Diabetic foot ulcers almost always need two codes, in a fixed order: the diabetes complication first, then the ulcer’s site and depth. Getting that pair wrong is the commonest reason these claims come back.
The short version
A type 2 diabetic foot ulcer is E11.621 followed by an L97.- code that carries the site, the laterality and the depth. E11.621 alone does not describe the wound; L97.- alone does not link it to the diabetes.
The trap underneath it: many of the codes people quote are not billable. E11.62, L97.5 and L97.51 are all category headers. You have to code out to the full character.
The diabetes codes for the foot
Type 2 is shown here. The same structure exists for type 1 as E10.-, for diabetes due to an underlying condition as E08.-, for drug- or chemical-induced diabetes as E09.-, and for other specified diabetes as E13.-.
| Code | Description | Billable |
|---|---|---|
| E11.621 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with foot ulcer | Yes |
| E11.622 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with other skin ulcer | Yes |
| E11.620 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic dermatitis | Yes |
| E11.628 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with other skin complications | Yes |
| E11.610 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic neuropathic arthropathy — the Charcot code | Yes |
| E11.42 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic polyneuropathy | Yes |
| E11.40 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic neuropathy, unspecified | Yes |
| E11.51 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic peripheral angiopathy without gangrene | Yes |
| E11.52 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic peripheral angiopathy with gangrene | Yes |
| E11.62 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with skin complications | No — header only |
| E11.61 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic arthropathy | No — header only |
E11.621 versus E11.622 is about location, not severity
E11.621 is for an ulcer on the foot. An ulcer above the ankle — the calf, the shin — is E11.622, paired with L98.4 rather than an L97 code. Getting this backwards is a routine denial.
The ulcer codes: L97.4- and L97.5-
L97 is the non-pressure chronic ulcer of the lower limb. For the foot there are two families, and the digits after them carry laterality and depth.
| Family | Covers | Right | Left | Unspecified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L97.4- | Heel and midfoot | L97.41- | L97.42- | L97.40- |
| L97.5- | Other part of the foot — toes and forefoot | L97.51- | L97.52- | L97.50- |
The final digit is the depth, and it is the same across every L97 subcategory:
| Final digit | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Limited to breakdown of skin |
| 2 | With fat layer exposed |
| 3 | With necrosis of muscle |
| 4 | With necrosis of bone |
| 5 | With muscle involvement without evidence of necrosis |
| 6 | With bone involvement without evidence of necrosis |
| 8 | With other specified severity |
| 9 | With unspecified severity |
So a full-thickness ulcer under the right forefoot with fat exposed is L97.512. The same wound on the right heel is L97.412. An unspecified-severity ulcer of the right forefoot is L97.519 — valid, but it says the record did not document depth, which is exactly what a reviewer looks for.
Putting the pair together
| Clinical picture | Codes, in order |
|---|---|
| Type 2 diabetic, ulcer under the right great toe, fat layer exposed | E11.621 then L97.512 |
| Type 2 diabetic, left heel ulcer down to bone with necrosis | E11.621 then L97.424 |
| Type 2 diabetic, right forefoot ulcer, skin breakdown only | E11.621 then L97.511 |
| Type 2 diabetic with polyneuropathy and a left forefoot ulcer, fat exposed | E11.42, E11.621, L97.522 |
| Type 2 diabetic Charcot, right foot | E11.610 alone — no M14.67- code with it |
| Type 2 diabetic with peripheral arterial disease and gangrene of a toe | E11.52 — the gangrene is included in the code |
| Type 1 diabetic, right heel ulcer, muscle involved without necrosis | E10.621 then L97.415 |
Sequencing is not stylistic
The diabetes complication code comes first and the ulcer code second. The convention exists so the record shows the ulcer as a manifestation of the diabetes rather than an unrelated wound, and it is what links the encounter to the diabetic foot benefit and coverage rules.
