L50 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code for urticaria, so it cannot be submitted on claims. Use a more specific code from this category instead, such as L50.0, L50.1, L50.2, and L50.3.
Code Identity
Code Classification
Specific Coding for UrticariaOverview
Non-specific codes like L50 require more characters. Use one of these billable codes instead:
Use L50.0 for Allergic urticaria
Use L50.1 for Idiopathic urticaria
Use L50.2 for Urticaria due to cold and heat
Use L50.3 for Dermatographic urticaria
Use L50.4 for Vibratory urticaria
Use L50.5 for Cholinergic urticaria
Use L50.6 for Contact urticaria
Use L50.8 for Other urticaria
Use L50.9 for Urticaria, unspecified
Instructional NotesGuidance
Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to L50: its own notes plus those printed at block L49-L54 and Chapter 12. A note printed at a category, block or chapter applies to every code under it.
Excludes1
Not coded here: the excluded code is never reported together with this one, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
Excludes2
Not included here: the excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient may have both, so both codes may be reported.
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
- congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
- lipomelanotic reticulosis (I89.8)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
- systemic connective tissue disorders (M30-M36)
- viral warts (B07.-)
Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.
Referenced in Other NotesGuidance
Instructional notes printed at other codes that name L50, its category, or a range that includes it.
Excludes1 2
These codes carry an Excludes1 note naming L50: they are not reported together with it, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
Excludes2 1
These codes carry an Excludes2 note naming L50: its condition is not part of those codes, and both may be reported when the patient has both.
Code First 1
These codes say to code first a condition named in the note, and L50 is one of the conditions named.
Clinical InformationClinical
Urticaria
a vascular reaction of the skin characterized by erythema and wheal formation due to localized increase of vascular permeability. the causative mechanism may be allergy, infection, or stress.
Patient EducationClinical
Hives
Hives are red and sometimes itchy bumps on your skin. An allergic reaction to a drug or food usually causes them. Allergic reactions cause your body to release chemicals that can make your skin swell up in hives. People who have other allergies are more likely to get hives than other people. Other causes include infections and stress.
Read the full article at MedlinePlus
Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Code HistoryHistory
Questions About L50Overview
What is the ICD-10 code for urticaria?
L50 is the ICD-10-CM category for urticaria, but it is a non-billable header: claims need a more specific code from this category, listed on this page.
Is L50 (Urticaria) a billable code?
No. This is a category header that groups the codes for urticaria, and headers cannot be submitted on claims. Claims for urticaria need a more specific code from this category, such as L50.0, L50.1, and L50.2.
Can L50 be reported with a code from L23?
Not as a rule. The Excludes1 note on L50 lists "allergic contact dermatitis (L23.-)". An Excludes1 note means the excluded code is never reported together with this one; the only exception is when the two conditions are unrelated to each other (Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
