Acne VA Rating

Acne is rated under 38 CFR § 4.118 (opens in a new tab), Diagnostic Code 7828, and the ceiling is low. The highest rating the acne code itself can produce is 30 percent, and getting there requires deep acne over 40 percent or more of the face and neck. Superficial acne rates 0 percent however widespread it is. For a claim read only under the acne code, that ceiling is the whole story.

The part many acne claims miss is the scarring. Acne that has cleared can still leave permanent scars on the face, and the regulation lets the rater evaluate the condition as disfigurement of the head, face, or neck (DC 7800) or as scars instead, depending on the predominant disability. The disfigurement code runs to 80 percent, and a painful scar rating under DC 7804 can sit on top of it. A veteran focused on whether the acne is "active" can leave the higher-value scar rating on the table.

There is also a separate pathway for veterans exposed to herbicides. Chloracne has its own code, DC 7829, and it is an Agent Orange presumptive condition under 38 CFR § 3.309(e) (opens in a new tab), with a strict one-year timing rule. This page covers DC 7828 and what each level pays, the scar and disfigurement alternative, chloracne, service connection, the C&P exam, and why VA denies acne claims.

TL;DR

• Acne is rated under 38 CFR § 4.118, DC 7828. The rating turns on whether the acne is "deep" or superficial, and on the percent of the face and neck involved.
• Deep acne (deep inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts) over 40 percent or more of the face and neck rates at 30 percent. Deep acne under 40 percent, or deep acne in areas other than the face and neck, rates at 10 percent. Superficial acne (comedones, papules, pustules) of any extent rates at 0 percent.
• The acne code caps at 30 percent. That low ceiling is the central fact of an acne claim.
• Acne can also be rated as disfigurement of the head, face, or neck (DC 7800) or as scars (DCs 7801, 7802, 7804 or 7805), depending on the predominant disability. DC 7800 runs to 80 percent, and painful or unstable scars can add a DC 7804 rating.
• Chloracne is a distinct code, DC 7829, with an extra 20 percent level for deep acne in skin folds and similar areas. It is an Agent Orange presumptive condition under § 3.309(e), but it must have reached at least 10 percent within a year after your last herbicide exposure in service.
• Photographs documenting flares and scarring are the single most useful piece of evidence in an acne file.
• A ruling is one issue the Board decided in one decision; one decision often rules on several issues. Across 1,115 decided Board rulings on acne from 2021 to 2026, 18.4% were granted, 36.9% denied and 44.8% remanded, so remand is the most common outcome.

Acne VA rating criteria (DC 7828)

The acne code lives in the skin section of 38 CFR § 4.118. It has three levels, and the rating turns on two things: the type of acne (deep versus superficial) and the body area involved.

30 percent: Deep acne (deep inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts) affecting 40 percent or more of the face and neck

10 percent: Deep acne (deep inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts) affecting less than 40 percent of the face and neck, or deep acne other than on the face and neck

0 percent: Superficial acne (comedones, papules, pustules) of any extent

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

There is no acne level above 30 percent. That ceiling is why the scar and disfigurement alternative, covered below, is so often the more valuable analysis.

Deep versus superficial acne

The deep-versus-superficial line is the hinge of the whole acne rating, and it is where a sparse exam costs a veteran the most. Deep acne is the nodulocystic form: inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts below the skin surface that tend to scar. Superficial acne is blackheads, whiteheads, and small papules and pustules. Under DC 7828, superficial acne of any extent rates 0 percent. That surprises veterans who have visible, persistent breakouts but no deep nodular component.

This means the examiner's description of the lesions does more work than almost anything else in the file. If the exam records "scattered comedones and papules," the rating is 0 percent no matter how much of the face is involved. If it records "deep inflamed nodules and cysts," 10 or 30 percent is on the table.

10 versus 30 percent: the face and neck line

The jump from 10 to 30 percent depends on whether the deep acne covers 40 percent or more of the face and neck. Deep acne that covers less of the face and neck, or deep acne anywhere else (the back, chest, or shoulders, for example), rates 10 percent. A veteran with severe cystic acne across the back and chest but a relatively clear face is looking at 10 percent under DC 7828, not 30.

The 40 percent figure is an area estimate, and area estimates are exactly what a rushed exam approximates or skips. When the exam documents deep acne but never estimates the share of the face and neck involved, the rating tends to stay at the lower level because the higher one was never supported.

