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Compare/Q36 vs Q37

Q36 vs Q37

Q36 (Cleft lip) compared with Q37 (Cleft palate with cleft lip), 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. Q36 carries an Excludes1 note covering Q37: “cleft lip with cleft palate (Q37.-)”

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

Q36Cleft lipQ37Cleft palate with cleft lip
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: Q36.0, Q36.1, Q36.9

Non-billable header

Report instead: Q37.0, Q37.1, Q37.2, Q37.3, Q37.4

ClassificationQ00-Q99 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-Q99)Q00-Q99 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
DefinitionCleft lip is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (Q36).Cleft palate with cleft lip is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (Q37).
Includes
cheiloschisis
congenital fissure of lip
harelip
labium leporinum
cheilopalatoschisis
Use additional code
code to identify associated malformation of the nose (Q30.2)
code to identify associated malformation of the nose (Q30.2)
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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources