> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Approve claims

> Approve claims that are ready so they can go into a production file, and see who is allowed to approve.

Available in

Plan
All plans

Who
Owners and managers; other staff only with the Approve claims for a file permission

Insurance
United States

For clinics whose owner chose United States (US insurance claims) under Settings → General → Insurance: electronic claims to US payers, eligibility checks and insurer remittance.
[Outside the US? See the HMO and international insurance pages.](https://help.clinikehr.com/hospital/insurance/claims.md)

Approval is the second pair of eyes. A biller prepares a claim and marks it ready; someone allowed to approve says it can go into a **production** file. A **test file** takes claims that are ready or approved, so approval is not needed to test.

Before you start

Claims marked Ready, with every field confirmed

Takes about

A minute

When you're done

Claims with the status Approved, ready for a production file

## Approve claims

**1. Choose the claims**

For one claim, select the **⋯** menu at the end of its row and choose **Approve**. It shows only on a claim whose status is **Ready**, and only if you are allowed to approve. A claim with problems to fix shows it greyed out, with "Fix N problems first". For several claims, tick them, or **Select all on this page**, then open the menu beside **Generate** and choose **Approve** with the number you ticked, for example **Approve (3)**. Claims with problems to fix are left out, and the confirmation says how many.

**2. Confirm**

The dialog says (for one claim it reads "this claim" and "it") "Approving says you have checked these claims and they can go into a production file. Only claims marked ready can be approved, and changing an approved claim later withdraws its approval." Select **Approve 3 claims**.

You see how many were approved, for example "3 claims approved. 1 was skipped.", and a second message listing why any were skipped:

| Reason shown | What to do |
| - | - |
| "is not marked ready" | Open it, confirm every field and mark it ready |
| "still has a field nobody has confirmed" | Open it and confirm the remaining boxes |
| "was confirmed by you, so someone else must approve it (an owner, a manager or another approver)" | Ask someone else to approve it |
| "could not be found, or you do not have access to it" | Reload the list |

## Who can do this

| Action | Who by default | Permission |
| - | - | - |
| Approve claims | Owners and managers | **Approve claims for a file** |
| Make a production file | Owners and managers | **Make production Medi-Cal files** |
| Make a test file | Anyone whose role opens Medi-Cal Claims | None |

Other staff do not have either permission until an owner or manager gives it. Give them from **Staff & Teams**, in a person's **Permissions**, under **Claims**. See [Permissions](https://help.clinikehr.com/platform/team/permissions.md). Enforcement starts for a person when you save their permissions.

**A biller cannot approve a claim they confirmed themselves.** The claim is skipped, and another approver, an owner or a manager has to do it. An owner or manager can approve their own claims, so a solo practice can still work alone.

## Check it worked

* The toast reads "N claims approved."
* The claims show the status **Approved**. The step bar moves to **Generate**.

## Common issues

> [accordion] There is no Approve in the menu
>
> Your role does not have **Approve claims for a file**. Ask an owner or manager to give it to you, or to approve the claims.

> [accordion] 'You cannot approve claims'
>
> "Approving a claim needs permission at this clinic. Ask an owner or manager."

> [accordion] 'No claim was approved'
>
> "A claim must be marked ready, with every field confirmed, before it can be approved." Open the claims and finish the review.

> [accordion] An approved claim went back to Ready
>
> Changing an approved claim withdraws its approval. Approve it again after the change.

## FAQ

> [accordion] Does approving send anything to Medi-Cal?
>
> No. Approving only says the claim may go into a production file. Nothing leaves ClinikEHR until you download a file and upload it yourself.

> [accordion] Do I have to approve claims before a test file?
>
> No. A test file takes claims that are marked ready.

**Still stuck with approving claims?**
Check [Troubleshooting](https://help.clinikehr.com/platform/help/troubleshooting.md) first —
it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,
[contact support](https://help.clinikehr.com/platform/help/contact-support.md) and include
your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
matching entry in your audit log.


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