P12 ICD-10-CM Code: Birth injury to scalp
Billing Status: NO. This is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code: report a more specific billable code beneath it.
Coder workflow for P12
MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record
Before you code P12
- P12 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).
ReviewP12.0, P12.1, P12.2, P12.3, P12.4, P12.8, P12.9
See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →
Choose the right path
- Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath P12?
Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
No → P12 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.
Consider P12. 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).
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
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.
Contextual Map
Every relationship of P12 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.
Hierarchy
- P00-P96 — Chapter 16: Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period (P00-P96) (P00-P96)[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P10-P15 — Birth trauma[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
Nearest codes (9)
- P12.0 — Cephalhematoma due to birth injury[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P12.1 — Chignon (from vacuum extraction) due to birth injury[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P12.2 — Epicranial subaponeurotic hemorrhage due to birth injury[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P12.3 — Bruising of scalp due to birth injury[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P12.4 — Injury of scalp of newborn due to monitoring equipment[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P12.8 — Other birth injuries to scalp[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P12.81 — Caput succedaneum[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- P12.89 — Other birth injuries to scalp[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2027
- and 1 more
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 P12 be billed directly?
No. P12 (Birth injury to scalp) 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. "P12 — Birth injury to scalp." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/p12-birth-injury-to-scalp
Change history
- FY2016 — October 1, 2015In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoptionBirth injury to scalp
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 P12 in its code family, with their registry titles.
- P12.0 — Cephalhematoma due to birth injury
- P12.1 — Chignon (from vacuum extraction) due to birth injury
- P12.2 — Epicranial subaponeurotic hemorrhage due to birth injury
- P12.3 — Bruising of scalp due to birth injury
- P12.4 — Injury of scalp of newborn due to monitoring equipment
- P12.8 — Other birth injuries to scalp
- P12.81 — Caput succedaneum
- P12.89 — Other birth injuries to scalp
- P12.9 — Birth injury to scalp, unspecified