How much VA pays for acne

For a single veteran with no dependents at the 2026 rates (effective December 1, 2025), the acne levels pay as follows.

• 10% pays $180.42 a month.
• 30% pays $552.47 a month, the most the acne code can reach.
• Rated instead as disfigurement under DC 7800, 50% pays $1,132.90 and 80% pays $2,102.15 a month.

VA pays by your combined rating, so an acne or scar rating adds money only when it changes the combined percentage.

Acne scars and disfigurement: when they pay more

Acne, especially the deep cystic form, leaves permanent scarring, and the regulation does not limit the rating to the active acne. It directs that the condition be rated as acne under DC 7828, as disfigurement of the head, face, or neck under DC 7800, or as scars under DCs 7801, 7802, 7804, or 7805, depending upon the predominant disability.

DC 7800 is graded on visible or palpable tissue loss with distortion of facial features, or on the number of "characteristics of disfigurement" present. Note 1 to DC 7800 lists eight, among them a scar 5 or more inches long, a scar at least one-quarter inch wide, a surface contour elevated or depressed on palpation, a scar adherent to underlying tissue, and skin that is abnormal in texture, or lighter or darker in color, over more than six square inches. One characteristic rates 10 percent, two or three rate 30 percent, four or five rate 50 percent, and six or more rate 80 percent. Facial acne scarring can meet several of these, and Note 3 tells the rater to consider unretouched color photographs.

DC 7804 rates scars that are painful or unstable: 10 percent for one or two, 20 percent for three or four, and 30 percent for five or more. Its Note 3 says scars rated under DC 7800 may also receive a DC 7804 rating. In a January 2025 decision, the Board kept a veteran's cystic acne at 30 percent under DC 7800 for three characteristics of disfigurement and granted a separate 30 percent under DC 7804 for symptoms it found analogous to painful scarring of the face, neck and trunk (Board citation 25000442).

The reason this gets missed is structural. A claim filed as "acne" gets examined as acne, and the scarring never gets measured on its own. Under Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009), a mental health case, the scope of a claim is defined by the veteran's description, the reported symptoms and the other information of record, not just the label on the form. In one case, an earlier Board denial was vacated on appeal because the Board had limited its discussion to DC 7828 without asking whether another code would rate higher; when the Board decided the case again in June 2025, it granted a separate rating for the acne scars (Board citation 25007974). If your acne has scarred your face, the disfigurement and scar codes may be the main event.

Chloracne VA rating and Agent Orange

Chloracne is not the same thing as common acne, and it does not share the acne code. It has its own diagnostic code, DC 7829, and it is an Agent Orange presumptive condition.

Chloracne is an acne-like skin disease that is the hallmark of exposure to the dioxin TCDD (Panteleyev and Bickers, Experimental Dermatology, 2006, PMID 16881967). TCDD was the contaminant in 2,4,5-T, one of the herbicide agents named in 38 CFR § 3.307(a)(6) (opens in a new tab). DC 7829 uses the same 0, 10 and 30 percent levels as DC 7828, plus a 20 percent level for deep acne in the intertriginous areas: the armpits, the anogenital region, the skin folds of the breasts, or between digits.

The one-year rule for chloracne

Most diseases on the § 3.309(e) herbicide list can appear at any time after service. Chloracne is one of three exceptions. Under § 3.307(a)(6)(ii), chloracne or other acneform disease consistent with chloracne must have become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within a year after the last date you were exposed to an herbicide agent in service.

That timing rule is the catch. For a Vietnam veteran, the one-year window closed decades ago, so the presumption needs evidence that the condition appeared and reached a compensable level within that year. Under § 3.307(b), that proof can come from medical records or from lay evidence describing what was observed at the time. A veteran whose acne first appeared years later generally does not get the presumption, though direct service connection on the facts remains available.

If you served where herbicide exposure is presumed (Vietnam service between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 is one qualifying route) and had an acne-like eruption within that first year, raise chloracne under DC 7829 and § 3.309(e) rather than defaulting to a generic acne claim. The Board section below shows how direct and presumptive acne claims compared.

Is acne service connected?

There is no presumption for ordinary acne, so a DC 7828 claim connects on the facts. Three routes come up.

Acne that began in service. Service treatment records that show acne visits, dermatology referrals or prescriptions during service are the core of a direct claim, along with a current diagnosis and a medical link.

