On the CMS-1500 claim form, Box 13 holds the insured's (or an authorized person's) signature — the authorization that directs the payer to send payment of medical benefits to your practice. This guide explains what the box means and how Pabau fills it.
NOTE: This article is part of the US Insurance Billing Additional Resources series, which walks through every box of the CMS-1500. If you are new to claims in Pabau, start with Creating a US Professional (CMS 1500) Claim.
Box 13 — Insured's signature
Box 13 carries the wording "I authorize payment of medical benefits to the undersigned physician or supplier for services described below." A signature here is the insured person's assignment of benefits — it tells the payer to pay the practice rather than the insured. As with Box 12, the box rarely carries a wet signature: the accepted convention is the text "Signature on File" (or "SOF"), meaning the practice holds the signed authorization on record.
NOTE: Box 12 vs Box 13 — Box 12 is the patient's permission to release medical information; Box 13 is the insured's permission to pay benefits to the practice. They are often the same person, but not always.
How Pabau fills it
On the printed claim (Export > Print on the claim), Pabau writes "Signature on File" in Box 13 by default — the same mechanics as Box 12, with no setup needed.
When the client has a completed consent form with a drawn signature in Pabau, the full-form print renders the actual signature image in Box 13 only when the insured is the patient — that is, the relationship to insured is Self and the insured's name matches the patient's. When someone else is the policy holder, Box 13 keeps the Signature on File wording, because the drawn signature on record belongs to the patient, not to the insured.
The text-only print always keeps "Signature on File" in Box 13, so the values stay aligned with the cells of pre-printed red-ink CMS-1500 stock.
On the electronic claim: the payment-of-benefits authorization travels with the claim automatically, so there is nothing to set per claim.
TIP: Box 13 works hand in hand with Accept assignment (Box 27, in the Claim details section of the claim, defaulting to YES): the insured authorizes payment to the practice here, and in Box 27 the practice agrees to accept the payer's allowed amount — together, that is what routes the payer's payment to you.
To set up client policies and policy holders, see Insurance Guide Part 2: Client Insurance Setup in Pabau.