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N712 Remark Code: Missing Summary

N712 means the payer needed a summary document to decide the claim, such as a discharge, treatment, or case summary, and none was received. It usually appears with CARC 252 or CARC 16 and is resolved by sending the summary the payer asked for.

Quick facts

Code
N712 (RARC N712)
Status
Active In use since March 1, 2014.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The line is held or denied as the provider's responsibility until the summary arrives. Do not bill the patient for it.
  • OA (Other Adjustment): Some payers report a documentation hold with OA while the claim waits for records. It is not patient responsibility.
Official description
Missing summary.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N712 means

N712 is a documentation remark. The payer looked for a summary to support the billed service and found none on file. A “summary” here is a condensed clinical record written after care, most often a discharge summary, an episode or treatment summary, or a case summary prepared for a reviewer.

Because the code is generic, it rarely tells you which summary the reviewer wanted. That detail usually sits in a separate request letter, the payer’s medical policy for the service, or a note on its provider portal. N712 normally explains CARC 252 (attachment required) or CARC 16 (claim lacks information).

Common causes

  • The payer’s policy requires a summary for this service, and the claim went out with no attachment.
  • An attachment was sent, but it was a full chart or progress notes rather than the summary requested.
  • The summary was faxed or uploaded without the claim number or member ID, so it could not be matched.
  • A records request letter arrived and was not answered before the response window closed.

How to fix it

  1. Find the request. Look for a letter, portal message, or 277 request tied to this claim to learn which summary is needed.
  2. Pull the signed, dated summary from the medical record. It should cover the dates of service on the claim.
  3. Send it through the payer’s attachment channel with the claim number, patient name, member ID, and dates of service on every page.
  4. Ask whether reprocessing is automatic. Some payers reopen the claim when records arrive; others want a corrected claim with resubmission code 7 or a reconsideration form.
  5. Track the follow-up. If the claim is not reprocessed within the payer’s stated timeframe, call and confirm the document was received.

How to prevent it

Keep a list of services for which each payer routinely asks for a summary, and attach it on the first submission. Make sure summaries are finalized and signed before the claim is billed. For a broader look at documentation holds, see CARC and RARC denial analysis.

Codes that may appear with N712

  • CO-252 (An attachment/other documentation is required to adjudicate this claim/service.): An attachment is required to adjudicate, and N712 says the missing attachment is a summary.
  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): The claim is treated as incomplete, with the missing summary as the specific gap.
  • CO-163 (Attachment/other documentation referenced on the claim was not received.): An attachment referenced on the claim never reached the payer.
  • N711 (Incomplete/invalid summary.): The companion code: a summary was received but was incomplete or invalid.
  • N459 (Missing Discharge Summary.): Names the discharge summary specifically, rather than a summary in general.
  • N714 (Missing report.): Missing report. The payer wanted a report rather than a summary.
  • N29Deactivated (Missing documentation/orders/notes/summary/report/chart.): The older, broader 'missing documentation' code, now deactivated, that grouped summaries with other records.

N712 FAQ

Which summary does N712 mean?

The remark itself does not say. Check any letter or request for information the payer sent with the remittance, or call provider services and ask which document type they need, for example a discharge summary or a treatment summary.

Do I need to send a corrected claim for N712?

Usually not. The claim data may be fine; what is missing is the document. Send the summary through the payer's attachment process and reference the claim, unless the payer tells you to resubmit.

Can I appeal an N712 denial?

If you already sent the summary and have proof of delivery, a reconsideration or appeal with that proof is reasonable. If you never sent it, supplying it is faster than appealing.