2027 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Q12.0Congenital cataract

ICD-10-CM Codes›Q00-Q99›Q10-Q18›Q12

ICD-10-CM Q12.0
CMSSource: CMS FY 2027 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2027

Q12.0 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for congenital cataract. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027) and groups to MS-DRG 124 through 125. The code is exempt from POA reporting. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face, neck.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
Q12.0
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Congenital cataract
Short Description
Congenital cataract
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
Q12
Congenital lens malformations

Code Classification

ChapterQ00-Q99Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
SectionQ10-Q18Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck
CategoryQ12Congenital lens malformations
This CodeQ12.0Congenital cataract

Present on Admission (POA)Billing

Q12.0 is exempt from POA reporting on inpatient claims to general acute care hospitals. Review the other POA exempt codes in Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck (Q10-Q18).

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Absence deformity of leg and congenital cataract syndrome
  • Anterior subcapsular cataract of bilateral eyes
  • Anterior subcapsular cataract of left eye
  • Anterior subcapsular cataract of right eye
  • Anterior subcapsular polar cataract of left eye
  • Anterior subcapsular polar cataract of right eye
  • Bilateral anterior subcapsular polar cataract
  • Bilateral congenital anterior subcapsular polar cataracts
  • Bilateral congenital capsular cataracts
  • Bilateral congenital cataract of eyes
  • Bilateral congenital combined form cataract of eyes
  • Bilateral congenital cortical cataract of eyes
  • Bilateral congenital lamellar cataract
  • Bilateral congenital nuclear cataracts of eyes
  • Bilateral congenital posterior subcapsular polar cataracts of eyes
  • Bilateral posterior subcapsular cataract
  • Cataract and microcornea syndrome
  • Cataract glaucoma syndrome
  • Cataract of lens capsule of bilateral eyes
  • Cataract, combined malonic and methylmalonic aciduria, intellectual disability syndrome
  • Cataract, congenital heart disease, neural tube defect syndrome
  • Congenital anterior polar cataract
  • Congenital anterior subcapsular polar cataract
  • Congenital anterior subcapsular polar cataract of left eye
  • Congenital anterior subcapsular polar cataract of right eye
  • Congenital blue dot cataract
  • Congenital capsular cataract
  • Congenital cataract
  • Congenital cataract ichthyosis syndrome
  • Congenital cataract microcornea with corneal opacity
  • Congenital cataract of left eye
  • Congenital cataract of right eye
  • Congenital cataract with ataxia and deafness syndrome
  • Congenital cataract with deafness and hypogonadism syndrome
  • Congenital cataract with hypertrichosis and intellectual disability syndrome
  • Congenital cataract, hearing loss, severe developmental delay syndrome
  • Congenital cataract, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, mitochondrial myopathy syndrome
  • Congenital cataract, progressive muscular hypotonia, hearing loss, developmental delay syndrome
  • Congenital cataract, severe neonatal hepatopathy, global developmental delay syndrome
  • Congenital cataracts, facial dysmorphism and neuropathy
  • Congenital coloboma of bilateral irides
  • Congenital coloboma of iris
  • Congenital coloboma of iris of left eye
  • Congenital coloboma of iris of right eye
  • Congenital combined form cataract
  • Congenital cortical cataract
  • Congenital cortical cataract of left eye
  • Congenital cortical cataract of right eye
  • Congenital endocardial fibroelastosis
  • Congenital glaucoma of bilateral eyes
  • Congenital glaucoma of left eye
  • Congenital glaucoma of right eye
  • Congenital lamellar cataract
  • Congenital lamellar cataract of left eye
  • Congenital lamellar cataract of right eye
  • Congenital malformation of anterior pituitary
  • Congenital membranous cataract
  • Congenital nuclear cataract of left eye
  • Congenital nuclear cataract of right eye
  • Congenital polar cataract
  • Congenital porencephaly
  • Congenital posterior polar cataract
  • Congenital posterior subcapsular polar cataract
  • Congenital posterior subcapsular polar cataract of left eye
  • Congenital posterior subcapsular polar cataract of right eye
  • Congenital subcapsular cataract
  • Congenital sutural cataract
  • Congenital total cataract
  • Coralliform cataract
  • Cortical and zonular cataract
  • Crome syndrome
  • Dandy-Walker syndrome
  • Disorder of cholesterol metabolism
  • Disorder of cholesterol synthesis
  • Distal spinal muscular atrophy
  • EDICT syndrome
  • Embryonal nuclear cataract
  • Endocardial fibroelastosis
  • Familial progressive retinal dystrophy, iris coloboma, congenital cataract syndrome
  • Hutterite type cataract
  • Hydrocephalus with endocardial fibroelastosis and cataract syndrome
  • Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism with cataract syndrome
  • Hypertrophic mitochondrial cardiomyopathy
  • Hypomyelination and congenital cataract
  • Inborn error of lipoprotein metabolism
  • Intellectual disability, cataract, calcified pinna, myopathy syndrome
  • ITPA-related lethal infantile neurological disorder with cataract and cardiac involvement
  • Lamellar zonular cataract
  • Left congenital capsular cataract
  • Left congenital combined form cataract
  • Left ventricular myocardial noncompaction cardiomyopathy
  • Lethal left ventricular non-compaction, seizures, hypotonia, cataract, developmental delay syndrome
  • Martsolf syndrome
  • Mature cataract
  • Microcephaly, congenital cataract, psoriasiform dermatitis syndrome
  • Microcornea
  • Nathalie syndrome
  • Osteogenesis imperfecta, perinatal lethal
  • Osteogenesis imperfecta, recessive perinatal lethal, with microcephaly AND cataracts
  • Pinnal calcification
  • Porencephaly, microcephaly, bilateral congenital cataract syndrome
  • Posterior subcapsular cataract of left eye
  • Posterior subcapsular cataract of right eye
  • Posterior subcapsular polar cataract
  • Psoriasiform dermatitis
  • Pulverulent cataract
  • Punctate cataract
  • RAB18 deficiency
  • Right congenital capsular cataract
  • Right congenital combined form cataract
  • Spastic paraparesis, cataracts, speech delay syndrome
  • Spinal muscular atrophy, Dandy-Walker malformation, cataract syndrome
  • Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, craniosynostosis, cleft palate, cataract and intellectual disability syndrome
  • Ventricular myocardial noncompaction cardiomyopathy
  • Wellesley Carman French syndrome

