H54 ICD-10-CA category: Visual impairment including blindness (binocular or monocular)
H54 isn’t a code on its own. Choose one of the 8 codes beneath it, the one the documentation supports.
Official description
H54Visual impairment including blindness (binocular or monocular)
ICD-10-CA · Canada
Codes in H54
H54 isn’t a code on its own. Open the code that matches what the note documents.
H54.0Blindness, binocularH54.1Severe visual impairment, binocularH54.2Moderate visual impairment, binocularH54.3Mild or no visual impairment, binocularH54.4Blindness, monocularH54.5Severe visual impairment, monocularH54.6Moderate visual impairment, monocularH54.9Unspecified visual impairment (binocular)Notes for H54
As CIHI prints them, with any note H54 takes from the headings above it.
Excludes
Conditions classified elsewhere.
- Amaurosis fugax (G45.3)
- Certain:• conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)• infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O99)congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T98)neoplasms (C00-D48)symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)From Chapter 7: Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59)
Note
- This table gives a classification of severity of visual impairment recommended by the Resolution of the International Council of Ophthalmology (2002) and the Recommendations of the WHO Consultation on "Development of Standards for Characterization of Vision Loss and Visual Functioning" (Sept 2003).For characterizing visual impairment for codes H54.0 to H54.3, visual acuity should be measured with both eyes open with presenting correction if any. For characterizing visual impairment for codes H54.4 to H54.6, visual acuity should be measured monocularly with presenting correction if any.If the extent of the visual field is taken into account, patients with a visual field of the better eye no greater than 10° in radius around central fixation should be placed under category 3. For monocular blindness (H54.4), this degree of field loss would apply to the affected eye.Category 0, mild or no visual impairment: presenting distance visual acuity equal to or better than 6/18, 3/10 (0.3), 20/70Category 1, moderate visual impairment: presenting distance visual acuity worse than 6/18, 3/10 (0.3), 20/70; equal to or better than 6/60, 1/10 (0.1), 20/200Category 2, severe visual impairment: presenting distance visual acuity worse than 6/60, 1/10 (0.1), 20/200; equal to or better than 3/60, 1/20 (0.05), 20/400Category 3, blindness: presenting distance visual acuity worse than 3/60, 1/20 (0.05), 20/400; equal to or better than 1/60*, 1/50 (0.02), 5/300 (20/1200)Category 4, blindness: presenting distance visual acuity worse than 1/60*, 1/50 (0.02), 5/300 (20/1200); equal to or better than light perceptionCategory 5, blindness: no light perceptionCategory 9: undetermined or unspecified* Or counts fingers (CF) at 1 metreThe term visual impairment in category H54 comprises category 0 for mild or no visual impairment, category 1 for moderate visual impairment, category 2 for severe visual impairment, categories 3, 4 and 5 for blindness and category 9 for unqualified visual impairment. The term "low vision" included in the previous revision has been replaced by categories 1 and 2 to avoid confusion with those requiring low vision care.
Where H54 sits
- 1ChapterChapter 7: Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59)
- 2Block H53-H54Visual disturbances and blindness
- 3Category H54Visual impairment including blindness (binocular or monocular)
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 H54 a valid ICD-10-CA code?
No. H54 (Visual impairment including blindness (binocular or monocular)) is a category heading in CIHI’s ICD-10-CA FY 2026–2027 release. It holds 8 codes; record the one the documentation supports.
Where is H54 in ICD-10-CA?
H54 sits under H53-H54 Visual disturbances and blindness, within Chapter 7: Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59).
What coding notes apply to H54?
ICD-10-CA lists Note, Excludes notes for H54, 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.