Acne that existed before service and got worse. If acne was not noted at your entrance exam, VA presumes you entered service in sound condition unless clear and unmistakable evidence shows it existed before service and was not aggravated by it (38 CFR § 3.304(b)). If it was noted, the question is aggravation: under § 3.306, a preexisting condition that increased in severity during service is service connected unless the increase was due to its natural progress.

Acne caused by medication for a service-connected condition. Several drugs are associated with acne-like eruptions, including corticosteroids, anabolic steroids, testosterone, some anticonvulsants, antipsychotics and antidepressants (Momin and colleagues, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2010, PMID 20645524). That is an association. A secondary claim under 38 CFR § 3.310 still needs an opinion that the medication you take for a service-connected condition caused your acne, or aggravated it, meaning the acne would be less severe but for that medication.

The acne C&P exam

The skin C&P exam for acne uses the Skin Diseases DBQ, and the rating depends almost entirely on what the examiner records. A thorough exam documents each of these points.

• The type of lesions (deep inflamed nodules and cysts versus superficial comedones, papules, and pustules)
• The body areas involved, with particular attention to the face and neck
• An estimate of the percentage of the face and neck affected, because that separates 10 and 30 percent
• Whether scarring is present, and its location, size, and characteristics
• Any characteristics of disfigurement relevant to DC 7800, and any painful or unstable scars for DC 7804
• Treatment history, including systemic medication

When the skin exam notes scarring, the examiner should also complete the Scars/Disfigurement DBQ. In a 2025 decision, the Board remanded an acne rating because the skin exam recorded scarring or disfigurement and no scars DBQ was completed, noting that DC 7828 allows a rating as disfigurement or scars (Board citation A25011664).

A persistent problem with skin exams is timing. Acne flares and remits, and the exam captures one day. If it falls during a quiet period, the examiner records minimal active disease and the rating reflects that snapshot rather than the condition at its worst. Your own dated photographs of the acne during flares give the rater evidence beyond the single clinic visit.

Why VA denies acne claims

Across 1,115 decided Board rulings on acne from 2021 to 2026, 18.4% were granted, 36.9% denied and 44.8% remanded. That grant rate is 6.3 points below the Board-wide 24.7%, and acne's denial share runs 6.9 points above the Board-wide 30.0%. When the Board denied acne service connection, it most often found no current diagnosis, and when it sent acne claims back, it most often found the VA exam or opinion inadequate. The Board section below shows how often each part of the claim failed, why claims were sent back, what happened after a remand, and how appeals for service connection and for a higher rating compared. The same gaps repeat in the decisions.

No current diagnosis on the day of the exam. Acne that is quiet at the exam, with no treatment records in between, can read as no current disability. Treatment records and dated photographs fill that gap.

Lesions never characterized as deep versus superficial. A record that just says "acne" or "facial breakouts" without describing nodules and cysts points the rating toward 0 percent.

Area of facial involvement not estimated. Deep acne documented without a percentage of the face and neck stays at 10 percent, because the 30 percent level was never supported.

The scarring is never separately claimed. The permanent facial scarring, which can be rated under DC 7800 or the scar codes for a higher evaluation, is never measured. In my read, this is the biggest value leak in an acne file.

No photographs of active flares. Without dated photographs, the examiner has only the day-of presentation to work with.

The chloracne pathway is missed. A veteran with qualifying herbicide exposure files a generic acne claim and never raises DC 7829 and § 3.309(e), or raises it without evidence that the eruption appeared within a year after the last exposure.

Questions veterans ask about acne

Can you get VA disability for acne?

Yes. Acne is rated under DC 7828 at 0, 10 or 30 percent, depending on whether it is deep or superficial and how much of the face and neck it covers. You still need a current diagnosis, an in-service onset or aggravation, and a medical link.

What is the VA rating for acne scars?

Acne scars on the head, face or neck can be rated as disfigurement under DC 7800, at 10, 30, 50 or 80 percent depending on tissue loss and the number of characteristics of disfigurement. Painful or unstable scars can receive a separate DC 7804 rating of 10 to 30 percent on top of that.

Can acne on my back be rated at 30 percent?

Not under DC 7828. The 30 percent level requires deep acne over 40 percent or more of the face and neck, so deep acne on the back, chest or shoulders rates 10 percent. Scars on the trunk are rated under the scar codes instead.

