G96.0 — Cerebrospinal fluid leak
Is G96.0 billable?
No — G96.0 is a non-billable header code. G96.0 groups more specific codes and cannot be submitted on a claim. A valid ICD-10-CM code must be reported at the highest level of specificity available in its branch. Select one of the 5 billable codes beneath G96.0.
G96.0 at a glance
| Code | G96.0 |
|---|---|
| Description | Cerebrospinal fluid leak |
| Billable | No — header code |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Excludes1 — never code together
The conditions below can never be reported together with G96.0 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
- cerebrospinal fluid leak from spinal puncture (G97.0)
Code also
Two codes may be needed to describe the condition fully. Whether G96.0 is sequenced first depends on the reason for the encounter.
- if applicable:
- intracranial hypotension (G96.81-)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 6
The conditions below are not part of G96.0, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, G96.0 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
- congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
- injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
What codes fall under G96.0? (5)
How long has G96.0 existed?
G96.0 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.
- FY2021: G96.0 stopped being billable
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 G96.0?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with G96.0 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.