2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R05Cough

ICD-10-CM Codes›R00–R99›R00-R09›R05

ICD-10-CM R05
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

R05 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code for cough, so it cannot be submitted on claims. Use a more specific code from this category instead, such as R05.1, R05.2, R05.3, and R05.4. As a symptom code, it should not be used as a principal diagnosis once a related definitive diagnosis has been established.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
R05
Billable Status
No — Non-Billable Category
Code Describes
Cough
Chapter
R00-R09
Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory and respiratory systems

Code Classification

ChapterR00–R99Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
SectionR00-R09Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory and respiratory systems
CategoryR05Cough
This CodeR05Cough

Specific Coding for CoughOverview

Non-specific codes like R05 require more characters. Use one of these billable codes instead:

  • Use R05.1 for Acute cough

  • Use R05.2 for Subacute cough

  • Use R05.3 for Chronic cough

  • Use R05.4 for Cough syncope

  • Use R05.8 for Other specified cough

  • Use R05.9 for Cough, unspecified

Tabular List NotesGuidance

Coding notes and annotation back-references applicable to this code.

Type 1 Excludes

  • paroxysmal cough due to Bordetella pertussis A37.0
  • smoker's cough J41.0

Type 2 Excludes

  • cough with hemorrhage R04.2

Clinical ClassificationClinical

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

CCSR SYM013
Respiratory signs and symptoms
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Antitussive Agents

    agents that suppress cough. they act centrally on the medullary cough center. expectorants, also used in the treatment of cough, act locally.

  • Chronic Cough

    cough lasting for greater than 8 weeks in adults potentially impacting health-related quality of life. chronic cough generally is associated with eosinophilic airway inflammation (e.g., asthma (cough-variant asthma) and non-asthmatic bronchitis, upper airway disorders, gerd and cough hypersensitivity syndrome).

  • Cough

    a sudden, audible expulsion of air from the lungs through a partially closed glottis, preceded by inhalation. it is a protective response that serves to clear the trachea, bronchi, and/or lungs of irritants and secretions, or to prevent aspiration of foreign materials into the lungs.

  • Cough-Variant Asthma

    asthma which is characterized by chronic cough that is nonproductive without other asthmatic symptoms, e.g., wheezing, and paroxysmal dyspnea. cough-variant asthma is accompanied by airway hypersensitivity and may progress to classical asthma without treatment.

  • Headache Disorders, Primary

    conditions in which the primary symptom is headache and the headache cannot be attributed to any known causes.

  • Whooping Cough

    a respiratory infection caused by bordetella pertussis and characterized by paroxysmal coughing ending in a prolonged crowing intake of breath.

  • Expectorants

    agents that increase mucous excretion. mucolytic agents, that is drugs that liquefy mucous secretions, are also included here.

  • Headache

    the symptom of pain in the cranial region. it may be an isolated benign occurrence or manifestation of a wide variety of headache disorders.

  • Bordetella pertussis

    a species of gram-negative, aerobic bacteria that is the causative agent of whooping cough. its cells are minute coccobacilli that are surrounded by a slime sheath.

Patient EducationClinical

Cough

Coughing is a reflex that keeps your throat and airways clear. Although it can be annoying, coughing helps your body heal or protect itself. Coughs can be either acute or chronic. Acute coughs begin suddenly and usually last no more than 2 to 3 weeks. Acute coughs are the kind you most often get with a cold, flu, or acute bronchitis.

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

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

Convert R05 to ICD-9-CMHistory

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

Cough

ICD-9-CM: 786.2

This is a direct match with no additional mapping qualifiers. The absence of a flag generally means the mapping is considered exact or precise. In other words, the ICD-10 code maps cleanly to the ICD-9 code without qualification, approximation, or needing multiple codes.

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Code HistoryHistory

  • FY 2026 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2025 through 9/30/2026
  • FY 2025 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2024 through 9/30/2025
  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - Code Added, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.