Is chloracne a presumptive condition for Agent Orange?

Yes, under 38 CFR § 3.309(e), but only if it became at least 10 percent disabling within a year after your last herbicide exposure in service. Chloracne that first appeared later has to be proven on a direct theory.

Can I be rated for acne and eczema at the same time?

Only if they affect separate areas of skin. Under 38 CFR § 4.118(b), two skin conditions on the same area of skin get only the higher rating.

Bottom Line

Acne ratings at the VA are constrained at the top. DC 7828 caps at 30 percent, and reaching even that requires deep cystic acne over 40 percent or more of the face and neck. The real value in many acne files is somewhere else: the permanent facial scarring, which can be rated as disfigurement under DC 7800, with painful scars rated under DC 7804, depending on the predominant disability. For veterans with herbicide exposure, the chloracne presumption under DC 7829 and § 3.309(e) can establish connection that a direct acne claim would have to fight for, if the eruption appeared within a year after the last exposure. The cases that do best characterize the lesions as deep, document the area of facial involvement, photograph active flares, and separately claim the scarring. Same condition, different paper trail, different rating.

Related Conditions

Acne sits in the same skin-rating framework as several other conditions and shares its core proof issues with them. The scar and disfigurement analysis that often drives an acne claim is the same one that matters in skin cancer claims, where surgical scarring and disfigurement of the head, face, or neck frequently outvalue the underlying lesion code. Acne also overlaps in evidence terms with eczema, another episodic skin condition where the timing of the C&P exam and photographs of active flares decide the rating. Because the scar codes carry the disfigurement and painful-scar analysis, the dedicated scars page is worth reviewing alongside any acne claim with facial scarring. Veterans with more than one skin condition should also review the secondary conditions tool before assuming a single acne rating tells the whole story.

Methodology and Limitations

• Data source: Rating criteria quoted from 38 CFR § 4.118, DC 7828 (acne) and DC 7829 (chloracne), with the alternative disfigurement code DC 7800 and scar codes DCs 7801, 7802, 7804 and 7805, checked against the eCFR text current to October 2, 2026. Agent Orange presumptive service connection from 38 CFR §§ 3.307(a)(6) and 3.309(e); soundness and aggravation from §§ 3.304(b) and 3.306; secondary service connection from § 3.310; separate skin areas from § 4.118(b). Claim-scope principle from Clemons v. Shinseki. Board examples are Board citations 25000442, 25007974 and A25011664.
• Sample size: Board figures in this post come from Claim Raven's read of every Board decision from 2021 to 2026 that it holds: 511,036 decisions containing 1,378,030 rulings. Of 1,255 Board rulings on acne, 1,115 were decided (granted, denied or remanded); the rest were dismissed, withdrawn or closed another way. Across 1,115 decided Board rulings on acne from 2021 to 2026, 18.4% were granted, 36.9% denied and 44.8% remanded. Board-wide, the grant rate on decided rulings is 24.7%. The Board section on this page breaks these down by denial reason, remand reason, outcome after remand, appeal type, claim theory and era; those figures are computed from the data, not typed here. The data captures the outcome of each ruling rather than a per-level (0, 10, 30 percent) breakdown, so I can't read the deep-versus-superficial split directly from it.
• Classification approach: Diagnostic code definitions drawn from the regulatory text. The deep-versus-superficial distinction and the area-of-involvement thresholds follow the language of DC 7828. The scar and disfigurement alternative follows the "depending upon the predominant disability" instruction in DC 7828.
• Limitations:
• Compensation amounts reflect the 2026 VA rate tables (effective December 1, 2025) for a single veteran with no dependents and change annually with COLA.
• The chloracne presumption under § 3.309(e) carries a strict timing requirement (manifest to at least 10 percent within a year after the last herbicide exposure) that many later-onset cases will not meet, even where direct service connection remains available.
• Whether acne is best rated under DC 7828, DC 7800, or the scar codes is fact-specific and turns on the individual record.
• Medication studies cited here show associations, not proof that a drug caused a particular veteran's acne.
• Selection bias: BVA-level patterns reflect cases that appealed. Most acne claims resolve at the RO level and aren't in any BVA dataset.
• These observations reflect patterns from the regulatory text and BVA decisions. They are not predictions of individual outcomes.