Special rating instructions

• General Rating Formula For The Skin For DCs 7806, 7809, 7813-7816, 7820-7822, and 7824:
• Characteristic lesions involving more than 40 percent of the entire body or more than 40 percent of exposed areas affected; or
• Characteristic lesions involving 20 to 40 percent of the entire body or 20 to 40 percent of exposed areas affected; or Systemic therapy including, but not limited to, corticosteroids, phototherapy, retinoids, biologics, photochemotherapy, PUVA, or other immunosuppressive drugs required for a total duration of 6 weeks or more, but not constantly, over the past 12-month period
• Characteristic lesions involving at least 5 percent, but less than 20 percent, of the entire body affected; or
• At least 5 percent, but less than 20 percent, of exposed areas affected; or
• Intermittent systemic therapy including, but not limited to, corticosteroids, phototherapy, retinoids, biologics, photochemotherapy, PUVA, or other immunosuppressive drugs required for a total duration of less than 6 weeks over the past 12-month period
• Characteristic lesions involving less than 5 percent of the entire body affected; or
• Characteristic lesions involving less than 5 percent of exposed areas affected
• Or rate as disfigurement of the head, face, or neck (DC 7800) or scars (DCs 7801, 7802, 7804, or 7805), depending upon the predominant disability. This rating instruction does not apply to DC 7824

Body system and anatomy metadata

Body system: Skin

Anatomy / region tags: multi region

These tags support discovery and body-map compatibility. They do not establish Veteran-specific laterality or entitlement.

Official VA DBQ references

DBQ catalog: va-dbq-2026.09.16 · Retrieved 2026-09-16. Official VA inventory ↗

• Scars ↗ Related resourceCatalog category: Dermatological

  Related by body system only. No reviewed condition-specific form match or requirement has been established.

• Skin Diseases ↗ Related resourceCatalog category: Dermatological

  Related by body system only. No reviewed condition-specific form match or requirement has been established.

VA maintains some examination forms that are not available for public use. VMC does not infer a one-code-to-one-DBQ relationship.

Evidence information

When reviewing the criteria, useful evidence categories can include diagnosis and treatment records, objective testing identified by the schedule, documented frequency/duration/severity when the criteria use those concepts, and functional effects described in medical or lay evidence. The relevant evidence depends on the actual claim and medical facts.

VMC does not diagnose conditions, guarantee a percentage, or advise anyone to exaggerate symptoms.