L03 — Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis
Is L03 billable?
No — L03 is a non-billable header code. L03 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 55 billable codes beneath L03.
Billable codes under this header
- L03.90Cellulitis, unspecified
- L03.91Acute lymphangitis, unspecified
- L03.011Cellulitis of right finger
- L03.012Cellulitis of left finger
- L03.019Cellulitis of unspecified finger
- L03.021Acute lymphangitis of right finger
- L03.022Acute lymphangitis of left finger
- L03.029Acute lymphangitis of unspecified finger
- L03.031Cellulitis of right toe
- L03.032Cellulitis of left toe
- L03.039Cellulitis of unspecified toe
- L03.041Acute lymphangitis of right toe
- L03.042Acute lymphangitis of left toe
- L03.049Acute lymphangitis of unspecified toe
- L03.111Cellulitis of right axilla
- L03.112Cellulitis of left axilla
- L03.113Cellulitis of right upper limb
- L03.114Cellulitis of left upper limb
- L03.115Cellulitis of right lower limb
- L03.116Cellulitis of left lower limb
- L03.119Cellulitis of unspecified part of limb
- L03.121Acute lymphangitis of right axilla
- L03.122Acute lymphangitis of left axilla
- L03.123Acute lymphangitis of right upper limb
- L03.124Acute lymphangitis of left upper limb
- L03.125Acute lymphangitis of right lower limb
- L03.126Acute lymphangitis of left lower limb
- L03.129Acute lymphangitis of unspecified part of limb
- L03.211Cellulitis of face
- L03.212Acute lymphangitis of face
- L03.213Periorbital cellulitis
- L03.221Cellulitis of neck
- L03.222Acute lymphangitis of neck
- L03.311Cellulitis of abdominal wall
- L03.312Cellulitis of back [any part except buttock and flank]
- L03.313Cellulitis of chest wall
- L03.314Cellulitis of groin
- L03.315Cellulitis of perineum
- L03.316Cellulitis of umbilicus
- L03.317Cellulitis of buttock
- L03.319Cellulitis of trunk, unspecified
- L03.31ACellulitis of flank
- L03.321Acute lymphangitis of abdominal wall
- L03.322Acute lymphangitis of back [any part except buttock and flank]
- L03.323Acute lymphangitis of chest wall
- L03.324Acute lymphangitis of groin
- L03.325Acute lymphangitis of perineum
- L03.326Acute lymphangitis of umbilicus
- L03.327Acute lymphangitis of buttock
- L03.329Acute lymphangitis of trunk, unspecified
- L03.32AAcute lymphangitis of flank
- L03.811Cellulitis of head [any part, except face]
- L03.818Cellulitis of other sites
- L03.891Acute lymphangitis of head [any part, except face]
- L03.898Acute lymphangitis of other sites
L03 at a glance
| Code | L03 |
|---|---|
| Description | Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis |
| Billable | No — header code |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Excludes2 — not included here
The conditions below are not part of L03, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, L03 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- cellulitis of anal and rectal region (K61.-)
- cellulitis of external auditory canal (H60.1)
- cellulitis of eyelid (H00.0)
- cellulitis of female external genital organs (N76.4)
- cellulitis of lacrimal apparatus (H04.3)
- cellulitis of male external genital organs (N48.2, N49.-)
- cellulitis of mouth (K12.2)
- cellulitis of nose (J34.0)
- eosinophilic cellulitis [Wells] (L98.3)
- febrile neutrophilic dermatosis [Sweet] (L98.2)
- lymphangitis (chronic) (subacute) (I89.1)
Use additional code — inherited from L00-L08
Report an additional code alongside L03 to fully describe the condition. L03 is sequenced first.
- code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 12
The conditions below are not part of L03, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, L03 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)
- lipomelanotic reticulosis (I89.8)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
- systemic connective tissue disorders (M30-M36)
- viral warts (B07.-)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from L00-L08
The conditions below are not part of L03, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, L03 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- hordeolum (H00.0)
- infective dermatitis (L30.3)
- local infections of skin classified in Chapter 1
- lupus panniculitis (L93.2)
- panniculitis NOS (M79.3)
- panniculitis of neck and back (M54.0-)
- Perlèche NOS (K13.0)
- Perlèche due to candidiasis (B37.0)
- Perlèche due to riboflavin deficiency (E53.0)
- pyogenic granuloma (L98.0)
- relapsing panniculitis [Weber-Christian] (M35.6)
- viral warts (B07.-)
- zoster (B02.-)
What codes fall under L03? (6)
- L03.0Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of finger and toenot billable
- L03.1Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of other parts of limbnot billable
- L03.2Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of face and necknot billable
- L03.3Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of trunknot billable
- L03.8Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis of other sitesnot billable
- L03.9Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis, unspecifiednot billable
How long has L03 existed?
L03 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 L03?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with L03 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.