Skip to main content

L81.3 ICD-10-CM Code: Café au lait spots

Compare with another codeCheck this code on a claim

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
2 Excludes1 · 1 Excludes2

Billable · FY2027A valid, specific ICD-10-CM code, reportable for dates of service in FY2027.

What you need to know

Source: CMS/NCHS Official ICD-10-CM tabular notes, quoted. From the CMS/NCHS tabular list for the release in force. A note the category or block publishes applies to this code too; the Instructions section marks which is which.

Excludes1Never report with this code
Excludes2Not included here; may be reported together
  • nevus - see Alphabetical Index

Where it sits Source: CMS/NCHS

Under:Chapter 12: Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous TissueL80-L99 Other disorders of the skin and subcutaneous tissueL81 Other disorders of pigmentation

Most relevant related codes MedCoder-derived

Read off the official notes above and this code’s own position in the tabular list. Which to report is a documentation question; Compare shows the two side by side.

CompareCheck ClaimView Related Codes

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v44, Appendix B.

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for L81.3 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

Notes without a marker are published on L81.3 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Excludes1 — Not Coded Here

Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Source: inherited from L81

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

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

  • nevus - see Alphabetical Index

Source: inherited from L81

Coder workflow for L81.3

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

Before you code L81.3

  1. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with L81.3. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

    See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support a condition named in L81.3’s Excludes1 note?
    Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
    No → Continue.

    ReviewQ82.5, Q85.89

Consider L81.3. 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

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting L81.3(2 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with L81.3: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareQ82.5, Q85.89

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

  • Excludes2 — not part of L81.3(1 note)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in L81.3. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

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

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: Both the condition L81.3 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.

Coding question: Can both codes be reported?

Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.

Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

ReviewQ82.5, Q85.89

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 L81.3 with…

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

The codes most likely to be picked instead of L81.3 — 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.

  • Q82.5— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

    Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

    Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

    What moves you there: Documentation of birthmark NOS moves the case to Q82.5; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: L81.3 vs Q82.5 →

  • Q85.89— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

    Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

    Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

    What moves you there: Documentation of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome moves the case to Q85.89; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: L81.3 vs Q85.89 →

  • L81.9— Specificity relationship (Review)

    Overlapping diagnoses in the same category.

    Overlapping codes in the same category — the documentation decides which is the more specific fit.

    What moves you there: A record that documents no more than “Disorder of pigmentation, unspecified” takes L81.9; specificity in the record moves it back here.

    Full comparison: L81.3 vs L81.9 →

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.

Coding context

Guidelines, coding notes, decision aids, relationships (with MS-DRG and CCSR classification), hierarchy, HCC, coverage and the context map: what a coder reaches for after the core. Each section names whether it is official source data, a MedCoder-derived relationship or MedCoder editorial.

Code Overview

Café au lait spots is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (L81.3).

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

  • No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

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-derived relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name L81.3 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 Excludes2 note: Q82.5 — Congenital non-neoplastic nevus.

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

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2027)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2027 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 3 MS-DRGs: DRG 606 (MDC 09), DRG 607 (MDC 09), DRG 795 (MDC 15).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):SKN007 — Other specified and unspecified skin disorders (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Other specified and unspecified skin disorders).

L74.9 — Eccrine sweat disorder, unspecified, L75.0 — Bromhidrosis, L75.1 — Chromhidrosis, L75.2 — Apocrine miliaria, L75.8 — Other apocrine sweat disorders, L75.9 — Apocrine sweat disorder, unspecified, L80 — Vitiligo, L81.0 — Postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, L81.1 — Chloasma, L81.2 — Freckles, L81.4 — Other melanin hyperpigmentation, L81.5 — Leukoderma, not elsewhere classified, L81.6 — Other disorders of diminished melanin formation, L81.7 — Pigmented purpuric dermatosis, L81.8 — Other specified disorders of pigmentation, L81.9 — Disorder of pigmentation, unspecified, L82.0 — Inflamed seborrheic keratosis, L82.1 — Other seborrheic keratosis, L83 — Acanthosis nigricans, L84 — Corns and callosities, +137 more

Same Index main term, other category

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

B05.9 — Measles without complication (Koplik's), E50.1 — Vitamin A deficiency with Bitot's spot and conjunctival xerosis (Bitot's, in the young child), H44.2 — Degenerative myopia (Fuchs' black), I78.1 — Nevus, non-neoplastic (ruby), N92.0 — Excessive and frequent menstruation with regular cycle (intermenstrual), N92.1 — Excessive and frequent menstruation with irregular cycle (intermenstrual, irregular), O26.85 — Spotting complicating pregnancy (pregnancy), R23.3 — Spontaneous ecchymoses (purpuric)

Lab tests where this diagnosis supports Medicare coverage (NCD)

Medicare's National Coverage Determination (NCD) program lists this diagnosis as medical justification for these lab tests.

Iron Panel

Contextual Map

Every relationship of L81.3 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 L81.3 with this related code in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 09 — Diseases and Disorders of the Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 7,378 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027
  • MDC 15 — Newborns and Other Neonates with Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period[MDC crossing]: “Newborns and Other Neonates with Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027

Index entries

  • Café, au lait spots[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Spots, spotting (in) (of), café, au lait[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027

Nearest codes (10)

Change history

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

Reference

Index terms and tables, published questions and FAQ, every source behind this page with its release and checksum, the date-of-service check and the complete change history.

Indexed Clinical Terms (2)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

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
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v44 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-derived 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 editorial 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.

Current data releases:ICD-10-CM FY2027 · ICD-10-PCS FY2027 · HCPCS October 2026 · MS-DRG v44 · Medicare Code Editor v44.0 · NCCI PTP Q4 2026 · MUE Q4 2026 · NCD code lists 2026-01 · LCD export September 28, 2026 · All releases and sources

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder-derived relationship · MedCoder editorial explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates · CMS coding rules

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. "L81.3 — Café au lait spots." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/l81.3-cafe-au-lait-spots

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Cafe au lait spots

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 L81.3 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the L81 family