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O47.9 ICD-10-CM Code: False labor, unspecified

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
2 inclusion terms · 1 Excludes1

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 v43, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 817 — OTHER ANTEPARTUM DIAGNOSES WITH O.R. PROCEDURES WITH MCC (MDC 14)
  • MS-DRG 818 — OTHER ANTEPARTUM DIAGNOSES WITH O.R. PROCEDURES WITH CC (MDC 14)
  • MS-DRG 819 — OTHER ANTEPARTUM DIAGNOSES WITH O.R. PROCEDURES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 14)
  • MS-DRG 831 — OTHER ANTEPARTUM DIAGNOSES WITHOUT O.R. PROCEDURES WITH MCC (MDC 14)
  • MS-DRG 832 — OTHER ANTEPARTUM DIAGNOSES WITHOUT O.R. PROCEDURES WITH CC (MDC 14)
  • MS-DRG 833 — OTHER ANTEPARTUM DIAGNOSES WITHOUT O.R. PROCEDURES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 14)

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 O47.9 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 O47.9 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Includes

Conditions the official ICD-10-CM tabular list includes under this code.

  • Braxton Hicks contractions
  • threatened labor

Source: inherited from O47

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 O47

Coder workflow for O47.9

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

Before you code O47.9

  1. Unspecified does not mean incorrect. When the record gives no greater specificity, O47.9 may be the appropriate code. Check the record for detail that supports a more specific sibling. An unspecified code is for records that do not provide the detail a more specific code needs; a query, not an assumption, is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

    ReviewO47.0, O47.1

    See the relationships section · Guide: Other vs unspecified (NEC vs NOS) →

  2. Confirm the condition is documented as complicating the pregnancy, childbirth, or the puerperium, and check the trimester where the code carries one and the fetus character where the category requires it. Chapter 15 codes belong on the maternal record only and take sequencing priority over codes from other chapters. It is the provider’s responsibility to state that a condition is not affecting the pregnancy; the trimester is assigned from the documentation (Guidelines I.C.15.a, I.C.15.a.1, I.C.15.a.3).

    Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

  3. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with O47.9. 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 record document the detail a more specific sibling code needs?
    Yes → Review the specific siblings in this subcategory.
    No → Continue — O47.9 is appropriate when the documentation goes no further.

    ReviewO47.0, O47.1

  2. Does the documentation support a condition named in O47.9’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.

    ReviewO60

Consider O47.9. 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).
Trimester
Assigned from the documented trimester at the encounter, or the trimester in which the condition developed for inpatient stays (Guidelines I.C.15.a.3).
Any detail beyond this code’s title
What the record states that a more specific sibling code would capture — or its absence, which itself supports the unspecified code.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting O47.9(1 note)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with O47.9: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareO60

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

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: The provider documents the condition in the terms of this code’s title and records no further detail.

Coding question: Is a more specific sibling code supportable?

Path: Review the specific siblings in this subcategory and what each requires the record to state.

Reason: A more specific code needs documentation of the distinguishing element; without it the unspecified code is appropriate, and a provider query is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

ReviewO47.0, O47.1

Documentation: Both the condition O47.9 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).

ReviewO60

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

False labor, unspecified is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (O47.9).

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

Indexed Clinical Terms (4)

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.

Verify Before Coding

  • Age-restricted: the Medicare Code Editor lists this as a maternity (age 9-64) diagnosis; other ages are presumed incorrect.

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 O47.9 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 10 Excludes2 notes: O20 — Hemorrhage in early pregnancy (via O47.-), O20-O29 — Other maternal disorders predominantly related to pregnancy (O20-O29) (via O47.-), O21 — Excessive vomiting in pregnancy (via O47.-), O22 — Venous complications and hemorrhoids in pregnancy (via O47.-), O23 — Infections of genitourinary tract in pregnancy (via O47.-), O24 — Diabetes mellitus in pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium (via O47.-), O25 — Malnutrition in pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (via O47.-), O26 — Maternal care for other conditions predominantly related to pregnancy (via O47.-), O28 — Abnormal findings on antenatal screening of mother (via O47.-), O29 — Complications of anesthesia during pregnancy (via O47.-).

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

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 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 6 MS-DRGs: DRG 817 (MDC 14), DRG 818 (MDC 14), DRG 819 (MDC 14), DRG 831 (MDC 14), DRG 832 (MDC 14), DRG 833 (MDC 14).

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

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):PRG011 — Early or threatened labor (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 (Early or threatened labor).

O42.119 — Preterm premature rupture of membranes, onset of labor more than 24 hours following rupture, unspecified trimester, O42.90 — Premature rupture of membranes, unspecified as to length of time between rupture and onset of labor, unspecified weeks of gestation, O42.911 — Preterm premature rupture of membranes, unspecified as to length of time between rupture and onset of labor, first trimester, O42.912 — Preterm premature rupture of membranes, unspecified as to length of time between rupture and onset of labor, second trimester, O42.913 — Preterm premature rupture of membranes, unspecified as to length of time between rupture and onset of labor, third trimester, O42.919 — Preterm premature rupture of membranes, unspecified as to length of time between rupture and onset of labor, unspecified trimester, O47.00 — False labor before 37 completed weeks of gestation, unspecified trimester, O47.02 — False labor before 37 completed weeks of gestation, second trimester, O47.03 — False labor before 37 completed weeks of gestation, third trimester, O47.1 — False labor at or after 37 completed weeks of gestation, O60.00 — Preterm labor without delivery, unspecified trimester, O60.02 — Preterm labor without delivery, second trimester, O60.03 — Preterm labor without delivery, third trimester, O60.10X0 — Preterm labor with preterm delivery, unspecified trimester, not applicable or unspecified, O60.10X1 — Preterm labor with preterm delivery, unspecified trimester, fetus 1, O60.10X2 — Preterm labor with preterm delivery, unspecified trimester, fetus 2, O60.10X3 — Preterm labor with preterm delivery, unspecified trimester, fetus 3, O60.10X4 — Preterm labor with preterm delivery, unspecified trimester, fetus 4, O60.10X5 — Preterm labor with preterm delivery, unspecified trimester, fetus 5, O60.10X9 — Preterm labor with preterm delivery, unspecified trimester, other fetus, +58 more

Same Index main term, other category

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

F45.8 — Other somatoform disorders (pregnancy), J38.5 — Laryngeal spasm (croup), N36.5 — Urethral false passage (passage, urethra), O03.9 — Complete or unspecified spontaneous abortion without complication (abortion, with subsequent abortion), O20.0 — Threatened abortion (abortion), Z56.2 — Threat of job loss (job loss, anxiety concerning)

Contextual Map

Every relationship of O47.9 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 O47.9 with these 8 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes2 notes (10)

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 14 — Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium[MDC crossing]: “Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium — 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. 94 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Index entries

  • False, labor (pains)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Pregnancy (single) (uterine), complicated by (care of) (management affected by), false labor (pains)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Pregnancy (single) (uterine), complicated by (care of) (management affected by), threatened, labor[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Threatened, labor (without delivery)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes

Change history

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

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
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 — v43 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. "O47.9 — False labor, unspecified." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/o47.9-false-labor-unspecified

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    False labor, unspecified

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 O47.9 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the O47 family