PTSD codes from F43.1, and it needs a fifth character to be billable. F43.10 is unspecified, F43.11 acute, F43.12 chronic. Submitting F43.1 alone will be rejected as an incomplete code. There is a reason most claims carry F43.10, and it is not laziness — DSM-5 removed the acute/chronic distinction that ICD-10-CM still codes. Below: the F43 family, that crosswalk mismatch, and the CPT pairings.
This page is billing and administrative reference. It describes what a code means and whether it can be submitted. It is not clinical advice and does not tell anyone what to diagnose.
| Code | Title | Billable? |
|---|---|---|
| F43.1 | Post-traumatic stress disorder (incomplete) | No |
| F43.10 | … unspecified | Yes |
| F43.11 | … acute | Yes |
| F43.12 | … chronic | Yes |
This is the useful thing to know about PTSD coding, and it is a genuine mismatch between two systems rather than a documentation failure.
ICD-10-CM still distinguishes acute from chronic PTSD. DSM-5 does not. DSM-IV carried an acute/chronic specifier based on whether symptoms had persisted beyond three months; DSM-5 dropped it. So a clinician assessing against current DSM criteria has no acute-or-chronic finding to document, and the honest code is the unspecified one.
That makes F43.10 different from most unspecified codes. Elsewhere — F41.9, F90.9, F32.9 — “unspecified” usually signals documentation that stopped short. Here it reflects a real gap between the diagnostic manual and the code set. If the record does establish duration, F43.11 or F43.12 is more precise; if it does not, F43.10 is correct rather than lazy.
| Code | Title | Billable? |
|---|---|---|
| F43.0 | Acute stress reaction | Yes |
| F43.1 | Post-traumatic stress disorder | No — needs a fifth character |
| F43.20 | Adjustment disorder, unspecified | Yes |
| F43.21 | Adjustment disorder with depressed mood | Yes |
| F43.22 | Adjustment disorder with anxiety | Yes |
| F43.23 | … with mixed anxiety and depressed mood | Yes |
| F43.24 | … with disturbance of conduct | Yes |
| F43.25 | … with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct | Yes |
| F43.29 | … with other symptoms | Yes |
| F43.8 | Other reactions to severe stress (incomplete) | No |
| F43.81 | Prolonged grief disorder | Yes |
| F43.89 | Other reactions to severe stress | Yes |
| F43.9 | Reaction to severe stress, unspecified | Yes |
F43.0, acute stress reaction, is the code for a response within the first month after the event; PTSD is not diagnosed until symptoms have persisted beyond a month. The adjustment disorder codes at F43.2 are a different category again — a stress response that does not meet PTSD criteria.
F43.8 is not billable on its own — it takes a fifth character. It splits into F43.81, prolonged grief disorder, and F43.89 for other reactions to severe stress. F43.81 is the newer of the two and the one most often missed: grief that persists and impairs functioning well beyond the expected course now has its own code rather than being filed under an adjustment disorder or a depressive episode. If a practice is still reaching for F43.8, or defaulting grief presentations to F43.21, this is the code to know about.
| CPT | Service | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 90791 | Psychiatric diagnostic evaluation (no medical services) | — |
| 90832 | Individual psychotherapy | 16–37 minutes |
| 90834 | Individual psychotherapy | 38–52 minutes |
| 90837 | Individual psychotherapy | 53 minutes or more |
| 90847 | Family psychotherapy, patient present | 50 minutes typical |
| 90853 | Group psychotherapy | — |
A 50-minute session is 90834, not 90837 — 90837 begins at 53 minutes.
DSM-5-TR prints the ICD-10-CM code beside each disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder carries F43.10. DSM's own specifiers — with dissociative symptoms, with delayed expression — do not change the code. The acute/chronic distinction that ICD-10-CM codes at F43.11 and F43.12 has no DSM-5 equivalent, which is why the unspecified code dominates in practice.
Afia is free and answers these by voice or chat — find a code from a condition name, confirm whether a code is billable, validate a whole list at once, or check a session length against a CPT time band. No sign-up.
F43.10 for unspecified PTSD, which is the most commonly submitted. F43.11 is acute and F43.12 is chronic.
No. F43.1 is incomplete and will be rejected. PTSD needs a fifth character: F43.10, F43.11 or F43.12.
F43.11 is acute and F43.12 is chronic, a distinction based on how long symptoms have persisted. F43.10 is unspecified. Because DSM-5 removed the acute/chronic specifier that DSM-IV carried, clinicians assessing against DSM-5 usually have no finding to support .11 or .12, so F43.10 is the accurate choice rather than a shortcut.
No. F43.0, acute stress reaction, covers a response in the first month after an event. PTSD is not diagnosed until symptoms persist beyond a month, and codes at F43.1 with a fifth character.
In outpatient behavioral health: 90791 for the diagnostic evaluation, then 90832, 90834 or 90837 for individual psychotherapy by session length, 90847 for family therapy with the patient present, and 90853 for group.
Check a code with Afia — freeCodes on this page were verified against the CMS ICD-10-CM code sets for FY2026 and FY2027 (FY2027 effective 1 October 2026). Last reviewed 19 September 2026. Verify against the current official code set before submitting.