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L03.03 ICD-10-CM Code: Cellulitis of toe

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
24 Excludes2 · 1 use-additional code

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for L03.03 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on L03.03 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

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

Use Additional Code

Supplementary codes the tabular list directs you to add.

  • Use additional code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.

Source: inherited from L00-L08

Coder workflow for L03.03

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

Before you code L03.03

  1. L03.03 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).

    ReviewL03.031, L03.032, L03.039

    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 L03.03?
    Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
    No → L03.03 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

    ReviewL03.031, L03.032, L03.039

Consider L03.03. Then work the Use Additional Code note, and 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).
Acuity
Acute or chronic as documented; when both are documented and separate codes exist, both are reported with the acute code first (Guidelines I.B.8).
The conditions the Use Additional Code note names
Reported with this code when documented; a conditional instruction (“if applicable”, “if known”) applies only when the record supports it.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes2 — not part of L03.03(24 notes)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in L03.03. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareK61, H60.1, H00.0, N76.4, H04.3, N48.2

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

  • Use Additional Code — after identifying L03.03(1 note)

    Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with L03.03 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.13

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Documentation: A condition the Use Additional Code note names is documented.

Coding question: Is a second code reported with L03.03?

Path: Review the Use Additional Code note and the code it names.

Reason: The additional code is reported when the record documents the condition; a conditional instruction applies only when its condition is met (Guidelines I.A.13).

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.

Code Overview

Cellulitis of toe is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (L03.03). 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 L03.03 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: I89.1 — Lymphangitis (via L03.-).

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

Referenced by 6 Excludes2 notes: L03.11 — Cellulitis of other parts of limb, L60 — Nail disorders (via L03.0.-), L89 — Pressure ulcer (via L03.-), L97 — Non-pressure chronic ulcer of lower limb, not elsewhere classified (via L03.-), L98.4 — Non-pressure chronic ulcer of skin, not elsewhere classified (via L03.-), L98.A — Non-pressure chronic ulcer of upper limb, not elsewhere classified (via L03.-).

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

Referenced by 1 Use Additional Code instruction: T65.84 — Toxic effect of xylazine (via L03.-).

These codes instruct coders to additionally report this code when it applies.

Related Codes

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main term “Cellulitis”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

J38.3 — Other diseases of vocal cords (vocal cord), J38.7 — Other diseases of larynx (larynx), J39.1 — Other abscess of pharynx (pharynx), K11.3 — Abscess of salivary gland (submaxillary, gland), K12.2 — Cellulitis and abscess of mouth (mouth), K13.0 — Diseases of lips (lip), K61.0 — Anal abscess (anus), K61.1 — Rectal abscess (rectum), K65.0 — Generalized (acute) peritonitis (pelvis, pelvic, male), K68.9 — Other disorders of retroperitoneum (retroperitoneal), L98.3 — Eosinophilic cellulitis [Wells] (eosinophilic), N34.0 — Urethral abscess (periurethral), N48.22 — Cellulitis of corpus cavernosum and penis (penis), N49.0 — Inflammatory disorders of seminal vesicle (seminal vesicle), N49.2 — Inflammatory disorders of scrotum (scrotum), N49.8 — Inflammatory disorders of other specified male genital organs (genital organ NEC, male, specified NEC), N49.9 — Inflammatory disorder of unspecified male genital organ (genital organ NEC, male), N61.0 — Mastitis without abscess (nipple), N73.0 — Acute parametritis and pelvic cellulitis (periuterine, acute), N73.2 — Unspecified parametritis and pelvic cellulitis (periuterine), +13 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of L03.03 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 L03.03 with these 8 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

  • I89.1 — Lymphangitis[Excludes1](via L03.-): “acute lymphangitis (L03.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Referenced by Use Additional Code instructions

  • T65.84 — Toxic effect of xylazine[Use Additional Code](via L03.-): “cellulitis and acute lymphangitis (L03.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes (40)

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 L03.03 be billed directly?

No. L03.03 (Cellulitis of toe) 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 FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 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. "L03.03 — Cellulitis of toe." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/l03.03-cellulitis-of-toe

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Cellulitis of toe

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027 (effective October 1, 2026), 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 L03.03 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the L03 family