EDI 276/277: Claim Status Request and Response
The EDI 276/277 pair is the X12 claim status transaction. The 276 is the provider's inquiry asking a payer for the status of a submitted claim; the 277 is the payer's response reporting where the claim stands — received, pending, paid, or denied. Together they let billers check claim status electronically instead of calling the payer.
- Transaction
- 276 (inquiry) / 277 (response)
- Direction
- 276 outbound, 277 inbound
- Pairs with
- Each other; follows the 837
What is the EDI 276/277?
The 276/277 is how you ask a payer where your claim stands, electronically. The 276 is the inquiry — identify the provider, the patient, and the claim — and the 277 is the payer's answer, reporting the claim's status with standardized codes. It exists so billers do not have to call payers or click through portals one claim at a time.
It follows the 837 and complements the 835: the 835 tells you what was paid, the 277 tells you what is happening before the money moves.
How is the 277 different from the 277CA?
They look similar but arrive differently. The 277CA is unsolicited — the payer sends it automatically right after the 837 to confirm pre-adjudication acceptance. The 277 in this pair is solicited — it only comes back when you send a 276 asking. Front-end acceptance versus on-demand status.
How do you use it in follow-up?
Automated 276/277 status checks are the backbone of proactive accounts-receivable follow-up. Instead of waiting the full payer cycle, a practice can batch-query aging claims and catch:
- Claims stuck in "pending" that need intervention before timely filing lapses.
- Claims the payer never received (no status) — resubmit immediately.
- Denials not yet posted, so work can start before the 835 arrives.
Any practical notes?
Status codes on the 277 use the same X12 claim status category and status code sets as the 277CA, so the vocabulary carries over. Run these through your clearinghouse, which usually normalizes the codes into readable statuses. Consistent 276/277 follow-up directly lowers aged A/R and, by catching non-received claims, protects your clean-claim performance.
Frequently asked questions
It is the claim status transaction pair. A biller sends a 276 asking "what is the status of this claim?" and the payer returns a 277 answering with the claim's current state — received, in process, finalized-paid, or finalized-denied — using standard claim status category and status codes. It is the electronic replacement for calling or logging into a portal to check status.
No, though they share a base. The 277CA (Claim Acknowledgment) is an unsolicited pre-adjudication response the payer sends after an 837 to say whether the claim was accepted for processing. The 277 in the 276/277 pair is a solicited status response you get by asking with a 276. One is automatic front-end acceptance; the other is an on-demand status check.
Use it for proactive follow-up — to find claims stuck in "pending" before they age out, to confirm receipt when no acknowledgment came back, or to catch a denial that has not yet posted. Automated batch 276/277 status checks let a large operation monitor thousands of claims without phone calls, surfacing problems days before the remittance would.
Sources & further reading
Reviewed by the ImmediCare Solutions RCM team
Certified billers and coders handling claims across 50+ specialties nationwide. This entry is reviewed against current payer policy and CMS rules. Last review: Jul 5, 2026.
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