What does denial code CO-140 mean?

CO-140 means the member identification number and the patient name on the claim do not match the payer's record. The ID resolved to a member, but the name attached to that member is different from what was submitted.

What is the difference between CO-140 and CO-31?

CO-31 means no member record matched at all, so the coverage itself is in question. CO-140 means a member record was found and only the name disagrees, which almost always confirms the coverage exists and makes it the easier of the two to resolve.

CO-140: The patient's identification number and name do not match

CO-140 is narrower than a general identification failure: the payer found a member record for the ID but the name attached to it disagrees. That usually means one of two things - the name changed and the payer's file did not, or the claim went out under a dependent's name with the subscriber's number. Because the ID resolved, the coverage almost certainly exists, which makes this among the most recoverable denials on any remittance.

What it means: The identification number on the claim resolves to a member whose name does not match the one submitted.
Who pays the balance: Contractual - a demographic mismatch is a submission error and cannot be billed to the patient.
Group code CO: Contractual Obligation - the provider absorbs the balance and cannot bill the patient

Why CO-140 happens

The patient married or changed their name and updated the practice but not the plan.
A dependent's claim carried the subscriber's member ID but the dependent's name without the relationship code.
A hyphenated or compound surname was truncated or split differently than the payer stores it.
The patient goes by a middle name or nickname that registration captured instead of the legal name.
Two family members on the same policy were confused at registration, pairing one person's ID with another's name.

How to fix a CO-140 denial

1
Pull the payer's own spelling from an eligibility response
The eligibility transaction returns the name exactly as the payer stores it, which removes all guessing about spacing, hyphens, and suffixes.
2
Submit the legal name the plan holds, not the preferred name
Claims match against the plan's record. A preferred name belongs in the chart for clinical use, but the claim has to carry what the payer will match against.
3
Add the correct relationship code for dependents
When a dependent is billed under the subscriber's ID, the relationship code is what tells the payer whose name to expect. Without it the name check fails even with correct data.
4
Update registration so the correction persists
Fixing the claim alone means the next visit reproduces the denial. Push the payer's spelling back into the patient record.

Preventing CO-140 denials

Capture the legal name as it appears on the insurance card at registration, keeping any preferred name in a separate field.
Run eligibility before the visit so a name mismatch surfaces while the patient is present to resolve it.
Prompt for a coverage re-verification whenever a patient reports a name change.

CO-140 frequently asked questions

What does denial code CO-140 mean?: CO-140 means the member identification number and the patient name on the claim do not match the payer's record. The ID resolved to a member, but the name attached to that member is different from what was submitted.
What is the difference between CO-140 and CO-31?: CO-31 means no member record matched at all, so the coverage itself is in question. CO-140 means a member record was found and only the name disagrees, which almost always confirms the coverage exists and makes it the easier of the two to resolve.

Related denial codes

CO-31 CO-16 CO-27 CO-109

Last reviewed August 5, 2026.

Denial code explanations are original plain-English summaries written for reference and are not the official X12 code descriptions. Payer handling of any code varies by contract - always verify against the remittance advice and your payer agreement before adjusting a claim.