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Error code

EQ6 — Referring provider number not registered with the Ministry

Referring number not registered

The referring or requisitioning provider number on the claim isn't registered with the Ministry.

What to do: Take the referring provider's billing number from the referral or requisition, correct it, and resubmit.

Code
EQ6
Description
Referring provider number not registered with the Ministry

Explanation

Updated October 26, 2026

EQ6 means the referring or requisitioning provider number on the claim isn't registered with the Ministry. Correct the referral number and resubmit.

What it means

Some services need the billing number of the provider who referred the patient or ordered the test. EQ6 means the referring or requisitioning number on the claim is not registered with the Ministry of Health, so the claim was rejected.

Common causes

  • A typing error in the referring provider number
  • The number of a provider who is not registered with OHIP (for example, an out-of-province provider)
  • A clinic, group or internal number entered instead of the referrer's own billing number

How to fix it

  1. Get the referring provider's billing number from the referral letter or requisition.
  2. Correct the referring number on the claim.
  3. Resubmit the corrected claim within three months of the service date. If that window has passed but the claim was first submitted on time, use the Ministry's stale-dated resubmission process.

Don't resubmit if

  • You don't have a valid referring number. The same number will reject again.

How APEX handles it

APEX reads your error reports and remittance advice from MCEDT and, for many claims rejected with this code, works out the fix for you to approve before it is resubmitted. See how APEX works · Pricing

Related codes: ERF, AC4, ARF, ARP, V09

Sources