Diabetic foot infection ICD-10 codes
There is no code that means “diabetic foot infection”. The infection is coded for what it is — cellulitis, an abscess or osteomyelitis — with its own site and side, and whether the diabetes code names it depends on whether ICD-10-CM links the two.
| Clinical picture | Codes |
|---|---|
| Type 2 diabetic, cellulitis of the right foot, documented by the provider as a complication of the diabetes | E11.628 with L03.115 |
| Type 2 diabetic, cellulitis of the left foot, no link documented | L03.116 with the patient’s diabetes code (E11.9 if no other complication applies) |
| Cellulitis of the right great toe | L03.031 (left toe L03.032), with the diabetes code as above |
| Abscess of the left foot | L02.612 (right foot L02.611), with the diabetes code as above |
| Type 2 diabetic, chronic osteomyelitis of the right foot | E11.69 then M86.671 |
| Type 2 diabetic, ulcer under the right great toe with the fat layer exposed, and cellulitis spreading from it | E11.621, L97.512 and L03.115 |
| Any of these with MRSA grown from the wound | Add B95.62 (MSSA is B95.61) |
Osteomyelitis is presumed to be diabetic; cellulitis is not
ICD-10-CM presumes a link only where its Index lists the condition under diabetes “with”. Osteomyelitis is listed there (E11.69, plus an M86 code for the bone, side and type). Cellulitis falls under the broad “skin complication NEC” entry, and AHA Coding Clinic (Fourth Quarter 2017) says no link is assumed for an NEC complication: use E11.628 only when the provider documents the infection as due to the diabetes, and query when it is unclear.
If the patient is admitted with sepsis, the sepsis code goes first and the foot infection follows (Official Guidelines, section I.C.1.d.4). Every code here is unchanged in FY2027. How the infection itself is recognized and graded is on our diabetic foot infection page.
The Charcot codes
Charcot neuroarthropathy is the exception to the pairing rule: in a diabetic it is one code. E11.610 (E10.610 in type 1 diabetes) already means diabetic Charcot — its inclusion term is “Type 2 diabetes mellitus with Charcôt’s joints”. The M14.6- Charcot’s joint codes carry an Excludes1 note for “Charcôt’s joint in diabetes mellitus (E08-E13 with .610)”, so M14.671 and M14.672 are not added to it.
| Code | Description | Use in diabetes |
|---|---|---|
| E11.610 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic neuropathic arthropathy | Yes — the diabetic Charcot code |
| E10.610 | Type 1 diabetes mellitus with diabetic neuropathic arthropathy | Yes, for type 1 |
| M14.671, M14.672, M14.679 | Charcot’s joint, right, left or unspecified ankle and foot | No — Excludes1; for Charcot from other causes |
The side of a diabetic Charcot foot is recorded in the note, and in any ulcer or procedure codes, not in the diagnosis code. If there is also an ulcer over the deformity, that ulcer gets its own E11.621 and L97.- pair. The Charcot code describes the joint destruction, not the wound sitting on top of it. What all of that is describing clinically is on our Charcot foot page.
Six things that go wrong repeatedly
- Coding a header. E11.62, E11.61, L97.5 and L97.51 are all subcategory headers and are not valid for HIPAA transactions. Code to the final character.
- The ulcer code alone. An L97 code without the diabetes code strips the encounter of the reason the wound exists, and the claim stops looking like diabetic foot care.
- Unspecified severity as a habit. The x9 codes are valid and they are a documentation flag. If the note says the base of the wound, the code should say it too.
- Unspecified laterality. L97.40- and L97.50- exist for a reason, but a foot is left or right and the chart almost always knows which.
- Coding gangrene twice. E11.52 already contains the gangrene. Adding a separate gangrene code duplicates it.
- Adding M14.671 or M14.672 to E11.610. M14.6 carries an Excludes1 note for Charcôt’s joint in diabetes mellitus, so a diabetic Charcot foot is coded E11.610 without the M14.67- site code.
Common questions
What is the ICD-10 code for a diabetic foot ulcer?
For type 2 diabetes it is E11.621, and it is used together with an L97 code that specifies where on the foot the ulcer is, which foot, and how deep it goes. For type 1 the diabetes code is E10.621. Neither code is complete on its own.
