Skip to main content

D51 ICD-10-CM Code: Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia

Billing Status: NO. This is a clinician non-billable / parent hierarchy grouping in the ICD-10-CM system.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 Excludes2

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for D51 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2027Effective: October 1, 2026

Trace:FY2027 changesChange historyRelease, file and checksum

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.

Coder workflow for D51

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code D51

  1. D51 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).

    ReviewD51.0, D51.1, D51.2, D51.3, D51.8, D51.9

    See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath D51?
    Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
    No → D51 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

    ReviewD51.0, D51.1, D51.2, D51.3, D51.8, D51.9

Consider D51. Then confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement
Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes2 — not part of D51(1 note)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in D51. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareE53

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Don’t confuse D51 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of D51 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

  • E53— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

    Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

    A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

    What moves you there: Documentation of deficiency of other B group vitamins adds E53; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

    Full comparison: D51 vs E53 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Code Overview

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (D51). A more specific billable subcode must be selected for claims submission.

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Verify Before Coding

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name D51 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 1 Excludes1 note: R71 — Abnormality of red blood cells.

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

Referenced by 23 Excludes2 notes: E40 — Kwashiorkor, E40-E46 — Malnutrition (E40-E46), E41 — Nutritional marasmus, E42 — Marasmic kwashiorkor, E43 — Unspecified severe protein-calorie malnutrition, E44 — Protein-calorie malnutrition of moderate and mild degree, E45 — Retarded development following protein-calorie malnutrition, E46 — Unspecified protein-calorie malnutrition, E50 — Vitamin A deficiency, E50-E64 — Other nutritional deficiencies (E50-E64), E51 — Thiamine deficiency, E52 — Niacin deficiency [pellagra], E53 — Deficiency of other B group vitamins, E53.8 — Deficiency of other specified B group vitamins, E54 — Ascorbic acid deficiency, E55 — Vitamin D deficiency, E56 — Other vitamin deficiencies, E58 — Dietary calcium deficiency, E59 — Dietary selenium deficiency, E60 — Dietary zinc deficiency, +3 more.

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

Referenced by 2 Code First instructions across 2 chapters: I21.A1 — Myocardial infarction type 2, M90.5 — Osteonecrosis in diseases classified elsewhere.

Each of these codes carries a Code First note naming this condition — when that code is reported, THIS code is sequenced first, ahead of it.

Contextual Map

Every relationship of D51 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run D51 with these 12 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes2

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Excludes2 notes (23)

Referenced by Code First instructions

Nearest codes

Change history

  • FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Common coding questions

Can D51 be billed directly?

No. D51 (Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code. A more specific billable subcode must be selected based on clinical documentation.

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder structured relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "D51 — Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/d51-vitamin-b12-deficiency-anemia

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027, and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to D51 in its code family, with their registry titles.