Error code
R03 — Invalid/Missing Province Code
Province code missing
The province code on this out-of-province (Reciprocal Medical Billing) claim is missing or invalid.
What to do: Enter the two-letter code of the province or territory that issued the patient's health card, then resubmit.
- Code
- R03
- Description
- Invalid/Missing Province Code
Explanation
Updated October 26, 2026
R03 means the province code on a Reciprocal Medical Billing claim is missing or invalid. Enter the two-letter code of the patient's home province.
What it means
Error R03 means the Reciprocal Medical Billing (RMB) claim was rejected because the province code is missing or not a valid code.
Reciprocal Medical Billing (RMB) is how Ontario physicians bill OHIP for insured services to patients covered by another Canadian province's or territory's health plan, except Quebec. An RMB claim uses payment program RMB and carries the patient's out-of-province registration details instead of an Ontario health number. The province field is the two-letter code of the province or territory where the patient is registered.
Common causes
- The province field was left blank
- A province name or a non-standard abbreviation was entered instead of the Ministry's two-letter code
How to fix it
- Enter the two-letter code for the province or territory that issued the patient's health card, using the Ministry's Province and Territory Codes list.
- Check the RMB patient fields against the patient's card: the two-letter province code, the registration number from the home province, date of birth, surname, first name and sex. The payment program must be RMB and the payee must be P (pay provider).
- Resubmit the corrected claim within three months of the service date if you can. If that window has passed but the claim was first submitted on time, use the Ministry's stale-dated resubmission process.
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