How do I fix OHIP error code VJ7?

Check the service date. If it was keyed wrong, correct it and resubmit as a regular claim. If the claim was first submitted within three months and rejected to an Error Report, correct every error on it. Then upload the corrected claims together in one stale-dated claim file through MCEDT (in GO Secure, choose file upload and the stale-dated claim file option, or the matching option in your billing software). Email ClaimsManagement@ontario.ca with the billing and/or group number, a list of the claims, confirmation of the upload, and the original Error Reports that show the on-time submission. Send a separate request for each physician or group. If the claim was never submitted and there were extenuating circumstances, send a letter on letterhead to ClaimsManagement@ontario.ca with the billing and/or group number, each claim's health number, fee codes and service date, the reasons, and the signature of the physician or group representative. Billing agent and clerk signatures are not accepted. For questions, call the Service Support Contact Centre at 1-800-262-6524.

When shouldn't I resubmit a VJ7 claim?

You would be resending it as a regular claim: it will reject with VJ7 again. The claim was never sent within three months and the delay was an office or administrative error. The service has already been paid on another claim.

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Error code

VJ7 — Stale-dated Claim

Q: What does OHIP error code VJ7 mean?

VJ7 means OHIP received the claim more than three months after the service date, so it was rejected as stale-dated.

Submitted too late

OHIP received the claim more than three months after the service date, so it was rejected as stale-dated.

What to do: Check the date; if the claim was first sent on time and rejected, correct it and send a stale-dated claim file through MCEDT.

Code: VJ7
Description: Stale-dated Claim

Explanation

Updated October 26, 2026

VJ7 means OHIP received the claim more than three months after the service date, so it was rejected as stale-dated.

What it means

OHIP rejects a claim with VJ7 when it arrives after the submission deadline. For services provided in Ontario on or after April 1, 2023, a claim must reach the Ministry within three months of the service date. A claim sent later is a stale-dated claim.

The Ministry does not pay a stale-dated claim unless one of two things applies: the claim was first submitted within three months and rejected to an Error Report, or there were extenuating circumstances. The Ministry describes extenuating circumstances as unusual events that arise suddenly and unexpectedly. Administrative errors in the physician's office do not qualify.

Common causes

A claim was held, missed or left unsent in the billing software for more than three months.
A claim rejected on time was corrected but resent as a regular claim after the three-month window.
The service date was keyed incorrectly, so a recent service looks old.

How to fix it

Check the service date. If it was keyed wrong, correct it and resubmit as a regular claim.
If the claim was first submitted within three months and rejected to an Error Report, correct every error on it. Then upload the corrected claims together in one stale-dated claim file through MCEDT (in GO Secure, choose file upload and the stale-dated claim file option, or the matching option in your billing software).
Email [email protected] with the billing and/or group number, a list of the claims, confirmation of the upload, and the original Error Reports that show the on-time submission. Send a separate request for each physician or group.
If the claim was never submitted and there were extenuating circumstances, send a letter on letterhead to [email protected] with the billing and/or group number, each claim's health number, fee codes and service date, the reasons, and the signature of the physician or group representative. Billing agent and clerk signatures are not accepted.
For questions, call the Service Support Contact Centre at 1-800-262-6524.

Don't resubmit if

You would be resending it as a regular claim: it will reject with VJ7 again.
The claim was never sent within three months and the delay was an office or administrative error.
The service has already been paid on another claim.

How APEX handles it

APEX does not treat VJ7 as a correction of its own. If a stale-dated claim was also rejected for another reason, the Correction Centre shows it under that error, and once it is corrected APEX uploads it in a stale-dated claim file through MCEDT and emails the Ministry's Claims Management team the request with the claim list and Error Reports. See how APEX works · Pricing

Related codes: VJ8, VJ5