# Claim edit: COB claims must be balanced

> Stedi now rejects secondary and tertiary 837P professional, 837D dental, and 837I institutional claims if the claim’s COB amounts don’t balance.

Published Dec 1, 2025

Product: Claim edits

Stedi now rejects secondary and tertiary [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 if the claim’s Coordination of Benefits (COB) amounts don’t balance.

When you submit a secondary or tertiary claim, you must include the payments and adjustments, like patient responsibility or disallowed amounts, from previous payers. These amounts must add up cleanly:

```jsx
Total charges = All payments + All adjustments
```

This process is called Coordination of Benefits (COB) balancing.

If the numbers don’t match, the payer may reject the claim to avoid overpayment. This edit  – the industry term for an automated validation rule – catches the issue before it reaches the payer.

For more on COB balancing, see our [How to balance COB claims](https://www.stedi.com/blog/how-to-balance-cob-claims) guide.

**Rejection errors**  
If you submit a claim that fails the edit using Stedi’s [claim submission APIs](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/intro-to-claim-submission#api-claim-submission) or [professional claim form](https://www.stedi.com/docs/providers/providers-submit-claims), you’ll get back an error message in real time. If you’re using a JSON API endpoint, the response includes details in the [`errors`](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/api-reference/post-healthcare-claims#response.errors) array:

```jsonc
{
  "errors": [
    {
      "code": "33",
      "description": "Coordination of Benefits (COB) balancing failed. The total charged amount of $140.00 does not equal the sum of the paid amount of $80.00 and all adjustment amounts of $35.00. Correct and resubmit.",
      "followupAction": "Please Correct and Resubmit"
    }
  ]
}
```

If you submit a claim that fails the edit using SFTP, Stedi will reject the claim with a [277CA claim acknowledgment](https://www.stedi.com/docs/healthcare/claim-responses-overview#277ca-claim-acknowledgment). The acknowledgment will contain a related claim status category code, claim status code, and error message. You can use the error message to correct and resubmit the claim.

**Resolution tip**  
Double-check the payment and adjustment details from the previous payer’s Electric Remittance Advice (ERA), Explanation of Payment (EOP), or Explanation of Benefits (EOB). For help walking through the math, see [How to balance COB claims](https://www.stedi.com/blog/how-to-balance-cob-claims).