VA Scar Ratings and Disfigurement: Live DC 7800 to 7805

Which code you are actually in

Location and depth decide the first code. Pain and instability can add 7804. Leftover functional effects go to 7805 or to the joint, muscle, or nerve code that already describes them.

Head, face, or neck starts at 7800. Deep body scars are 7801. Superficial body scars are 7802 (one compensable row). Unstable or painful scars are 7804, including scars already evaluated under 7800-7802 or 7805 when applicable. Leftover effects are 7805, a pointer, not a second ROM rating.

Live DC 7800: head, face, or neck

Fetched from 38 CFR 4.118, eCFR issue date 2026-08-10.

7800 Burn scar(s) of the head, face, or neck; scar(s) of the head, face, or neck due to other causes; or other disfigurement of the head, face, or neck

Live Note (1) lists the eight characteristics of disfigurement:

1. Scar 5 or more inches (13 or more cm) in length.
2. Scar at least one-quarter inch (0.6 cm) wide at the widest part.
3. Surface contour elevated or depressed on palpation.
4. Scar adherent to underlying tissue.
5. Skin hypo- or hyper-pigmented in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm).
6. Skin texture abnormal (irregular, atrophic, shiny, scaly, etc.) in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm).
7. Underlying soft tissue missing in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm).
8. Skin indurated and inflexible in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm).

Note (2): auricle tissue loss is DC 6207; anatomical loss of an eye is 6061 or 6063. Note (4): separately evaluate pain, instability, and muscle or nerve residuals, then combine under 4.25. Note (5): characteristics may come from one scar or several. One characteristic is 10 percent. It requires a measurement, not a dramatic photo.

Live DC 7801: deep scars, not head/face/neck

7801 Burn scar(s) or scar(s) due to other causes, not of the head, face, or neck, that are associated with underlying soft tissue damage

Notes (1) and (2): the six zones are each extremity, anterior trunk, and posterior trunk. Separate evaluations may be assigned per affected zone and combined under 4.25, or areas from multiple zones may be added if that produces a higher evaluation.

Deep means associated with underlying soft tissue damage. A paper-thin surgical line with no tissue loss is not 7801.

Live DC 7802: superficial scars, not head/face/neck

7802 Burn scar(s) or scar(s) due to other causes, not of the head, face, or neck, that are not associated with underlying soft tissue damage

That is the only percentage row on live 7802. A small, flat, painless, stable, superficial scar on the arm is often 0 under this code. The compensable work, if any, is usually 7804 (pain or instability) or 7805 (other effects), not a 7802 area argument about a two-inch line.

Live DC 7804: unstable or painful

7804 Scar(s), unstable or painful

Note (1): an unstable scar is one where, for any reason, there is frequent loss of covering of skin over the scar.

Note (2): if one or more scars are both unstable and painful, add 10 percent to the evaluation that is based on the total number of unstable or painful scars.

Note (3): scars evaluated under 7800, 7801, 7802, or 7805 may also receive an evaluation under 7804 when applicable.

This is the code that pays a painful or unstable scar when the area is too small for 7801/7802. One painful scar is 10, not 30. Five is 30. Both unstable and painful on the same scar adds 10 to that count-based number.

Live DC 7805: other effects

7805 Scars, other; and other effects of scars evaluated under 7800, 7801, 7802, or 7804

Evaluate any disabling effect(s) not considered in a rating provided under 7800 to 7804 under an appropriate diagnostic code.

That is the whole code. It is a pointer. Limitation of motion goes to the joint code. Muscle damage goes to the muscle code. Nerve damage goes to the nerve code. 7805 is how the schedule says "do not leave a real functional loss unrated just because you already measured the scar."

Stacking with the underlying injury, without pyramiding

A gunshot, a burn, a laparotomy, a joint replacement, or a craniotomy can produce both an underlying disability and a scar. Live 7800 Note (4) and 7805 exist because those are often different manifestations: the face is distorted, and the scar is painful, and the muscle does not fire.

4.14 still forbids evaluating the same manifestation under two diagnoses. If the only reason the shoulder will not flex is a contracted scar, you rate that limitation once, usually under the joint or under 7805 pointing to the joint, not under 5201 and again as a 7801 area bonus for the same tightness.

A clean stack is a joint, muscle, or nerve code for functional loss, a 7800/7801/7802 evaluation for disfigurement or area, and 7804 for scar pain or instability that the joint code is not already using. A dirty stack is the same tenderness used as 4.59 painful motion and as 7804, or the same contracture used as 5201 and as 7805. Measure first. Then decide which sentence in the schedule is describing that measurement.

Evidence that belongs in the file

Location, length, width, area, depth, the 7800 characteristics, unretouched color photographs for the face and neck, pain or instability and how many scars have those features, leftover functional effects, and the injury or operative record if service connection is still open. A ruler photo beats a filtered selfie.

What the C&P actually measures

The scars exam is a tape-measure exam with a pain-and-stability checklist. Expect each scar located and measured, zone assignment, palpation for contour and adherence, pigment and texture, pain and breakdown, photographs for the face and neck, and leftover motion effects.

The examiner is not scoring how you feel about the scar. 7800 is a characteristic count. 7804 is presence, number, and the unstable-and-painful add-on. "Unstable" means frequent loss of covering of skin over the scar. Tender is not automatically unstable.

Quick answers

Is DC 7803 still a scar code?

Not in the live 4.118 table I pulled. The current scar block is 7800, 7801, 7802, 7804, and 7805.

Can a painful scar be rated in addition to a 7800 disfigurement rating?

Yes, when applicable. 7800 Note (4) and 7804 Note (3) both allow a separate evaluation for pain or instability. Combine under 4.25. Do not use the same manifestation twice.

How big does a superficial body scar have to be for 7802?

144 square inches (929 sq. cm) or greater for the only compensable 7802 row, 10 percent. Smaller superficial scars, if compensable at all, are usually 7804 or 7805 facts.

What is a "deep" scar?

7801 language: associated with underlying soft tissue damage. That is the depth gate, not a poetic description.

Can I rate the scar and the joint?

Yes, when they are different manifestations. The joint (or muscle or nerve) takes the functional loss. The scar codes take area, disfigurement, pain, or instability that the joint code is not already using. 4.14 is the brake.

Does a 10 percent scar change compensation by a fixed dollar amount?

Not as a sentence I will print here. Combined math is 4.25 and the percentages-chart post, not 4.118.

Sources

• 38 CFR 4.118, DCs 7800 to 7805: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/part-4/section-4.118
• 38 CFR 4.14: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/part-4/section-4.14
• 38 CFR 4.25 (combined ratings)
• 38 CFR 4.71a (when 7805 points to a joint code)

Educational content only. Not legal or medical advice. Confirm against the veteran's actual notice and current eCFR / VA.gov. For claim-specific help, use a VA-accredited VSO, claims agent, or attorney.