< Error codes

Error code

VH5 — OHIP Number Required for Service Date

OHIP number required

The Ministry's records call for an older OHIP number, not a health number, for a claim with this service date.

What to do: Check the service date first and correct it if mistyped; then check the patient identifier against the current card.

Code
VH5
Description
OHIP Number Required for Service Date

Explanation

Updated October 26, 2026

VH5 means OHIP needs an OHIP number, not a health number, for this service date. Check the date and patient identifier and resubmit.

What it means

VH5 means the Ministry's records call for an OHIP number on a claim with this service date. The Ministry's list gives only the short description "OHIP Number Required for Service Date".

Today Ontario claims identify the patient by the 10-digit health number. An OHIP number is a different, older identifier.

Common causes

  • A wrong service date (for example, the wrong year)
  • Patient identifier details left over from an old record

How to fix it

  1. Check the service date first. If it was typed wrong, correct it.
  2. Check the patient identifier on the claim against the patient's current card.
  3. 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 have not found what is wrong with the date or identifier.

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: VH7, VHA, VH6, VJ5

Sources