F81.0 — Specific reading disorder
Is F81.0 billable?
Yes — F81.0 is billable for FY2027. F81.0 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code at the highest level of specificity in its branch. F81.0 may be submitted for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
F81.0 at a glance
| Code | F81.0 |
|---|---|
| Description | Specific reading disorder |
| Billable | Yes |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Which MS-DRGs does F81.0 group to?
F81.0 sits in MDC 19 and helps define the logic of 1 MS-DRG (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.
- 886Behavioral and Developmental Disordersmedical
How is F81.0 listed in the Alphabetic Index?
These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to F81.0. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.
- Backward reading (dyslexia)
- Mirror writing
- Strephosymbolia
- Alexia › developmental
- Blindness › word (acquired) (congenital) (both eyes)
- Difficult, difficulty › reading (in)
- Dyslexia › developmental
- Retardation › reading
- Word › blindness
- Delay, delayed › development › reading
- Development › delayed › reading
- Disorder › developmental › reading (of)
Excludes1 — never code together
The conditions below can never be reported together with F81.0 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wording in documentation that is classified to F81.0.
- 'Backward reading'
- Developmental dyslexia
- Specific learning disorder, with impairment in reading
- Specific reading retardation
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 5
The conditions below are not part of F81.0, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, F81.0 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)
How long has F81.0 existed?
F81.0 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.
Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.
Which codes are confused with F81.0?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with F81.0 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.