Error code
V05 — Claim number is earlier than service date
Claim number before service date
The claim number compares as earlier than the service date, which OHIP doesn't accept.
What to do: Check the service date; if it's right, ask your billing software vendor how the claim number is built.
- Code
- V05
- Description
- Claim number is earlier than service date
Explanation
Updated October 26, 2026
The claim number is earlier than the service date, so the claim was rejected. Fix the dates or numbering and resubmit.
What it means
V05 ("Error-Claim Number is less than Service Date") means the claim number on the claim compares as earlier than the service date, which OHIP doesn't accept.
This is a format check: the claim was rejected before OHIP assessed the service itself, so it usually pays once the field is corrected.
Common causes
- The service date was entered wrong (for example a future date or a wrong year)
- Billing software numbered the claim incorrectly
How to fix it
- Check the service date on the claim.
- If the date is right, ask your billing software vendor how the claim number is built.
- Resubmit the corrected claim. Resubmit 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: one stale-dated claim file through MCEDT, then an email to [email protected] with the Error Reports showing the original submission date.
Don't resubmit if
- You haven't changed anything. Sending the same claim again will reject the same way.
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