F81 ICD-10-CA category: Specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills
F81 isn’t a code on its own. Choose one of the 6 codes beneath it, the one the documentation supports.
Official description
F81Specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills
ICD-10-CA · Canada
Codes in F81
F81 isn’t a code on its own. Open the code that matches what the note documents.
Notes for F81
As CIHI prints them, with any note F81 takes from the headings above it.
Includes
- Disorders of psychological developmentFrom Chapter 5: Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)
Excludes
Conditions classified elsewhere.
- Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)From Chapter 5: Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)
Note
- Disorders in which the normal patterns of skill acquisition are disturbed from the early stages of development. This is not simply a consequence of a lack of opportunity to learn, it is not solely a result of mental retardation, and it is not due to any form of acquired brain trauma or disease.
- The disorders included in this block have in common: (a) onset invariably during infancy or childhood; (b) impairment or delay in development of functions that are strongly related to biological maturation of the central nervous system; and (c) a steady course without remissions and relapses. In most cases, the functions affected include language, visuo-spatial skills, and motor coordination. Usually, the delay or impairment has been present from as early as it could be detected reliably and will diminish progressively as the child grows older, although milder deficits often remain in adult life.From F80-F89 Disorders of psychological development
Where F81 sits
- 1ChapterChapter 5: Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)
- 2Block F80-F89Disorders of psychological development
- 3Category F81Specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills
Source and release
- Data release
- ICD-10-CA · FY 2026–2027
- Effective date
- Apr 1, 2026
- Publisher
- CIHI
This page is built from the ICD-10-CA catalog that Vero Codes reads when it suggests codes: Canadian Institute for Health Information’s FY 2026–2027 release, imported from the publisher’s file and checked against it. The description, notes and structured data come from the same record.
Frequently asked questions
Is F81 a valid ICD-10-CA code?
No. F81 (Specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills) is a category heading in CIHI’s ICD-10-CA FY 2026–2027 release. It holds 6 codes; record the one the documentation supports.
Where is F81 in ICD-10-CA?
F81 sits under F80-F89 Disorders of psychological development, within Chapter 5: Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99).
What coding notes apply to F81?
ICD-10-CA lists Note, Includes, Excludes notes for F81, including those from the headings it sits under. They are listed on this page with where each one comes from.
Which ICD-10-CA release does this page use?
It uses CIHI’s FY 2026–2027 release, in effect from Apr 1, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027. It is a reference: confirm the code against the current list and the payer’s rules before you submit it.