Instructional NotesGuidance

Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to Q12.0: its own notes plus those printed at block Q10-Q18 and Chapter 17. A note printed at a category, block or chapter applies to every code under it.

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.

From Block Q10-Q18 Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck applies to 62 codes
  • cleft lip and cleft palate (Q35-Q37)
  • congenital malformation of cervical spine (Q05.0, Q05.5, Q67.5, Q76.0-Q76.4)
  • congenital malformation of larynx (Q31.-)
  • congenital malformation of lip NEC (Q38.0)
  • congenital malformation of nose (Q30.-)
  • congenital malformation of parathyroid gland (Q89.2)
  • congenital malformation of thyroid gland (Q89.2)
From Chapter 17 (Q00-QA1) Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities applies to 900 codes
  • inborn errors of metabolism (E70-E88)

Notes

General instructions on how these codes are used.

From Chapter 17 (Q00-QA1) Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities applies to 900 codes
  • Codes from this chapter are not for use on maternal records

Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.

Referenced in Other NotesGuidance

Instructional notes printed at other codes that name Q12.0, its category, or a range that includes it.

Excludes1 2

These codes carry an Excludes1 note naming Q12.0: they are not reported together with it, unless the two conditions are unrelated.

  • H26 Other cataract
    congenital cataract (Q12.0)
  • H27 Other disorders of lens
    congenital lens malformations (Q12.-) names Q12.-, which includes this code

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR MAL005
Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face, neck
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Congenital Cataract

    cataract that is present at birth.

Patient EducationClinical

Birth Defects

A birth defect is a problem that happens while a baby is developing in the mother's body. Most birth defects happen during the first 3 months of pregnancy. One out of every 33 babies in the United States is born with a birth defect.

The full article covers:

  • What are birth defects?
  • What causes birth defects?
  • Who is at risk of having a baby with birth defects?
  • How are birth defects diagnosed?
  • What are the treatments for birth defects?
  • Can birth defects be prevented?

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert Q12.0 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
743.30 Congenital cataract NOS
Approximate The match is approximate rather than exact.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2026No changes
FY 2027CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Questions About Q12.0Overview

What is the ICD-10 code for congenital cataract?

The ICD-10-CM code for congenital cataract is Q12.0 (sometimes written as Q120). It is billable on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Is Q12.0 (Congenital lens malformations) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report congenital cataract on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

What MS-DRG does Q12.0 group to?

When congenital cataract is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 125, 124, with relative weights from 0.7699 to 1.2470 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.

Is Q12.0 exempt from POA reporting?

Yes. CMS lists this code among those exempt from present on admission reporting, so hospitals do not assign a POA indicator for congenital cataract on inpatient claims. The code appears in the Congenital malformations of eye, ear, face and neck (Q10-Q18) range of the CMS exempt list.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of Q12.0?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, congenital cataract converts to ICD-9-CM 743.30 (congenital cataract NOS). The mapping is approximate, so confirm the match fits the documentation.