In July 2006, the Form CMS-1500 (12-90) was revised by the National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC) predominantly for the purpose of accommodating the National Provider Identifier. Since that time, the industry has been preparing for the implementation of the revised Form CMS-1500 (08-05). In September 2006, Medicare announced that it would implement the revised Form CMS-1500 (08-05) on January 1, 2007 with dual acceptability of both versions until March 31, 2007. Medicare further announced that beginning April 1, 2007, the only acceptable version of the form would be the Form CMS-1500 (08-05) and that the prior version, Form CMS-1500 (12-90), would be rejected. Recently, CMS noticed there are incorrectly formatted versions of the revised form being sold by print vendors, specifically the Government Printing Office (GPO). After reviewing the situation, the GPO has determined the source files they received from the NUCC's authorized forms designer were improperly formatted. This resulted in the sale of both printed forms and negatives which do not comply with the form specifications. CMS has decided to extend the acceptance period of the Form CMS-1500 (12-90) version beyond the original April 1, 2007, deadline while this situation is resolved. Medicare contractors will be directed to continue to accept the Form CMS-1500 (12-90) until notified by CMS to cease. The following will help you to properly identify which form is which. The old version of the form contains "Approved OMB-0938-0008 FORM CMS-1500 (12-90)" on the bottom of the form (typically on the lower right corner) signifying the version is the December 1990 version. The revised version contains "Approved OMB-0938-0999 FORM CMS-1500 (08-05)" on the bottom of the form signifying the version is the August 2005 version. The best way to identify if your CMS-1500 (08-05) version forms are correct is by looking at the upper right hand corner of the form. On properly formatted claim forms, there will be approximately a " gap between the tip of the red arrow above the vertically stacked word "CARRIER" and the top edge of the paper. If the tip of the red arrow is touching or close to touching the top edge of the paper, then the form is not printed to specifications. Questions may be directed to Brian.Reitz@cms.hhs.gov.