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N847 Remark Code: NDC Billed Is Obsolete

N847 means the National Drug Code (NDC) on the claim is obsolete. The product code is no longer active in the payer's drug data for the date of service, so the payer won't accept it without a current, valid NDC.

Quick facts

Code
N847 (RARC N847)
Status
Active In use since March 1, 2021.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The drug line was denied for an outdated product code. It's a provider correction, not a patient balance.
Official description
National Drug Code (NDC) billed is obsolete.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N847 means

Every NDC has a life cycle. When a manufacturer discontinues a package, changes labeling, or replaces a product, the old code is eventually marked obsolete in the drug databases payers use. N847 means the NDC on your line has reached that state as of the date of service.

This matters most for payers that rely on NDC data to price drugs or claim rebates, especially Medicaid programs. The line usually returns with CARC 16.

Common causes

  • Drug master not updated after a supplier switch or packaging change.
  • Old inventory. Stock with a discontinued NDC was used after the payer’s cutoff.
  • Defaulted NDC. The billing system always reports the same NDC for a HCPCS code, even though the product on the shelf has changed.
  • Typo that happens to match an old, discontinued product.

How to fix it

  1. Check the package or inventory record for the NDC of the product actually given.
  2. Verify the status of that NDC in a current drug reference or the payer’s drug file for the date of service.
  3. If you reported the wrong NDC, correct it on a corrected claim with resubmission code 7 in box 22.
  4. If the product given really had the obsolete NDC, contact the payer and ask how it wants the claim handled.

How to prevent it

  • Review your drug master against a current NDC reference on a regular schedule.
  • Update NDCs at the point of receiving new inventory.
  • Rotate stock so older packages are used before they reach an obsolete date where possible.

Codes that may appear with N847

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): A billing error; N847 says the NDC is obsolete.
  • CO-211 (National Drug Codes (NDC) not eligible for rebate, are not covered.): Some payers, especially Medicaid, won't cover NDCs that aren't eligible for rebate.
  • M119 (Missing/incomplete/invalid/ deactivated/withdrawn National Drug Code (NDC).): A broader code for an NDC that is missing, invalid, deactivated, or withdrawn.
  • N848 (National Drug Code (NDC) billed cannot be associated with a product.): The NDC can't be tied to any product at all.
  • N846 (National Drug Code (NDC) supplied does not correspond to the HCPCs/CPT billed.): The NDC is valid but doesn't match the HCPCS billed.

N847 FAQ

Why do NDCs become obsolete?

Manufacturers discontinue products, change packaging, or relabel them. Drug databases then mark the old NDC as obsolete after a period.

I still have stock with the old NDC. What do I bill?

Report the NDC on the package you actually used. If the payer rejects it as obsolete, ask how it wants you to bill remaining stock; some payers allow a grace period, others don't.

Is N847 the same as M119?

They overlap. M119 is a broad missing-or-invalid NDC code, while N847 tells you specifically that the NDC is obsolete.