H54.8 Legal blindness, as defined in USA

✓ Billable ICD-10-CM 2026
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The ICD-10-CM code for Legal blindness, as defined in USA is H54.8 (FY2026). It is a billable, claim-ready diagnosis code.

Classification

Section
H53-H54: Visual disturbances and blindness (H53-H54)
Category H54
76 codes (44 billable)
FY2026 Status
Stable since FY2024

Also Known As

ICD-10-CM Alphabetic Index entries that lead to H54.8:

  • Blindness (acquired) (congenital) (both eyes) › legal (both eyes) (USA definition)
Excludes1
Not coded here. These conditions should NOT be coded together with H54.8.
  • legal blindness with specification of impairment level (H54.0-H54.7)

Inclusion Terms

  • Blindness NOS according to USA definition

Notes

  • The table below gives a classification of severity of visual impairment recommended by a WHO Study Group on the Prevention of Blindness, Geneva, 6-10 November 1972.
  • The term 'low vision' in category H54 comprises categories 1 and 2 of the table, the term 'blindness' categories 3, 4 and 5, and the term 'unqualified visual loss' category 9.
  • If the extent of the visual field is taken into account, patients with a field no greater than 10 but greater than 5 around central fixation should be placed in category 3 and patients with a field no greater than 5 around central fixation should be placed in category 4, even if the central acuity is not impaired.

U.S. Hospital Utilization

  • An estimated 84,960 U.S. inpatient stays in 2023 included H54.8 among the documented diagnoses.

Source: National Inpatient Sample (NIS), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2016–2023. National survey-weighted estimates.

Official Coding Guidelines

Glaucoma (TOC entry)

a. Glaucoma .............................................................................................................................. 48

— ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, FY2026, Section I.C.7.a
Assigning glaucoma codes (use as many H40 codes as needed)

Assign as many codes from category H40, Glaucoma, as needed to identify the type of glaucoma, the affected eye, and the glaucoma stage.

— ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, FY2026, Section I.C.7.a.1

Source: CMS — ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, FY2026

References

Cite This Page

Reference H54.8 with the canonical source and edition:

H54.8 — Legal blindness, as defined in USA. ICD-10 Coding Pro (ICD-10-CM FY2026). https://icd10codingpro.com/codes/H54.8

Canonical URL: https://icd10codingpro.com/codes/H54.8

Related Codes

Parent Code

H54 Blindness and low vision

Other Codes Under H54

H54.0 Blindness, both eyes H54.1 Blindness, one eye, low vision other eye H54.2 Low vision, both eyes H54.3 Unqualified visual loss, both eyes H54.4 Blindness, one eye H54.5 Low vision, one eye H54.6 Unqualified visual loss, one eye H54.7 Unspecified visual loss
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Reviewed by Prajwal Shrestha, CPC, CRC
Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC) · AAPC Member ID 01997614 · About · Editorial policy · Content last reviewed: 2025-10-01

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