Chiropractic CPT Codes: The List and Modifiers

Chiropractic CPT codes are five digit numbers from the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology set. A chiropractic office puts these codes on the CMS-1500 claim form to tell the payer what was done at the visit. The core codes are 98940 for spinal manipulation of one or two regions, 98941 for three or four regions, 98942 for five regions, and 98943 for manipulation of an extraspinal region like a shoulder or a knee. Alongside manipulation, chiropractic offices bill therapeutic procedure codes such as 97110 for therapeutic exercise, 97140 for manual therapy, and 97530 for therapeutic activities, plus evaluation and management codes for new and established patient exams. X-ray codes like 72100 for a lumbosacral spine series cover imaging taken in the office. Medicare requires the AT modifier on manipulation codes to show the care is active treatment, since Medicare does not pay for maintenance care.

CPT stands for Current Procedural Terminology. The American Medical Association owns the code set and updates it every year. A chiropractic claim pairs each procedure code with an ICD-10 diagnosis code that supports why the visit was medically necessary, not just helpful. On a chiropractic claim, the exam code, the manipulation code, and the diagnosis code all have to line up. A mismatch, like a five region manipulation code paired with a diagnosis for a single joint, is one of the fastest ways to trigger a denial. If you want to see what a claims system actually checks versus what still needs a human to decide, we cover that in our medical claims software breakdown.

Here is the list most chiropractic offices bill from, grouped by what the code covers.

Manipulation (CMT)

• 98940: spinal manipulation, 1 to 2 regions
• 98941: spinal manipulation, 3 to 4 regions
• 98942: spinal manipulation, 5 regions
• 98943: extraspinal manipulation, one or more regions (arm, leg, head, rib cage, abdomen)

Therapeutic procedures

• 97110: therapeutic exercise, billed in 15 minute units
• 97112: neuromuscular reeducation
• 97140: manual therapy techniques, billed in 15 minute units
• 97530: therapeutic activities, billed in 15 minute units

Evaluation and management

• 99202 to 99205: new patient office visit
• 99212 to 99215: established patient office visit

Imaging taken in office

• 72010: x-ray, entire spine, survey
• 72070: x-ray, thoracic spine
• 72100: x-ray, lumbosacral spine
• 72170: x-ray, pelvis

Bill every spinal region actually treated. The region count, not the number of spots adjusted, is what decides whether a visit is 98940, 98941, or 98942. For the full set of procedure codes outside chiropractic too, our medical procedure code guide lists CPT and HCPCS codes side by side.

A code alone does not always tell the payer the full story. These are the modifiers that come up most on chiropractic claims.

• AT: active treatment. Medicare requires this on 98940 through 98943 or the claim is treated as maintenance care and denied.
• GA: a waiver of liability (an ABN) is on file, used when you expect Medicare to deny a service as maintenance care.
• GP: services delivered under an outpatient physical therapy plan of care. Some payers want this attached to 97110, 97140, or 97530.
• 25: a significant, separately identifiable exam billed the same day as a manipulation code. Without it, the payer assumes the exam was part of the adjustment.
• 59 (or the more specific X modifiers): a distinct procedural service, used when documentation supports billing both manual therapy and manipulation on the same date.

Most chiropractic denials trace back to the same handful of mismatches:

• The region count on the manipulation code does not match the documented regions treated.
• The AT modifier is missing on a Medicare claim.
• An exam is billed the same day as an adjustment with no modifier 25 attached.
• The diagnosis code points to a chronic, stable condition that reads as maintenance care instead of active treatment.

These are not rare. If 15 claims a month come back for a missing AT modifier, that is 15 claims your billing team has to pull, fix, and resend by hand. Multiply by your own monthly volume to see what that rework actually costs in staff time. Filing deadlines add another layer. Each payer sets its own window to resubmit a corrected claim, and those vary by state, which we cover in our guide to billing time limits by state.

The doctor still picks the codes for the visit. What Valian does is check the combination before the claim goes out: does the region count on the manipulation code match the diagnosis, is the AT modifier there when it needs to be, does the exam carry modifier 25 next to a same day adjustment. If something is off, the claim does not go until it is fixed.

Because chiropractic claims use the same CMS-1500 form as other medical specialties, claims are built in the Valian dashboard and sent electronically, and Valian reviews every claim before it goes, the same as it does for other medical billing services. Front desks can also sign in and check any patient's chiropractic benefit in one click before the visit, so you know the visit cap and region limit before you decide between 98941 and 98942. If a claim does come back denied, the office sees the payer's stated reason and the fix, resubmits it, and Valian reviews it again before it goes out a second time.

If your coding and billing live in separate systems today, our medical coding services team can walk through how the two connect for a chiropractic claim. And if you want a dedicated look at how this works for a chiropractic office specifically, our chiropractic billing services page covers the full claim path.

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If you want a second set of eyes on your chiropractic coding before the next claim goes out, Book a free billing review.

What CPT codes can chiropractors use?

Chiropractors most often bill CMT codes 98940 through 98943 for manipulation, therapeutic procedure codes like 97110, 97140, and 97530, evaluation and management codes for exams, and x-ray codes such as 72100 when imaging is done in house. The exact mix depends on scope of practice and state rules.

What is CPT code 97110 for chiropractic?

CPT 97110 is therapeutic exercise, billed in 15 minute units, for exercise that builds strength, endurance, or range of motion. It is billed separately from the manipulation code and needs its own documentation of time, the exercise performed, and the body part treated.

What are the common chiropractic CPT codes in 2026?

The codes chiropractic offices bill most in 2026 are still 98940 through 98943 for manipulation, 97140 for manual therapy, 97110 for therapeutic exercise, and E/M codes 99202 through 99215 for exams. Region count and documentation of medical necessity, not the code itself, are what payers are checking more closely.

What is CPT code 98940 for chiropractic?

CPT 98940 is chiropractic manipulative treatment of the spine covering one or two regions, such as the cervical and thoracic spine treated together. It is the lowest unit code in the 98940 through 98943 family, which moves up as more spinal regions are treated in the same visit.