Is O70.21 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. O70.21 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does O70.21 sit in the tabular list?

Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A), in the block Complications of labor and delivery (O60-O77).

What cannot be coded together with O70.21?

O70.21 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above O70.21 (O70.2, O70) and apply to it just the same.

O70.21

O70.21 — Third degree perineal laceration during delivery, IIIa

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

O70.21 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for third degree perineal laceration during delivery, iiia. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

Third degree perineal laceration during delivery with less than 50% of external anal sphincter (EAS) thickness torn

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above O70.21

These are not written on O70.21, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing O70.21 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on O70.2 — Third degree perineal laceration during delivery

anal sphincter tear during delivery without third degree perineal laceration (O70.4)
perineal laceration involving anal or rectal mucosa (O70.3)

Written on O70 — Perineal laceration during delivery

obstetric high vaginal laceration alone (O71.4)

Other codes that can never be billed with O70.21

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at O70.21. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading O70.21 alone.

N89.8Other specified noninflammatory disorders of vagina
N90Other noninflammatory disorders of vulva and perineum
O71.4Obstetric high vaginal laceration alone
S31.4Open wound of vagina and vulva

Risk adjustment

O70.21 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.

How O70.21 is indexed

Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to O70.21.

Delivery›complicated›by›laceration›perineum, perineal›third degree›IIIa
Delivery›complicated›by›laceration›perineum, perineal›third degree›with›less than 50% of external anal sphincter(EAS) thickness torn (IIIa)

Code history

O70.21 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share O70.2. If O70.21 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about O70.21

Is O70.21 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. O70.21 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does O70.21 sit in the tabular list?: Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A), in the block Complications of labor and delivery (O60-O77).
What cannot be coded together with O70.21?: O70.21 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above O70.21 (O70.2, O70) and apply to it just the same.