Place of service codes list, with the 02 vs 10 vs 11 verdict.

What a place of service code tells the payer

A place of service (POS) code is a two-digit number on a professional claim that says where the service was rendered. CMS publishes the list and describes it as the codes that "should be used on professional claims to specify the entity where service(s) were rendered." The same page tells billers to check each payer, whether Medicare, Medicaid or a private plan, for how it reimburses each code, so the code is a fact about the setting while the payment consequences belong to the payer.

The numbering is not random. Codes 01 to 27 cover pharmacies, schools, shelters, homes, clinics, hospital departments and the street-outreach code added in 2023. Codes 31 to 34 are nursing, custodial and hospice settings. Ambulance is 41 and 42, and 49 to 58 are clinics and behavioural-health facilities. Dialysis is 65, public and rural health clinics are 71 and 72, independent labs are 81 and the catch-all is 99. Everything else, including 28 to 30, 35 to 40, 43 to 48, 59, 63 and 64, 67 to 70, 73 to 80 and 82 to 98, is unassigned in the current set. If a code you were handed does not appear in the table below, that is why.

POS 02 vs 10 vs 11, and why 12 is not in the fight

Three codes get confused because all three can describe a patient talking to a clinician. The deciding fact is where the patient is and whether the visit was delivered by telecommunication.

• POS 11, Office. A non-hospital ambulatory setting where the patient is physically present. A video visit is not an office visit.
• POS 10, Telehealth Provided in Patient's Home. Telehealth where the patient is at home, which the CMS text defines as a private residence rather than a hospital or other facility. It took effect January 1, 2022 and became available to Medicare on April 1, 2022.
• POS 02, Telehealth Provided Other than in Patient's Home. Telehealth where the patient is not at home. It has existed since 2017, and its description changed in 2022 to draw the line against POS 10.
• POS 12, Home. An in-person visit in the patient's residence. It is a different thing from a telehealth visit to a patient who happens to be at home.

For Medicare professional claims, CMS's December 2025 telehealth booklet says to use 02 or 10 from January 1, 2024. It also says Medicare pays telehealth services provided to patients in their homes at the non-facility physician fee schedule rate, which is why mixing up 10 and 11 is a billing error and not a cosmetic one. For other payers the instruction can differ. CMS's own note sends you to each payer for reimbursement policy, so a commercial plan may still publish a rule that asks for something else. Read that plan's telehealth policy before you assume it mirrors Medicare.

Worked example

This is a hypothetical Tuesday for a clinician who bills professional claims. At 9:00 a video visit with a patient on their sofa is POS 10. At 11:00 a video visit with a patient who is sitting in a parked car at their workplace is POS 02, because the patient is not at home. At 1:00 a patient walks into the practice, so POS 11. At 3:00 the clinician drives to a patient's apartment for an in-person visit, which is POS 12, not 10, because nothing was delivered by telecommunication. The code follows the patient's location and the mode of delivery. It does not follow where the clinician sits.

A harder case: the patient lives in an assisted living facility. The CMS code set has its own code for the facility (POS 13), and its definition of POS 10 refers to a private residence. The code set does not say whether a facility room counts as the patient's home for telehealth. That is a question for the payer or your Medicare Administrative Contractor, and the tool says so in its note when you pick "somewhere else".

Common mistakes

• Using POS 11 for a video visit because the clinician is in the office. For telehealth the code describes the patient's side of the screen.
• Picking 02 for every telehealth claim. If the patient was at home, Medicare's instruction is 10.
• Treating 19 and 22 as interchangeable. 19 is off-campus outpatient hospital and 22 is on-campus outpatient hospital, and the description of 22 changed on January 1, 2016.
• Using 49 (independent clinic) or 20 (urgent care) because they feel like "office". They are separate codes with separate descriptions.
• Using a code that is not assigned. A claim with a made-up code will not be accepted.
• Assuming the code set never changes. Codes 27, 49 and 57 took effect on October 1, 2023, 58 on January 1, 2020 and 66 on August 1, 2024.

Who this is for, and what it does not cover

This is for billers, front-desk staff, practice managers and patients reading an explanation of benefits who want to know what a two-digit code means. It does not choose procedure codes, modifiers such as 95, diagnosis codes or fee amounts, and it does not know any payer's rules. It gives no clinical guidance. Claim-denial reason codes are a different code set and are not listed here. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, and you should not type patient names or identifiers into any online tool.

All assigned codes, in CMS order

Sources

• CMS: Place of Service Code Set — code names, effective dates, professional-claims instruction (page modified 2026-02-17; database updated 2024-05-02)
• CMS MLN901705: Telehealth & Remote Monitoring (December 2025) — POS 02 and 10 instruction from January 1, 2024; non-facility rate for patients at home

Every figure and rule above was retrieved from these pages in October 2026. Agencies revise forms, codes and percentages, so confirm anything that affects a claim, a filing or a deadline against the current official page.

Frequently asked questions

What is a place of service code?

A place of service code is a two-digit number on a professional health care claim that identifies the setting where the service was provided, such as an office (11), a patient's home (12) or an inpatient hospital (21). CMS publishes the code set and tells billers to check each payer for how it reimburses each code.

Which place of service code is used for telehealth?

Two codes. POS 10 is telehealth provided in the patient's home and POS 02 is telehealth provided somewhere other than the patient's home. For Medicare professional billing, CMS's telehealth booklet says to use these two codes as of January 1, 2024.

What is the difference between POS 10 and POS 02?

Only the patient's location. POS 10 means the patient was at home, which CMS describes as a private residence rather than a hospital or other facility. POS 02 means the patient was not at home during the telehealth visit. Medicare pays services to patients in their homes at the non-facility physician fee schedule rate.

Is POS 11 ever correct for a telehealth visit?

For Medicare professional claims the CMS instruction is 02 or 10, not 11. POS 11 describes a visit with the patient physically in the office. Some other payers publish their own telehealth place of service rules, so check that payer's policy instead of assuming it matches Medicare.

What is POS 12?

POS 12 is Home: an in-person visit in a private residence that is not a hospital or facility. It is not a telehealth code. If the clinician is not physically with the patient and the visit is by video or audio, the telehealth codes apply.

Why are some numbers missing, like 28 or 35?

They are unassigned in the current CMS code set. The unassigned ranges are 28 to 30, 35 to 40, 43 to 48, 59, 63 and 64, 67 to 70, 73 to 80 and 82 to 98. The search tool returns no match for them.

How often does the place of service list change?

Occasionally. CMS lists effective dates in the code set: 58 became available on January 1, 2020, 27, 49 and 57 on October 1, 2023, and 66 on August 1, 2024. The CMS page was last modified on February 17, 2026 and its database was updated on May 2, 2024.

Does the place of service code decide how much I am paid?

It can, because payers attach facility and non-facility rates to settings. CMS says Medicare pays telehealth for patients at home at the non-facility rate. Beyond that, ask the payer or your Medicare Administrative Contractor, which is what CMS tells billers to do.