J03 — Acute tonsillitis
Is J03 billable?
No — J03 is a non-billable header code. J03 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 6 billable codes beneath J03.
Billable codes under this header
- J03.00Acute streptococcal tonsillitis, unspecified
- J03.01Acute recurrent streptococcal tonsillitis
- J03.80Acute tonsillitis due to other specified organisms
- J03.81Acute recurrent tonsillitis due to other specified organisms
- J03.90Acute tonsillitis, unspecified
- J03.91Acute recurrent tonsillitis, unspecified
J03 at a glance
| Code | J03 |
|---|---|
| Description | Acute tonsillitis |
| 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 J03 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
Excludes2 — not included here
The conditions below are not part of J03, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, J03 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- chronic tonsillitis (J35.0)
Excludes1 — never code together — inherited from J00-J06
The conditions below can never be reported together with J03 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute lower respiratory infection (J44.0)
Use additional code — inherited from Chapter 10
Report an additional code alongside J03 to fully describe the condition. J03 is sequenced first.
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 10
The conditions below are not part of J03, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, J03 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)
- smoke inhalation (T59.81-)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
What codes fall under J03? (3)
How long has J03 existed?
J03 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 J03?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with J03 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.