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Error code

E1 — Service date is before eligibility started

Before coverage started

The service date is before the patient's OHIP coverage started, so OHIP didn't pay it.

What to do: Check the service date and health number against the chart, and validate the health card for that date.

Code
E1
Description
Service date is before eligibility started

Explanation

Updated October 26, 2026

E1 means the service date is before the patient's OHIP coverage started. Check the service date and the patient's eligibility.

What it means

E1 appears on the Remittance Advice (RA) when OHIP's records show the patient's eligibility started after the service date on the claim. OHIP doesn't pay for services before coverage begins.

The patient may be covered now. The question is whether they were covered on the date you billed.

Common causes

  • The service date on the claim is wrong
  • The patient's coverage began after the visit
  • The claim carries another person's health number

How to fix it

  1. Check the service date and health number on the claim against the chart.
  2. Run a health card validation check for the service date, or ask the patient for their current card.
  3. If the service date or health number was wrong, send a Remittance Advice Inquiry (RAI) through eSubmit, or on form 0918-84, within 7 months of the RA date, with the correct details.
  4. If the patient was not covered on the service date, OHIP won't pay the claim. If the patient believes their coverage is wrong, ask them to contact ServiceOntario.

Don't resubmit if

  • The patient had no OHIP coverage on the service date.
  • The claim is already on your RA. A new claim for the same service will be treated as a duplicate. Use an RAI instead.

How APEX handles it

APEX reads your error reports and remittance advice from MCEDT and lists claims rejected with this code in its Correction Centre for you to correct and resubmit. See how APEX works · Pricing

Related codes: EH1, J1, E5, E4

Sources