Ace the CMS-1500 Claim Form Test 2026 – Master the Art of Medical Billing Magic!

Dates in Block 13 must be entered in a numeric month-day-year format, with the month first, then the day, then the year. Medicare accepts two possibilities: an eight-digit form using the full year (MMDDCCYY) or a six-digit form using a two-digit year (MMDDYY). Using one of these two formats avoids ambiguity and ensures the payer’s system reads the date correctly.

Other formats don’t fit because they either omit part of the date (such as just the year), change the order (like CCYYMMDD), or restrict you to a single form when Medicare explicitly accepts both eight-digit and six-digit versions.