CO-302 denial code
Authorization time limit has expired
How to fix it
Request a new authorisation. Services delivered after expiry are generally not payable retroactively.
How to prevent it
Track authorisation expiry dates alongside unit counts; both exhaust independently.
In practice
A patient obtains authorisation for a surgical procedure. Scheduling delays push the case eleven weeks out, past the authorisation's validity period, and the claim returns CO-302.
Authorisations carry expiry dates as well as unit limits, and both exhaust independently. A service delivered after expiry is unauthorised even though permission was genuinely granted.
Request a new authorisation for the actual date and ask the plan to reprocess. Retroactive extension is uncommon, so the practical value of this denial is what it teaches about scheduling.
What sits behind it
The gap between authorisation and delivery is where the risk lives, and it is longest exactly where it matters most. High-cost elective procedures take the longest to schedule and carry the largest exposure when the authorisation lapses.
Validity periods vary considerably — thirty, sixty and ninety days are all common, and some plans set the period by service type. Assuming a uniform window across payers is what produces the surprise.
Tracking expiry alongside scheduling is the control. Where a case is booked beyond the authorisation's validity, the renewal can be requested before the date rather than after the denial, which converts an unrecoverable loss into an administrative step.
Related codes
Terms used here — Prior Authorization · Denial · Timely Filing
How we handle it — Prior Authorization · Denial Management · AR Management
Primary sources
The rules behind CO-302, at the bodies that publish them.
- CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F) (opens in a new tab)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — The rule imposing prior authorization decision timelines and API requirements on impacted payers. It is the single largest scheduled change to authorization workflow this decade.
- Medicare Coverage Database (LCD/NCD) (opens in a new tab)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Searchable national and local coverage determinations. The direct answer to whether a diagnosis supports medical necessity for a given procedure.
- Medicare Claims Processing Manual (opens in a new tab)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — The operative manual for how Medicare claims must be coded, submitted, adjusted and appealed. When a payer policy and a vendor's advice disagree, this settles it.
Looking for a different code? Search all 190 CARC and RARC codes
Questions about CO-302
It varies by payer and sometimes by service, with thirty, sixty and ninety days all common. Assuming a uniform window across a payer mix is what produces the surprise, so the validity period is worth recording when the authorisation is obtained.
Uncommonly. Most plans require a new authorisation for the actual date, which does not help a service already delivered. That is why the useful response to this denial is a scheduling change rather than an appeal strategy.
In high-cost elective procedures, which take longest to schedule and carry the largest exposure if the authorisation lapses. Checking the expiry date against the booked date at scheduling is the control that prevents the worst cases.
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