Adjustment disorder codes at F43.2 and needs a fifth character naming the predominant symptoms. F43.21 is with depressed mood, F43.22 with anxiety, F43.23 with both. F43.2 alone will be rejected. This family is worth understanding beyond the code list, because it attracts more medical-necessity scrutiny than almost any other behavioral health diagnosis — for reasons built into the definition.
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? |
|---|---|---|
| F43.2 | Adjustment disorders (incomplete) | No |
| F43.20 | Adjustment disorder, unspecified | Yes |
| F43.21 | … with depressed mood | Yes |
| F43.22 | … 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 |
Adjustment disorder is defined as a reaction to an identifiable stressor that is expected to resolve. That definition carries two implications a payer will notice.
It implies a time limit. The diagnosis describes a response that subsides once the stressor ends or the person adapts. A course of treatment running many months under an adjustment disorder code invites the question of whether the diagnosis still fits — not whether the treatment was needed, but whether the record now describes something else.
It is the least severe option in its neighbourhood. Where a payer applies medical-necessity criteria graded by severity, an adjustment disorder code sits at the bottom of the range. That can matter for authorising a higher level of care or a longer course of treatment.
Neither is a reason to over-code. It is a reason to make sure the record says what the clinician actually found, and to revisit the diagnosis when a presentation has evolved rather than carrying the original code forward out of habit.
The distinction that matters most in practice is against major depressive disorder. If the record documents a major depressive episode, the accurate code is in F32 or F33 with a severity, not F43.21. Adjustment disorder with depressed mood describes depressive symptoms in response to a stressor that do not meet criteria for a major depressive episode.
Likewise F43.22 against F41.1, and F43.2 against PTSD at F43.10 — all three sit in the same conceptual space, and the differences live in the documentation rather than the code.
| 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 codes beside its adjustment disorder subtypes, and they map directly: with depressed mood to F43.21, with anxiety to F43.22, with mixed anxiety and depressed mood to F43.23, with disturbance of conduct to F43.24, with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct to F43.25, and unspecified to F43.20.
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F43.2 with a fifth character for the predominant symptoms. With depressed mood is F43.21, with anxiety is F43.22, and with both is F43.23.
No. F43.2 is incomplete and will be rejected. It needs a fifth character — F43.20 through F43.29.
F43.21 is adjustment disorder with depressed mood: depressive symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor that do not meet criteria for a major depressive episode. If the record documents a major depressive episode, the accurate code is in F32 or F33 with a severity.
Because the diagnosis is defined as a reaction to a stressor that is expected to resolve. A long course of treatment under an adjustment disorder code raises the question of whether the diagnosis still describes what is being treated. It also sits at the least severe end of the range where a payer grades medical necessity by severity.
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.