Q37 vs Q38.0
Q37 (Cleft palate with cleft lip) compared with Q38.0 (Congenital malformations of lips, not elsewhere classified), 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. Q38.0 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
| Q37Cleft palate with cleft lip | Q38.0Congenital malformations of lips, not elsewhere classified | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header | Billable |
| Classification | Q00-Q99 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-Q99) | Q00-Q99 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-Q99) |
| Definition | Cleft palate with cleft lip is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (Q37). | Congenital malformations of lips, not elsewhere classified is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (Q38.0). |
| Includes | cheilopalatoschisis | Congenital fistula of lip Congenital malformation of lip NOS Van der Woude's syndrome |
| Use additional code | code to identify associated malformation of the nose (Q30.2) | — |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources