Error report · Program-specific
OHIP error code R08
Invalid Referral Number
What R08 means
The Ministry of Health’s official wording for R08 is: “Invalid Referral Number.”
This code appears on your Claims Error Report (downloaded through MCEDT). It means the claim was rejected at submission and was never adjudicated for payment — fix the issue below and resubmit the claim.
How to fix R08
Correct the referral number on the reciprocal claim to a valid referring provider's number and resubmit.
Program-specific codes come from claims routed through special programs — Reciprocal Medical Billing for out-of-province patients, WSIB, telemedicine/virtual care, and Integrated Community Health Services Centres. The fix depends on that program's own submission rules.
Related codes
- ET1Not Registered for Telemedicine
- R02Invalid HSN
- R03Invalid/Missing Province Code
- R04Service Excluded from RMBS
- R05Provincial code invalid for RMBS Province code of 'ON' (Ontario) or ‘PQ’ (Quebec) and not an Outaouais claim
- R06Invalid Provider for RMBS
- R07Invalid Payment Type for RMBS
- R09Claim Header 2 Missing-RMB
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Code meaning per Ontario Ministry of Health — Error Report Rejection Conditions / Error Codes (December 2022). The suggested action is general information for Ontario physicians, not billing, legal, or tax advice — codes and rules change, so verify against the current Ministry of Health documents before relying on a claim.