Medicare Request for Corrections: How to Respond in PECOS

Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.

A “Request for Corrections for Medicare Enrollment Application” email means your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) found problems it needs fixed before it will process the application. Fix every listed item in PECOS, complete fresh signatures, and return the application to the contractor through Begin Submission. MACs can reject an application that is still incomplete 30 calendar days after the request, under 42 CFR 424.525.

Two Kinds of Notices, One Clock

Correction requests reach practices in two forms:

• The PECOS email. Its subject is “Request for Corrections for Medicare Enrollment Application,” with your tracking ID. It goes to the application’s contact person from an unmonitored address and lists each item under the name of your fee-for-service contractor, such as CGS, WPS, Noridian, or Novitas.

• The MAC’s development letter. Some contractors also email a letter titled “Medicare Provider Enrollment Development Letter” after their initial review, with the details in an attachment.

The 30-day rejection window is the outer limit, but contractors often ask for the response sooner. We have seen one MAC ask for corrections within 10 days and another within 14 days of the letter’s postmark. One notice warned that if the response arrives on day 30 and is still incomplete, the MAC will not ask again and may simply reject. Treat the earlier date as your deadline.

The Corrections We See Most Often

Across the Medicare applications we file for therapists and therapy groups, the same handful of items account for most correction requests:

• IRS proof of the legal name and tax ID. Contractors want an IRS-issued document such as the CP 575 or a 147C letter. Correction notices state plainly that a W-9 is not acceptable.

• Bank proof for the CMS-588 EFT form. Send a preprinted voided check or a letter on bank letterhead that shows the account holder’s legal name exactly as the IRS has it, the routing number, account number, and account type. Bank letters need the bank officer’s name and signature and should be less than a year old. Starter checks and direct-deposit printouts with no account-holder name or signature are rejected, and so are letters generated by a fintech app rather than the bank that actually holds the account.

• A legal name that doesn’t match. The name on the IRS letter, NPPES record, bank document, and application must match in substance. Punctuation differences usually pass. A missing “PLLC” or “LLC” does not. Banks often shorten business names on printed checks, so a bank letter is usually the cleaner fix.

• Signatures. The certification statement and the reassignment authorization statement need dated signatures from the practitioner and, for reassignment, the group’s authorized or delegated official. Requests can also ask for a fresh signature on the CMS-588. PECOS e-signature works. Signed pages can also be uploaded, emailed, or faxed, but one contractor’s notice said mailed or stamped statements would not be accepted.

• A practice location that is a mail service. A mailbox-store suite is not accepted as a practice location. A telehealth-only clinician working from home can use the PECOS home-office option for administrative or telehealth use, which keeps the street address off Care Compare.

• Tax-structure questions. Reviewers sometimes ask how the business files its taxes so they can decide how to set it up in Medicare.

How to Send the Corrections Back

1. Open the application in PECOS and make the requested data changes. Upload supporting documents to the application, not as a separate filing.

2. Have each signer complete the requested signatures through PECOS electronic signature, or upload freshly signed statements.

3. Return the application by selecting Begin Submission and choosing the same fee-for-service contractor. Editing the application without this step leaves it sitting in your account.

4. If the notice names an enrollment analyst or reviewer, reply to that person with the reference number and tracking ID when corrections are in, not to the automated no-reply address. Put the reference number on any document you send outside PECOS, and if the notice says a document must go through PECOS, upload it there.

5. Keep sensitive data out of ordinary email. One MAC’s development emails ask providers not to return personal information by email at all; use PECOS upload, fax, or mail instead.

Starting over is not a shortcut. If you delete the application and file a new one instead of correcting it, CGS’s notice asks you to tell the analyst the new tracking ID. Otherwise the original request can still run out and be rejected.

What Slows a Correction Down

• Reusing old signatures. When we return an application for corrections, we get new dated signatures on the current statements by default. A signature from before the correction can fail a request that asks for a dated or timestamped signature.

• Fixing one item and stopping. Requests often bundle an IRS document, bank proof, and two signatures. Uploading the first document does not answer the rest.

• Sending it to the wrong MAC. Contractors return applications they don’t handle with a “sent to incorrect contractor” letter naming the right one. Confirm the contractor for the practice location’s state before you resubmit.

• Waiting on the bank. Getting a signed bank letter can take days. Ask for it as soon as the notice arrives instead of after the signatures are done.

On reassignment: CMS folded the old stand-alone CMS-855R into the CMS-855I, but PECOS still generates a separate reassignment tracking ID and authorization statement. Corrections can name that statement specifically. See the CMS Medicare enrollment guidance for the current forms.

If someone else will manage PECOS for you, see how to authorize your biller for Medicare enrollment. For the original filing, see how to credential Medicare as a therapist LLC. Bomi answers MAC correction requests as part of our credentialing service.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to answer a Medicare correction request?

The rejection rule allows 30 calendar days, but many contractors ask for a reply within 10 to 14 days. Use the earlier date in your notice.

Can I send a W-9 to prove our tax ID?

No. Contractors want an IRS-issued document such as a CP 575 or 147C letter that shows the legal business name and tax ID.

I uploaded the documents. Why is the application still pending?

Uploads alone do not send the application back. Complete the signatures, then use Begin Submission and select the same contractor so the MAC sees the corrected version.

Sources

• CMS: Medicare Provider Enrollment (MLN)

• CMS Program Integrity Manual, Chapter 10: Enrollment

• 42 CFR 424.525: Rejection of a provider’s enrollment application

• CMS-588 Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization