HCPCS Level I vs Level II, explained

One system, two levels

HCPCS (pronounced "hick-picks") is the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System, and it has two levels:

• Level I is CPT - five-digit numeric codes for physician and outpatient services, created and copyrighted by the American Medical Association. Because the descriptions are licensed content, this site does not publish them; see About CPT for where CPT information and prices live.
• Level II is the alpha-numeric set - a letter plus four digits, maintained by CMS, covering what CPT does not: ambulance and other transportation (A), durable medical equipment (E, K), orthotics and prosthetics (L), injectable drugs (J), laboratory (P), radiology (R), and temporary codes (C, G, Q, S, T) that let Medicare and Medicaid pay for new items before permanent codes exist.

Level II codes have a lifecycle

CMS updates Level II quarterly. Temporary codes are born, prove themselves, and are often replaced by permanent codes or terminated; the October 2026 file alone carries over a thousand codes with termination dates that are no longer billable. This site lists active codes only, so a code you cannot find here has most likely been terminated - check the date of service before assuming a typo.

Browse the set by letter in the HCPCS index, and do not forget the modifiers - two extra characters that often decide whether the claim pays at all.