# Claim repair and edit: Incomplete ZIP Code

> Stedi now validates ZIP Codes for US addresses in 837P, 837D, and 837I claims and repairs missing ZIP+4 codes for billing and service facility addresses.

Published Apr 29, 2026

Product: Claim edits

Stedi now validates ZIP Codes for US addresses in [837P professional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-professional-claims), [837D dental](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-dental-claims), and [837I institutional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-institutional-claims) claims.

[X12 standards](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/intro-to-claim-submission#x12-hipaa-format) require a full 9-digit ZIP Code, called a ZIP+4, for the billing provider and service facility addresses when the address is in the United States.

For billing provider and service facility addresses without a full 9-digit ZIP+4, Stedi attempts to [repair](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/claim-edits-and-repairs#repairs) the claim by looking up the full 9-digit ZIP+4. If the lookup fails and the submitted ZIP is an invalid length, this [edit](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/claim-edits-and-repairs#edits) rejects the claim.

Stedi also rejects claims with other addresses, such as subscriber or payer addresses, that contain ZIP Codes that don't meet length requirements.

## Billing provider and service facility addresses

### How the repair works

If the billing provider or service facility ZIP Code isn't a full 9-digit ZIP+4, Stedi attempts to look up the ZIP+4 using the rest of the address. If the lookup succeeds, Stedi [repairs](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/claim-edits-and-repairs#repairs) the claim with the resolved ZIP+4.

**Billing provider address ZIP Code**

| **Claim type**                                                                          | **JSON API field**                                                                                                                                       | **X12 element**                                                |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [837P professional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-professional-claims)   | [`billing.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-claims#body.billing.address.postalCode)               | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2010AA` (Billing Provider Name) |
| [837D dental](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-dental-claims)               | [`billing.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-dental-claims#body.billing.address.postalCode)        | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2010AA` (Billing Provider Name) |
| [837I institutional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-institutional-claims) | [`billing.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-institutional-claims#body.billing.address.postalCode) | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2010AA` (Billing Provider Name) |

**Claim-level service facility address ZIP Code**

| **Claim type**                                                                          | **JSON API field**                                                                                                                                                                                                         | **X12 element**                                                        |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [837P professional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-professional-claims)   | [`claimInformation.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-claims#body.claimInformation.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode)               | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2310C` (Service Facility Location Name) |
| [837D dental](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-dental-claims)               | [`claimInformation.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-dental-claims#body.claimInformation.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode)        | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2310C` (Service Facility Location Name) |
| [837I institutional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-institutional-claims) | [`claimInformation.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-institutional-claims#body.claimInformation.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode) | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2310E` (Service Facility Location Name) |

**Service-line-level service facility address ZIP Code**

| **Claim type**                                                                          | **JSON API field**                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | **X12 element**                                                        |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [837P professional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-professional-claims)   | [`claimInformation.serviceLines[].serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-claims#body.claimInformation.serviceLines.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode)        | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2420C` (Service Facility Location Name) |
| [837D dental](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-dental-claims)               | [`claimInformation.serviceLines[].serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-dental-claims#body.claimInformation.serviceLines.serviceFacilityLocation.address.postalCode) | `N4-03` (Postal Code) of Loop `2420D` (Service Facility Location Name) |
| [837I institutional](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-institutional-claims) | N/A                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | N/A                                                                    |

For example, if you submit a claim with a billing provider address of `1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC`, Stedi looks up and uses a ZIP+4 of `200033228`.

Before the lookup, Stedi normalizes the submitted ZIP value. Hyphens and other separators are removed.

If Stedi can't look up the ZIP+4 (for example, because the address isn't recognized), Stedi preserves the submitted ZIP Code. If the value is only 5 digits, Stedi pads it with `0000` to reach the required 9-digit length. For example, a ZIP Code of `20003` becomes `200030000`.

### How the edit works

If the resulting ZIP Code isn't 9 digits after lookup and normalization, this [edit](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/claim-edits-and-repairs#edits) rejects the claim.

This edit catches the issue before the claim reaches the payer. It prevents payer rejections, which are slower and delay payment for the provider.

### Rejection errors

If you submit a claim that fails the edit for a billing provider or service facility address using Stedi's [Claim Submission API endpoints](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/intro-to-claim-submission#api-claim-submission), you'll get back an error response in real time. The response includes details in the `errors` array:

```jsonc
{
  "errors": [
    {
      "code": "33",
      "description": "Incomplete ZIP Code. The billing provider address requires the full 9-digit ZIP code (ZIP+4) when the address is in the United States. Correct and resubmit.",
      "followupAction": "Please Correct and Resubmit"
    }
  ]
}
```

If you submit a claim that fails the edit for a billing provider or service facility address using [SFTP](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/submit-claims-sftp-connection), Stedi rejects the claim with a [277CA claim acknowledgment](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/claim-responses-overview#277ca-claim-acknowledgment). The acknowledgment includes a related [claim status category code](https://x12.org/codes/claim-status-category-codes), [claim status code](https://x12.org/codes/claim-status-codes), entity identifier code, and error message:

```jsx
STC*A6>500>85*[DATE]*U*[AMOUNT]********Incomplete ZIP Code. The billing provider address requires the full 9-digit ZIP code (ZIP+4) when the address is in the United States. Correct and resubmit.~
```

## Other addresses

Other addresses in a claim, such as the subscriber, payer, or patient address, can use either a valid 5-digit ZIP or 9-digit ZIP+4.

Stedi doesn't perform lookups for other addresses in the claim. Those addresses are rejected if they don't meet the 5-digit or 9-digit format requirement after Stedi normalizes them.

### Rejection errors

If you submit a claim that fails the edit for an address other than the billing provider or service facility, such as the subscriber or payer address, using Stedi's [Claim Submission API endpoints](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/intro-to-claim-submission#api-claim-submission), you'll get back an error response in real time. The response includes details in the `errors` array:

```jsonc
{
  "errors": [
    {
      "code": "33",
      "description": "Invalid ZIP Code. The subscriber address requires either the 5-digit or full 9-digit ZIP code (ZIP+4) when the address is in the United States. Correct and resubmit.",
      "followupAction": "Please Correct and Resubmit"
    }
  ]
}
```

If you submit a claim that fails the edit for an address other than the billing provider or service facility using SFTP, Stedi rejects the claim with a [277CA claim acknowledgment](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/claim-responses-overview#277ca-claim-acknowledgment):

```jsx
STC*A6>500>HK*[DATE]*U*[AMOUNT]********Invalid ZIP Code. The subscriber address requires either the 5-digit or full 9-digit ZIP code (ZIP+4) when the address is in the United States. Correct and resubmit.~
```

## Previous edit

This edit replaces the previous [billing provider ZIP Code edit](https://www.stedi.com/changelog/new-claim-edit-invalid-billing-provider-zip-code) for institutional claims. The previous edit rejected institutional claims with an address missing a full ZIP+4. This edit adds the ZIP+4 lookup repair.