What is the ICD-10 code for a diabetic foot infection?
There is no single code for “diabetic foot infection”. You code the diabetes complication, the ulcer if there is one, and the specific infection — cellulitis of the foot, or osteomyelitis, with its own site and laterality. A wound with an organism identified may also carry an organism code.
What is the ICD-10 code for Charcot foot?
In diabetes, E11.610 (E10.610 for type 1), on its own. M14.6 carries an Excludes1 note for Charcôt’s joint in diabetes mellitus, so the M14.671 and M14.672 ankle-and-foot codes are not added; they are for Charcot from other causes. The side goes in the note and on any ulcer code.
What does L97.519 mean?
A non-pressure chronic ulcer of another part of the right foot — that is, not the heel or midfoot — with unspecified severity. It is a valid code, but the final 9 signals that the depth was not documented, which is the part reviewers question.
How do I code an ulcer on the leg rather than the foot?
Above the ankle it is no longer a foot ulcer. The diabetes code becomes E11.622, “with other skin ulcer”, and the site code moves from L97 to L98.4 for a non-pressure chronic ulcer of the skin.
What was the ICD-9 code for a diabetic foot ulcer?
Before ICD-10-CM replaced it on October 1, 2015, a diabetic foot ulcer was also coded as a pair: 250.8x, diabetes with other specified manifestations, followed by a 707.1x ulcer code — usually 707.14 for the heel and midfoot or 707.15 for other parts of the foot, including the toes. The fifth digit of the 250 code carried type and control: 0 for type 2 or unspecified, 1 for type 1, and 2 or 3 for the uncontrolled versions. The pair maps forward to E11.621 (E10.621 for type 1) with an L97.4- or L97.5- code. Charcot was 250.6x with 713.5; it is now E11.610 alone. ICD-9 codes matter now only for reading older records.
Do these codes change?
Yes. The ICD-10-CM set is updated every October 1. Every code on this page was checked against the FY2026 set and the FY2027 set that takes effect on October 1, 2026, and none of them changes. The nearest FY2027 change is to osteomyelitis coded to M86.8X-: M86.8X7 becomes a header, and the ankle and foot now need M86.8X71 (right), M86.8X72 (left) or M86.8X79 (unspecified). For a date of service in an earlier fiscal year, check the code was in effect then — a code added after the encounter cannot go on that claim.
Sources
Official federal coding sources.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / NCHS. FY2026 ICD-10-CM Official Files (code descriptions, tabular list, guidelines). CDC/NCHS ICD-10-CM FY2026 official files — the official FY2026 descriptors, billable flags, and the “Use additional code” / “Code first” instructional notes.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. ICD-10 Codes. CMS — ICD-10 Codes — the maintained code set and its annual addenda.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / NCHS. FY2027 ICD-10-CM Official Files, effective October 1, 2026 (code descriptions, tabular and index addenda, guidelines). CDC/NCHS ICD-10-CM FY2027 official files — no change to any code, descriptor or instructional note on this page; M86.8X7 becomes a header, split by laterality.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS — ICD-9-CM diagnosis code titles, version 32, and the 2018 General Equivalence Mappings — the legacy 250.8x, 707.1x, 250.6x and 713.5 codes and their ICD-10-CM equivalents.
Related guides
Diabetic neuropathy ICD-10
E11.40 or E11.42, and why G62.9 and G63 do not go with them.
Charcot foot
What E11.610 is actually describing.
Diabetic foot ulcers
The depth digits map onto Wagner and University of Texas grading.
Diabetic foot infection
Why there is no single infection code.
Gangrene in the diabetic foot
E11.52 already contains the gangrene.
The clinical side of these codes
Every code on this page describes something happening in a real foot. The pages on ulcers, Charcot and infection explain what the coder is describing and what changes the outcome.
Dr. Tom Biernacki is a double board-certified podiatric foot and ankle surgeon practising in Michigan. He treats diabetic wounds, Charcot neuroarthropathy and at-risk feet daily, and writes here to put the clinical reasoning behind that care in front of the people living with it.