Acne VA Rating
The VA rates acne under diagnostic code 7828 and chloracne under 7829, both on the same 0 percent, 10 percent, 30 percent scale. Only deep acne (inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts) is compensable. Deep acne covering 40 percent or more of the face and neck reaches the 30 percent ceiling, paying $552.47/month in 2026.
Rating Criteria by Level
Acne is rated under the skin schedule at 38 CFR 4.118, DC 7828. Chloracne gets its own code, DC 7829, but uses word-for-word the same three-level scale. The dividing line is depth, not area: superficial acne is 0 percent no matter how widespread, while deep acne is compensable and then graded on how much of the face and neck it covers.
DC 7828 also carries an alternate-path instruction: the rater may evaluate acne as disfigurement of the head, face, or neck (DC 7800) or as scars (DC 7801 through 7805) when that is the predominant disability. DC 7800 runs to 80 percent, so veterans with severe cystic scarring should ask that the disfigurement path be considered rather than accepting the 30 percent acne ceiling. See how the VA rates scars for the mechanics of that scale.
How to Service-Connect Acne
Service connection needs a current diagnosis, an in-service event or exposure, and a medical nexus linking them. Acne claims usually run through one of three routes:
Acne was diagnosed and treated during service and appears in your service treatment records. Sick call visits for cystic acne, an isotretinoin or doxycycline prescription, or a dermatology consult while on active duty are the documentation raters look for. Continuity of symptoms since separation carries the claim the rest of the way.
Chloracne and other acneform diseases consistent with chloracne are presumptive for herbicide-exposed veterans under 38 CFR 3.309(e). No nexus opinion is needed, but the condition must have become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year of the last exposure. See the full Agent Orange presumptive list.
Corticosteroids, lithium, and several anticonvulsants cause acneform eruptions. If you take one of those for a condition that is already service connected, a nexus opinion tying the drug to the skin eruption establishes secondary service connection. Steroid treatment for a service-connected respiratory condition or chronic skin disease is a common path.
What Happens at Your C&P Exam
The VA schedules a compensation and pension exam using the skin diseases DBQ. For an acne claim, the examiner will typically:
- Classify the lesions as superficial or deep, which is the single finding that decides whether you are compensable at all
- Estimate the percentage of the face and neck affected, and note involvement of the chest, back, shoulders, or buttocks
- Record whether any systemic therapy (oral antibiotics, isotretinoin, corticosteroids) has been required in the past 12 months
- Photograph or describe residual scarring, pitting, hyperpigmentation, and any disfigurement of the head, face, or neck
- Note the frequency and duration of flares, since acne is an intermittent condition
- Provide a nexus opinion if secondary or chloracne-based connection is claimed
Bring dated photographs taken during a flare. Acne is the classic condition where a good skin day at the exam produces an unfairly low rating, and 38 CFR 4.1 requires the rater to consider the disability over its full history, not just the snapshot in the exam room. Dermatology treatment notes showing recurrence over months do the same work.
Secondary Conditions to Acne
Once acne is service connected, conditions it caused or worsened can be filed as secondary claims. Each carries its own rating and raises your combined percentage.
Cystic acne scarring evaluated under DC 7800 for disfigurement of the head, face, or neck. Rated 10 to 80 percent based on the number of characteristics of disfigurement present. Often pays more than the acne code itself.
Pitted, deep, or painful acne scars on the trunk rated under DC 7801 through 7805 by area, stability, and pain. Unstable or painful scars are compensable regardless of size.
Visible facial disfigurement is a recognized driver of depressive disorder and social withdrawal. Rated 0 to 100 percent on the general mental disorders formula.
Chronic self-consciousness from facial scarring can support an anxiety disorder claim on the same mental health scale as depression.
A deep follicular condition that frequently coexists with severe nodulocystic acne. Rated on the skin schedule by area involved and systemic therapy required.