F03.90ICD-10-CM

Unspecified dementia, unspecified severity, without behavioral disturbance, psychotic disturbance, mood disturbance, and anxiety

BillableMaps to an HCCDescriptor changed in 2022

How the code is built

Chapter

Mental and behavioral

What ICD-10 code F03.90 means

F03.90 is the ICD-10-CM code for unspecified dementia, unspecified severity, without behavioral disturbance, psychotic disturbance, mood disturbance, and anxiety. It applies when dementia is diagnosed but the record names no underlying cause, stages no severity, and documents no behavioral, psychotic, mood, or anxiety feature.

The Alphabetic Index routes the unqualified term dementia here, which makes F03.90 the default for a chart that says nothing more.

Attribute	Detail
Code	F03.90
Descriptor	Unspecified dementia, unspecified severity, without behavioral disturbance, psychotic disturbance, mood disturbance, and anxiety
Chapter	Mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders
Block	Mental disorders due to known physiological conditions
Category	F03, unspecified dementia
Billable	Yes
Inclusion term	Dementia NOS
Age restriction	Adults only, per the Medicare Code Editor
Risk adjustment	Maps to the mild or unspecified dementia HCC under CMS-HCC V28

One historical note matters in daily use. Before October 2022, this code read "unspecified dementia without behavioral disturbance." The current descriptor added the severity axis and widened the excluded features to include psychotic, mood, and anxiety disturbance. Superbills and EHR favorites still carrying the old wording will steer coders toward the wrong sixth character.

2Code structure

Axis 1, severity

Character 4

F03 varies along severity and along neuropsychiatric disturbance. F03.90 is the corner of the grid where neither axis was documented. Every step away from that corner is a step the record can usually support.

F03.9-

Unspecified severity

This code

F03.A-

Mild

F03.B-

Moderate

F03.C-

Severe

3Code structure

Axis 2, disturbance

Character 5 and beyond

None documented

With agitation

Other behavioral disturbance

Psychotic disturbance

Mood disturbance

Anxiety

The final character is a positive statement, not a blank. Character 0 asserts that no behavioral, psychotic, mood, or anxiety disturbance is present. A note that simply never mentions those features is weaker support than a note that says they are absent.

4Clinical picture

Clinical findings documented under F03.90

A record supporting this code usually describes decline across cognitive domains alongside a loss of independence.

Memory

Repeated questions, misplaced items, poor recall of recent events

Language

Word-finding difficulty, reduced conversational output

Executive function

Trouble managing medications, finances, or appointments

Visuospatial

Getting lost on familiar routes, difficulty dressing or driving

Orientation

Disorientation to time or place

Function

Declining independence in daily activities

What separates F03.90 from its siblings is what the note leaves out. No agitation, no hallucinations or delusions, no mood disturbance, and no anxiety. Once any of those appears in the assessment, the encounter belongs to a different code.

5Documentation

What the chart must show

A provider-stated diagnosis of dementia in the assessment, not a symptom such as memory loss or confusion
Cognitive findings linked to functional decline, ideally with a standardized instrument such as MoCA, MMSE, or CDR and its score
Collateral history when the patient is a poor historian
Duration and course, separating chronic decline from an acute change
Workup addressing reversible contributors, including medication review and relevant labs
A statement that no behavioral, psychotic, mood, or anxiety disturbance is present, which is what supports the final character
Evidence that severity was not determined

A dementia entry sitting in the past medical history, with nothing in the assessment or plan, does not support reporting the code for that encounter.

6Decision guide

When to assign F03.90, and when not to

The record says	Assign
Dementia, with no cause, stage, or behavioral features	F03.90
Dementia, moderate, no cause or behavioral features	F03.B0
Dementia with agitation	F03.911
Alzheimer's dementia	G30.9 first, then F02.80
Vascular dementia	The applicable F01.5- code
Memory loss, with no dementia diagnosis stated	The documented symptom code
Mild cognitive impairment	G31.84, which is not dementia
Delirium superimposed on dementia	F05, with the dementia code sequenced first

Sequencing follows one principle. When an underlying disease is named, the etiology code leads and the dementia code follows as the manifestation, which is why Alzheimer's reports as G30.- then F02.8-. F03.- exists for the case where no etiology is documented at all.

Query rather than default when the note contains testing scores, staging language, or documented agitation, wandering, or hallucinations that never reached the diagnostic statement.

