The X12 Reference Now Has Samples For 334 Transaction Sets

The X12 reference now features 1,576 sample EDI files covering 334 transaction sets from releases 004010 through 008010, available without signing up. Each of them can be copied and downloaded, and most can be inspected in the EDI Inspector or translated into JSON. This is, to my knowledge, the largest and most comprehensive free database of sample EDI files on the Internet.

If you need a test file for a transaction set, especially uncommon ones for which samples are rare, look up the set in the X12 reference. Each transaction set page shows its sample under the set’s description, above the structure tables. For example, you can get a sample of the Student Loan Guarantee Result, transaction set #139.

Never heard of that set before? Me neither, but no problem, there’s plenty of others. The sample files page lists 333 sets, one row per set, each linked to its 005010 page. Releases 005010, 006010, 007010 and 008010 each have between 318 and 324 samples. 004010 has 295.

Some sets have variants available: the 997 and 999 come accepted and rejected, the 990 accepted and declined, the 810 as an invoice and a credit memo, the 850 as a standard and a drop-ship order, the 204 as an original and a cancellation, and the 856 in its SOTI, SOPI and SOI hierarchies.

Help us create the best sample library on the Internet: send us example X12 files and we’ll add them. Run them through tedi edi obfuscate from the tedi CLI to replace personal data, and send them to info@tediware.com. We’ll add them to the library.

Notes

• Every sample is fictional. The trading partners, people, addresses and identifiers are invented, and ISA15 is T, which marks the interchange as test data.
• Before we published a sample, it passed the EDI Inspector against the base X12 standard for its release. It also passed checks on its own arithmetic: HL numbering, the line count and hash total in CTT, and an 810’s TDS total against its line items.

The healthcare samples on 005010 follow their HIPAA implementation guides. The 270, 271, 276, 277, 278, 834, 835, the 999 and the three 837s name their guide in GS08 and in ST03, so the professional claim starts like this:

GS*HC*SAMPLESENDER*SAMPLERECEIVER*20261023*0900*1*X*005010X222A1~
ST*837*0001*005010X222A1~

Their NPIs carry a valid check digit and are not in the NPPES registry, and their EINs start with a prefix the IRS does not assign, so none belong to a real provider or employer.

Limits:

• The EDI Inspector and translator can’t open the 12 HIPAA samples yet, because they don’t accept a GS08 that names an implementation guide. Those samples have no Inspect or Translate link. The rest do.
• The Inspector checks the base standard only. Conformance to a HIPAA guide was reviewed against the guide but is not checked by code.
• The samples follow common usage. Your partner’s implementation guide may require segments or codes a sample doesn’t carry.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I download a sample EDI file?

The EDI sample files page lists a sample for 333 X12 transaction sets, and each transaction set page in the X12 reference shows its sample with Copy and Download buttons. The samples are free.

Which X12 releases do the samples cover?

Releases 004010, 005010, 006010, 007010 and 008010. There are 1,576 samples in all: 295 for 004010 and between 318 and 324 for each of the other four.

Is there a sample EDI 850 purchase order file?

Yes. The 850 has two samples on each release, a standard purchase order and a drop-ship order. The 810 invoice, 856 advance ship notice, 997 functional acknowledgment and 204 load tender also have more than one sample each.

Is there a sample 837 claim file?

Yes. On 005010 the 837 has separate professional, institutional and dental claims, built to the HIPAA implementation guides 005010X222A1, 005010X223A2 and 005010X224A2. The other four releases each have one 837 that follows the base X12 standard.

Do the healthcare samples follow the HIPAA 5010 implementation guides?

Yes, on release 005010. The 270, 271, 276, 277, 278, 834, 835, 837 and 999 samples name their implementation guide in GS08 and ST03, and their bodies were reviewed against that guide. The review was done by hand: the EDI Inspector checks only the base X12 standard.

Are the sample EDI files real trading partner data?

No. Every sample is fictional, with invented trading partners, people, addresses and identifiers, and ISA15 is T to mark the interchange as test data. NPIs in the healthcare samples are not in the NPPES registry, and EINs start with a prefix the IRS does not assign.

Are the sample EDI files valid?

Each sample passed the EDI Inspector against the base X12 standard for its release before it was published, and passed checks on its own counts and totals, such as CTT and an 810’s TDS. You can open any sample except the 12 HIPAA samples in the EDI Inspector to see the result yourself.

Can I convert a sample EDI file to JSON?

Yes. The Translate link under a sample opens it in the EDI to JSON Translator. The HIPAA samples on 005010 don’t have the link yet.