TRICARE Overseas Claim Checklist: What to Gather Before You File

Use this list before you start an overseas claim. TRICARE says a claim will be rejected if the required documents are not included, so a missing item is worth a minute of checking.

The form

• DD Form 2642, with every block completed. See the block-by-block guide.
• Signed. The form says an unsigned claim will be returned, and asks for a physical wet signature or CAC signature.
• The sponsor’s SSN or DBN is correct. The form lists this as something to verify.
• DD Form 2527, if the condition was accident related or work related.

The documents

• Itemized bill on the provider’s letterhead, with the provider’s name and address, the date and place of each service, a description of each service and its charge, and the diagnosis if the provider gives one. See what an itemized bill must show.
• A narrative description of the reason for the medical services. Block 8a on the form must be completed on every claim, whether or not the bill shows a diagnosis.
• Proof of payment: a check copy, card receipt, transfer receipt, a bank statement showing payment to the provider, or a bill stamped PAID by the provider’s office. See what counts.
• Other insurance EOB, if another plan (national health insurance, travel insurance, Medicare Advantage, the VA Foreign Medical Program) paid or denied part of it. See other health insurance and TRICARE.
• Proof of Payment Attestation Form, if you paid a provider $10,000 USD or more.

On your copies of the attachments

• The patient’s name
• The sponsor’s name
• The sponsor’s SSN or DBN

The DD Form 2642’s reminder list asks for these on the attachments. A provider will not print them on an invoice, so write them on your own copies. They are not part of what the bill itself must show.

The details the portal asks for

If you file in the secure claims portal, have these ready. See our portal guide.

• First and last date of care
• The billed amount and the amount you paid, in the currency on the bill
• The currency
• Whether it was an overnight admission
• The provider’s country

The files you upload

• Each file is readable, and not password-protected or encrypted.
• Each file is within the portal’s size limit. The portal accepts files of 10 MB or smaller, so shrink or split anything larger.
• You scanned in black and white if the portal’s upload screen asks for it, and you checked the file types and file name rules shown there.

Before you send

• Today is inside your filing deadline
• You kept a copy of the claim and everything you attached

How PaidTrail helps

PaidTrail builds this checklist for each claim, marks what is present, flags file names the portal may reject, shrinks files that are over 10 MB, and can combine your form, bills and proof into one PDF. It never submits anything for you.