7Tabular list

Instructional notes at F03

Note	Content
Inclusion terms	Dementia NOS, major neurocognitive disorder NOS, senile dementia NOS, presenile dementia NOS, primary degenerative dementia NOS
Excludes2	Dementia with delirium or acute confusional state (F05)
Excludes2	Mild memory disturbance due to known physiological condition (F06.8)

Both notes here are Excludes2, which is a permission rather than a prohibition. The excluded condition is not part of F03, but a patient may carry both, and both may be reported when the documentation supports them. That is the opposite of how Excludes1 works.

8Comparison

Codes frequently confused with F03.90

Code	Descriptor	Use instead when
F03.91, F03.911, F03.918	Unspecified dementia with behavioral disturbance, with agitation, with other behavioral disturbance	Agitation, combativeness, or another behavioral disturbance is documented
F03.92, F03.93, F03.94	Unspecified dementia with psychotic, mood, or anxiety disturbance	Psychosis, mood change, or anxiety is documented
F03.A0, F03.B0, F03.C0	Unspecified dementia, mild, moderate, or severe, without disturbance	Severity is staged but the cause is still unstated
F01.5-	Vascular dementia	Dementia is attributed to cerebrovascular disease
F02.8-	Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere	An underlying disease is documented and coded first
G30.9	Alzheimer's disease, unspecified	Alzheimer's is named, sequenced ahead of the manifestation code
G31.84	Mild cognitive impairment, so stated	The provider documented MCI, which is not dementia
F05	Delirium due to known physiological condition	An acute confusional state is present
Z91.83	Wandering in diseases classified elsewhere	Wandering is documented, reported with the dementia code first

9Claim context

Services commonly reported with F03.90

Cognitive assessment and care planning has its own code and its own documentation burden, requiring a standardized instrument, a functional and safety assessment, an identified caregiver, and a written care plan. Neurobehavioral status exams and neuropsychological testing are time-based and carry separate evaluation and administration codes.

Detection of cognitive impairment is a required element of the Medicare annual wellness visit, so a positive finding there often generates the encounter where dementia is first coded. Advance care planning is frequently paired with these visits.

Coverage and frequency limits for cognitive and behavioral services vary more by Medicare Administrative Contractor than most diagnosis categories, so confirm the applicable local coverage determination before submission.

10Risk adjustment

What F03.90 does to a risk score

Two points drive revenue, one drives exposure

F03.90 maps to the mild or unspecified dementia category under CMS-HCC V28. Capture depends on two habits and fails on a third.

Report it every year

Risk adjustment does not carry a condition forward. A dementia diagnosis captured last year contributes nothing to this year's score unless it is documented and reported again.

MCI is not a substitute

G31.84 carries no HCC at all. A note saying mild cognitive impairment when the provider means dementia produces no capture, and the difference is invisible on the claim.

The audit pattern

A dementia code pulled from a problem list, with no supporting assessment in the encounter note, is what RADV and OIG reviews look for first.

11Denials

Coding errors that cause denials

Error	Correction
Defaulting to F03.90 when the note names Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or cerebrovascular disease	Sequence the etiology code first, then the manifestation code
Coding F03.90 when agitation, hallucinations, mood change, or anxiety is documented	Move to the applicable F03.91-, F03.92, F03.93, or F03.94
Coding F03.90 when severity is staged in the note	Assign F03.A0, F03.B0, or F03.C0 to match the stage
Reporting dementia from the problem list with no assessment	Report only when the encounter evaluates, addresses, or treats the condition
Coding F03.90 for documented mild cognitive impairment	Assign G31.84, and query if a dementia diagnosis was intended
Working from pre-2022 descriptor language in templates	Update encounter forms and EHR favorites to the current descriptor

12Sources

Where to verify F03.90

ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting

Sequencing conventions and the treatment of unspecified codes

The CMS ICD-10 code page

Current code files and the annual addenda

The ICD-10-CM Tabular List

Inclusion terms and the Excludes2 notes at F03

AHA Coding Clinic

Published advice on dementia etiology and behavioral disturbance sequencing

Local coverage determinations from the applicable MAC

Cognitive assessment and testing services

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Last reviewed August 2026

This page is a free reference for billing and coding teams and is not coding, legal, or clinical advice. Code selection depends on the documentation in the record and on the policy of the payer being billed. Verify every code, instructional note, and sequencing rule against the current ICD-10-CM files and the Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting for the applicable date of service. ICD-10-CM is maintained by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics and published by CMS. CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. TruCare is not affiliated with CMS, NCHS, the AHA, or the AMA.