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  6. 2026 ICD-10-CM Code F20.9

2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code F20.9

Schizophrenia, unspecified

ICD-10-CM Code:
F20.9
ICD-10 Code for:
Schizophrenia, unspecified
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Chronic
Code Navigator:

F20.9 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of schizophrenia, unspecified. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Unspecified diagnosis codes like F20.9 are acceptable when clinical information is unknown or not available about a particular condition. Although a more specific code is preferable, unspecified codes should be used when such codes most accurately reflect what is known about a patient's condition. Specific diagnosis codes should not be used if not supported by the patient's medical record.

Code Classification

  • Mental and behavioural disorders
    F01–F99
    • Schizophrenia, schizotypal, delusional, and other non-mood psychotic disorders
      F20-F29
      • Schizophrenia
        F20

Approximate Synonyms

The following list of clinical terms are approximate synonyms, alternative descriptions, or common phrases that might be used by patients, healthcare providers, or medical coders to describe the same condition. These synonyms and related diagnosis terms are often used when searching for an ICD-10 code, especially when the exact medical terminology is unclear. Whether you're looking for lay terms, similar diagnosis names, or common language alternatives, this list can help guide you to the correct ICD-10 classification.

  • Childhood-onset schizophrenia
  • Early onset schizophrenia
  • Late onset schizophrenia
  • Schizophrenia
  • Schizophrenic disorders
  • Subchronic schizophrenia

Clinical Classification

Clinical Classifications group individual ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes into broader, clinically meaningful categories. These categories help simplify complex data by organizing related conditions under common clinical themes.

They are especially useful for data analysis, reporting, and clinical decision-making. Even when diagnosis codes differ, similar conditions can be grouped together based on their clinical relevance. Each category is assigned a unique CCSR code that represents a specific clinical concept, often tied to a body system or medical specialty.

Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders

CCSR Code: MBD001

Inpatient Default: Y - Yes, default inpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.

Outpatient Default: Y - Yes, default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.

Clinical Information

  • Schizophrenia

    a severe emotional disorder of psychotic depth characteristically marked by a retreat from reality with delusion formation, hallucinations, emotional disharmony, and regressive behavior.

  • Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

    marked disorders of thought (delusions, hallucinations, or other thought disorder accompanied by disordered affect or behavior), and deterioration from a previous level of functioning. individuals have one o more of the following symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech. (from dsm-5)

  • Schizophrenia, Catatonic

    a type of schizophrenia characterized by abnormality of motor behavior which may involve particular forms of stupor, rigidity, excitement or inappropriate posture.

  • Schizophrenia, Childhood

    an obsolete concept, historically used for childhood mental disorders thought to be a form of schizophrenia. it was in earlier versions of dsm but is now included within the broad concept of pervasive development disorders.

  • Schizophrenia, Disorganized

    a type of schizophrenia characterized by frequent incoherence; marked loosening of associations, or grossly disorganized behavior and flat or grossly inappropriate affect that does not meet the criteria for the catatonic type; associated features include extreme social withdrawal, grimacing, mannerisms, mirror gazing, inappropriate giggling, and other odd behavior. (dorland, 27th ed)

  • Schizophrenia, Paranoid

    a chronic form of schizophrenia characterized primarily by the presence of persecutory or grandiose delusions, often associated with hallucination.

  • Schizophrenia, Treatment-Resistant

    a subset of schizophrenia with an inadequate response in target symptoms following treatment with two or more antipsychotics.

  • Schizotypal Personality Disorder

    a personality disorder in which there are oddities of thought (magical thinking, paranoid ideation, suspiciousness), perception (illusions, depersonalization), speech (digressive, vague, overelaborate), and behavior (inappropriate affect in social interactions, frequently social isolation) that are not severe enough to characterize schizophrenia.

  • Hallucinations

    subjectively experienced sensations in the absence of an appropriate stimulus, but which are regarded by the individual as real. they may be of organic origin or associated with mental disorders.

  • Residual Subchronic Schizophrenia

    subchronic schizophrenia in which the person who has experienced at least one schizophrenic episode is no longer experiencing positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior) but may still experience negative symptoms (flat affect, apathy, anhedonia, avolition, alogia).

  • Subchronic Schizophrenia

    symptoms of schizophrenia lasting less than six months but longer than one month.

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).

Index of External Cause of Injuries

References found for this diagnosis code in the External Cause of Injuries Index:

    • Schizophrenia, schizophrenic
    • Schizophrenia, schizophrenic
      • childhood type
    • Schizophrenia, schizophrenic
      • chronic undifferentiated
    • Schizophrenia, schizophrenic
      • undifferentiated (type)
        • chronic
    • Syndrome
      • schizophrenic, of childhood NEC

Convert F20.9 to ICD-9-CM

Below are the ICD-9 codes that most closely match this ICD-10 code, based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs). This ICD-10 to ICD-9 crosswalk tool is helpful for coders who need to reference legacy diagnosis codes for audits, historical claims, or approximate code comparisons.

Schizophrenia NOS-unspec

ICD-9-CM: 295.90

Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means this ICD-10 code does not have an exact ICD-9 equivalent. The matched code is the closest available option, but it may not fully capture the original diagnosis or clinical intent.

View Conversion

Patient Education


Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious brain illness. People who have it may hear voices that aren't there. They may think other people are trying to hurt them. Sometimes they don't make sense when they talk. The disorder makes it hard for them to keep a job or take care of themselves.

Symptoms of schizophrenia usually start between ages 16 and 30. Men often develop symptoms at a younger age than women. People usually do not get schizophrenia after age 45. There are three types of symptoms:

  • Psychotic symptoms distort a person's thinking. These include hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not there), delusions (beliefs that are not true), trouble organizing thoughts, and strange movements.
  • "Negative" symptoms make it difficult to show emotions and to function normally. A person may seem depressed and withdrawn.
  • Cognitive symptoms affect the thought process. These include trouble using information, making decisions, and paying attention.

No one is sure what causes schizophrenia. Your genes, environment, and brain chemistry may play a role.

There is no cure. Medicine can help control many of the symptoms. You may need to try different medicines to see which works best. You should stay on your medicine for as long as your doctor recommends. Additional treatments can help you deal with your illness from day to day. These include therapy, family education, rehabilitation, and skills training.

NIH: National Institute of Mental Health


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • 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 - No Change, 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] Chronic - a chronic condition code indicates a condition lasting 12 months or longer and its effect on the patient based on one or both of the following criteria:

  • The condition results in the need for ongoing intervention with medical products,treatment, services, and special equipment
  • The condition places limitations on self-care, independent living, and social interactions.