N382 Remark Code: Missing or Invalid Patient Identifier
Remark code N382 means the claim's patient identifier is missing, incomplete, or invalid - the member ID, Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), or other subscriber number does not match a person in the payer's system. Nothing about the services is being judged; the payer simply cannot find the patient. It is one of the most preventable rejections in the revenue cycle.
Common Causes
- Typos in the member ID or MBI (transposed characters, letter/number confusion)
- An outdated ID after the patient's plan changed or the payer reissued cards
- Name or date of birth on the claim not matching the payer's enrollment record
- The claim billed to the wrong payer entirely, so the ID does not exist in that payer's system
- Registration copied from an old encounter instead of re-verified at the visit
How to Fix N382
- Re-verify the patient's identifier from a current insurance card or an eligibility (270/271) check, character by character
- Confirm the name and date of birth on the claim match the payer's records exactly - down to hyphens and suffixes
- Make sure the claim went to the payer that issued the ID; reroute if the coverage changed
- Correct the identifier and resubmit the claim
- Run real-time eligibility at scheduling and check-in so bad IDs are caught before the claim exists
Frequently Asked Questions
N382 means the patient identifier on the claim - member ID, MBI, or subscriber number - is missing, incomplete, or invalid, so the payer cannot match the claim to an enrolled person. Verify the ID against a current card or eligibility check, correct it, and resubmit.
Verify eligibility electronically at scheduling and again at check-in, scan the current insurance card at every visit, and match name and date of birth to the payer's records exactly. Nearly all N382 rejections trace to registration data that was not re-verified.
Related Denial Codes
Related Resources
Claim adjustment reason codes and remittance advice remark codes are standardized code sets maintained by X12. The explanations on this page are written in our own words for educational purposes, based on public CMS and Medicare contractor documentation. Payer policies vary - always confirm handling with the specific payer's guidance and your contracts.