after the item is purchased, returned or after the total of issued rental payments equals the purchase price.): Says no rental payments follow a purchase, return, or payments reaching the purchase price.
  • N371 (Alert: title of this equipment must be transferred to the patient.): An alert that title to the equipment must be transferred to the patient.

N370 FAQ

Does the patient still get to keep using the equipment?

Usually yes. Once the rental limit is reached, some payers expect ownership to transfer, while others require the supplier to keep providing the item. Check the payer's rules for that equipment.

Can a new rental period start?

Sometimes, for example after a documented break in need or a change in the patient's condition. The payer decides based on its policy and your documentation.

How do I find how many months were already paid?

Review your own rental history and ask the payer for its count, especially if another supplier rented the same item to the patient before you.