# CARC 27 denial code on dental claims > What does denial code CARC 27 mean on a dental claim, and can it be appealed? URL: https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/carc-27 Last verified: 2026-08-30 Dentovio is an independent publisher — not a payer, the ADA, X12, CAQH CORE, or any government agency. Code meanings and remark-code meanings on this page are Dentovio's own wording, written from the official X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Code and Remittance Advice Remark Code lists and linked back to them; X12 holds the copyright in those lists and its descriptions are not reproduced here. CDT codes are referenced by number only; CDT is the American Dental Association's copyrighted code set and this page does not reproduce ADA descriptors. Appealability verdicts are Dentovio editorial classification, not a standard. Every fact traces to the code steward's registry, a federal rule or manual, a HIPAA operating rule, an association publication, or a named payer's own document — never to a billing blog. This page was drafted with AI assistance and verified against the primary sources linked here. It has not been reviewed by a credentialed dental billing specialist, attorney, or clinician. Educational billing reference only — not billing, legal, or clinical advice. Plan contracts control individual outcomes, and processing policies usually live in the payer's provider manual rather than in the signed agreement. ## Direct answer On a dental remittance, CARC 27 means: The date of service falls after this patient's coverage ended. X12 assigns it no group code, so the group code on the remittance is the payer's choice under its own contract and it, not the CARC, decides who is assigned the balance. No source read for this page pairs a specific remark code with it. Dentovio's appealability verdict — depends: check the facts first. Establish the termination date from the payer's record, then look for successor coverage before billing anyone. A terminated plan very often means a different active plan, not a self-pay balance. Registry entry: X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Code 27 — in the code set since 1995-01-01; active, with no deactivation date. Read on the list published 2025-11-01. Group code: X12 places no group-code restriction on 27, so the common advice to treat it as patient responsibility and bill is a conclusion the code does not support. Whether the balance is billable turns on the plan contract, the practice's own verification duty, and state balance-billing law. A group code always travels with a CARC, and it — not the CARC — assigns financial responsibility, so read the one on your remittance rather than assuming. ## What it means in dental context The termination half of the 26-and-27 pair. Employer plan changes are the usual cause, and the practice often learns about the termination from this code rather than from the patient. ## Appealability: Depends — check the facts first The appealability verdicts on these pages are Dentovio's editorial classification. No standards body or payer publishes an appealability taxonomy: X12 defines what a code means, not what to do about it. Each verdict is built from the code's own mechanics and the payer and federal documents cited on the page, and it is a starting point for triage rather than a prediction of any outcome. A valid contract term may control, while a factual error may be contested. Run the checks on this page before using the appeal window. Establish the termination date from the payer's record, then look for successor coverage before billing anyone. A terminated plan very often means a different active plan, not a self-pay balance. ## What to do 1. Confirm the termination date on the payer's eligibility record 2. Ask the patient for current coverage; an employer change usually means a new carrier, not no carrier 3. Refile with the correct payer inside its filing window rather than posting a patient balance first ## Remark codes No source read for this page pairs a remark code with CARC 27. X12 defines no CARC-to-RARC pairings at all: payer crosswalks are specific to that payer's own internal reason codes, and the CAQH CORE combination list binds only payers operating inside its business scenarios. Read the remark code on your own remittance. ## Read with this code - [CARC 26 — Before coverage started](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/carc-26/index.html.md) - [CARC 109 — Wrong payer](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/carc-109/index.html.md) ## Sources - X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (external code list 139) (list updated 2025-11-01): - X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes (external code list 411) (list updated 2026-07-01): - 45 CFR 162.1602 — HIPAA adoption of the 835 remittance standard that carries these codes: ## Related - [Dental billing and claims hub](https://dentovio.com/dental-billing/index.html.md) - [All dental denial codes](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/index.html.md) - [Payer documentation requirements](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-documentation/index.html.md) - [Dental insurance prompt-pay laws by state](https://dentovio.com/dental-prompt-pay-laws/index.html.md) - [Dental claim appeal letters](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-appeal-letters/index.html.md)