CO-302: Authorization Time Limit Expired

What Does CO-302 Mean?

CO-302 places the authorization time limit expiration squarely on the provider as a contractual obligation. The payer is saying that under the terms of your participation agreement, you were required to obtain authorization within a specified timeframe and failed to do so. The financial impact is a provider write-off — you cannot transfer this charge to the patient. This is the standard and most frequent pairing for CARC 302, reflecting the industry norm that authorization compliance is the provider's contractual responsibility.

When CARC 302 appears on a remittance, the payer is telling you that the time limit for obtaining precertification, notification, authorization, or pre-treatment approval has lapsed. This is not a question of whether the service was medically necessary or correctly coded — it is purely a procedural timing issue. The payer set a deadline for the authorization to be secured, and that deadline was not met before the claim was processed.

This code typically surfaces when a provider either never initiated the authorization process, started it too late, or obtained a valid authorization that expired before the service was rendered. It can also appear when a payer required advance notification of a planned treatment within a specific timeframe and that notification was not sent. The distinction matters because each scenario has a different resolution path — a never-requested authorization is harder to recover than one that was requested on time but processed slowly by the payer.

CARC 302 is overwhelmingly paired with Group Code CO, placing the financial responsibility squarely on the provider. Since the payer views this as a provider-side administrative failure, the adjustment cannot be billed to the patient under most payer contracts. However, if you can document that the authorization request was submitted within the required window or that the payer's own processing delays caused the expiration, you have grounds for a strong appeal.

Common Causes

How to Resolve

Verify whether the authorization was requested within the required timeframe, then either appeal with documentation of timely efforts or request a retroactive authorization.

1. Verify the authorization deadline for this payer Check the specific payer's contractual requirements for authorization timing. Different payers have different windows — some require 72 hours advance notification, others allow up to 14 days. Confirm which deadline applies to this service and this plan.
2. Determine if authorization was requested on time Review your records for the authorization request date. If you submitted within the payer's required timeframe, collect the submission confirmation and prepare to dispute the denial. If you missed the deadline, assess whether any extenuating circumstances support a retroactive authorization request.
3. Appeal with timestamped documentation Submit an appeal attaching proof of timely authorization request — portal screenshots with timestamps, fax confirmations, electronic acknowledgments. If the payer's own processing delay caused the expiration, document the payer's turnaround time versus the submission date.
4. Post the write-off if appeal fails If the appeal is denied and no retroactive authorization is available, post the adjustment as a contractual write-off. Do not bill the patient. Flag the case in your denial tracking system to inform future process improvements.

Common RARC Pairings

The RARC code tells you exactly what triggered the CO-302:

How to Prevent CO-302

• Build a payer-specific authorization deadline matrix and integrate it into your scheduling workflow so staff know the exact submission window for each payer
• Set up automated alerts that fire at multiple intervals before authorization expiration — for example, 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the deadline
• Assign a dedicated authorization coordinator or team responsible for tracking all pending and expiring authorizations across payers
• Submit authorization requests immediately when services are scheduled, not when the patient arrives, to maximize the available processing time
• Schedule authorized services promptly to avoid rendering care after the authorization period lapses

General Prevention

• Establish a proactive pre-certification tracking system with automated deadline alerts that notify staff before authorization windows expire
• Implement a centralized authorization management workflow that tracks all pending, approved, and expiring authorizations in real time
• Train staff on each payer's specific pre-certification requirements including time limits, notification deadlines, and documentation standards
• Use electronic data interchange (EDI) or payer portals to submit authorization requests promptly and receive confirmations with timestamps
• Conduct regular audits of the authorization process to identify bottlenecks that cause delays and missed deadlines
• Schedule services promptly once authorization is obtained to avoid rendering services after the authorization period expires

Also Filed As

The same CARC 302 may appear with different Group Codes:

Related Denial Codes