90834 vs 90837 CPT Codes: A Therapist's Billing Guide

What are 90834 and 90837?

90834 and 90837 are CPT codes for individual psychotherapy sessions. The difference is time: 90834 covers a 45-minute session and 90837 covers a 60-minute session.

Getting the code right matters because it is tied to reimbursement — 90837 typically pays noticeably more than 90834 — and because misusing the codes is a compliance risk.

The time rules that matter

• 90834: 38 to 52 minutes of direct patient contact (billed as the 45-minute code).
• 90837: 53 minutes or more (billed as the 60-minute code).
• 90832: 16 to 37 minutes (the 30-minute code).
• Time is measured in face-to-face, direct contact with the patient — not charting, not breaks.
• Always confirm your payer's policies; some payers and Medicare have additional rules.

Documenting time correctly

Your progress note should support the code you billed. Record the session start and end time, the total duration, and the direct patient contact involved. If you bill 90837, the note should reflect a session long enough to justify it.

Consistent documentation protects you in an audit. A payer reviewer should be able to match the code to the time in the note without guessing.

Common billing mistakes

• Billing 90837 for 45-minute sessions because the rate is higher.
• Rounding time up instead of using the actual duration.
• Forgetting add-on codes (90833, 90836, 90838) when psychotherapy is provided with an evaluation and management service.
• Billing two psychotherapy codes for one session.
• Not documenting start/end times, so the code can't be justified in an audit.