Reference·N3 Segment·N301
X12 270/271 Reference

X12 270/271 N301 (Address Information): Format, Values, and Testing Notes

Jul 28, 2026 · 4 min read
N302 →

N301 looks like the simplest element in the whole 271 response — it's just a street address — which is exactly why so few test suites bother generating anything beyond one tidy, textbook-formatted example.

Quick answer

N301 is the first element of the N3 segment in an X12 271 response — a free-form field that carries the primary line of a street address, such as the building number and street name.

What this element carries

Format
Free-form text — no fixed structure is enforced beyond a maximum character length
Typical content
Street number and name — e.g. building number, street name, and sometimes a directional prefix
Requirement
Required when N3 is used — N302 is optional, but N301 must be populated whenever an N3 segment appears

Example

Synthetic example Generated by Synthibase
N3*482 Wexford Lane*Suite 210

N301 = 482 Wexford Lane, the primary street line preceding the optional suite detail in N302. Synthetic 271 response data.

Where this trips people up

Because N301 has no internal structure, real-world values vary wildly — rural route numbers, directional prefixes like N or SW, apartment numbers crammed onto the same line instead of split into N302. Test data generated from a single clean street-address template never exercises these variations, so a system that handles "482 Wexford Lane" perfectly can still choke the first time it sees "Rural Route 4 Box 12" in production.

X12 270/271 N3 Segment Guide: Fields, Format, and Testing Gotchas
How to Test 270/271 Eligibility Transactions Before Go-Live
How to Validate X12 EDI Files Before Payer Submission
Test address parsing against realistic street formats
Synthibase generates synthetic 271 responses with a wide range of N301 street-address formats — not just clean textbook examples — so address parsing gets tested against what payers actually send, zero PHI.
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