J06.9 vs J39
J06.9 (Acute upper respiratory infection, unspecified) compared with J39 (Other diseases of upper respiratory tract), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. J39 carries an Excludes1 note covering J06.9: “acute upper respiratory infection (J06.9)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| J06.9Acute upper respiratory infection, unspecified | J39Other diseases of upper respiratory tract | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Non-billable header |
| Classification | J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) | J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) |
| Definition | Acute upper respiratory infection, unspecified is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (J06.9). | Other diseases of upper respiratory tract is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (J39). |
| Includes | Upper respiratory disease, acute Upper respiratory infection NOS | — |
| Use additional code | code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent, if known, such as: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (B97.4) | — |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources