Chronic Headache ICD-10-CM Codes

What ICD-10 codes are used for chronic headache?

Chronic headache is a long-lasting, often debilitating condition that significantly impacts quality of life, daily functioning, and overall well-being. Accurately documenting chronic headache using the latest ICD-10-CM codes is essential for healthcare professionals involved in diagnosis, billing, and treatment. The 2025 ICD-10-CM updates introduced more precise codes for migraine while maintaining existing classifications for other persistent head pain conditions. These updates support precise documentation, better reflect associated conditions, and ensure alignment with the evolving healthcare landscape.

ICD-10-CM codes undergo annual revisions based on clinical and epidemiological data. In 2025, several codes were introduced to enhance specificity for migraine disorders, particularly chronic forms. It is now essential for healthcare providers to indicate whether the chronic migraine includes aura, is intractable, or involves status migrainosus. For example:

• G43.E0: Chronic migraine without aura, not intractable
• G43.E01: Chronic migraine without aura, intractable, with status migrainosus
• G43.E1: Chronic migraine with aura
• G43.E11: Chronic migraine with aura, intractable, with status migrainosus
• G43.E19: Chronic migraine with aura, intractable, without status migrainosus

These codes aid in accurately documenting chronic headache syndromes and facilitate a more precise diagnosis, supporting reimbursement and care coordination. They are relevant in cases involving repeat prescription encounters, established patients, or evaluations related to factors influencing health status.

In addition, ICD-10-CM codes remain billable for chronic headache and associated headache disorders. These include:

• G44.201: Tension-type headache, unspecified, intractable
• G44.209: Chronic headache, unspecified
• G44.40: Chronic cluster headache, unspecified
• G44.82: Cervicogenic headache
• G44.83: Headache associated with other intracranial infections
• G44.84: Primary thunderclap headache
• G44.85: Headache attributed to traumatic intracranial hematoma
• G44.89: Other specified headache syndromes (e.g., daily persistent headache, complicated headache syndrome)
• R51: Headache, unspecified

These codes are essential for documentation across various clinical settings, including inpatient admission, encounter with appliances, encounter with medications, and health supervision visits. In some cases, post-traumatic headache, particularly when unspecified, may also be coded based on clinical evaluation.

Which chronic headache ICD-10 codes are billable?

All of the ICD-10-CM codes listed above are billable under the 2025 guidelines. Proper clinical documentation must ensure the code reflects the primary diagnosis, including laboratory findings, imaging results, and symptom duration. Whether coding for facial pain, hemiplegic migraine, or atypical facial pain, coders must ensure alignment with comorbidities such as connective tissue disorders, autoimmune diseases, or nervous system dysfunction.

Clinical information

Chronic headaches are persistent and typically defined as headaches occurring 15 or more days per month for over three months. They may present as:

• Tension-type headaches: Characterized by band-like tightness around the head, often triggered by stress
• Migraines: Involving severe pain, often one-sided, with potential aura, light and sound sensitivity, and nausea
• Cluster headaches: Severe pain in cyclical patterns, often around one eye
• Cervicogenic headaches: Resulting from neck injuries or spinal dysfunction
• Trigeminal neuralgia: Sudden, intense facial pain due to irritation of the trigeminal nerve

Other chronic headache types may relate to post-traumatic injury, iatrogenic causes, or persistent head pain syndromes. Diagnosis often involves physical and neurological exams, imaging (CT/MRI), and sometimes lumbar puncture to rule out abnormal clinical findings or serious causes like malignant neoplasms or infections.

In the context of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD), providers should consider overlapping or secondary causes, including:

• Acquired hypothyroidism, thyroid dysfunction, or metabolic diseases
• Exposures to hazardous substances or other exogenous factors
• Congenital iodine deficiency syndrome or allied conditions
• Use of certain medications that may trigger medication overuse headaches

Identifying and coding the precise diagnosis not only helps optimize treatment strategies but also ensures proper alignment with evolving documentation standards and coding practices.

Synonyms include

• Persistent headache
• Recurrent head pain
• Long-lasting headache
• Continuous head discomfort
• Prolonged cephalalgia
• Unrelenting cranial pain
• Enduring migraine
• Chronic cephalic pain
• Persistent head throbbing
• Continuous skull ache