Error code
EQS — Practitioner Criteria Not Met
Practitioner criteria not met
The Ministry's records show you didn't meet the rules for who may bill this fee code on the service date.
What to do: Check the code's rules in the Schedule of Benefits and that the specialty code and group number are right.
- Code
- EQS
- Description
- Practitioner Criteria Not Met
Explanation
Updated October 26, 2026
EQS means you don't meet the practitioner criteria for this fee code on the service date. Check the code's eligibility rules.
What it means
EQS (Practitioner Criteria Not Met) means the fee code has rules about who may bill it, such as specialty, payment model or registration, and the Ministry's records show you did not meet them on the date of service. The Ministry gives no further detail for this code.
How to fix it
- Check the fee code's rules in the Schedule of Benefits for who may bill it.
- Check that the specialty code and group number on the claim are right.
- If you qualify and the claim was correct, contact the Ministry to update your registration.
- 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 meet the fee code's criteria.
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: EQL, EQM, A4D, EQ2