Dry Eye VA Rating

Dry eye syndrome, clinically keratoconjunctivitis sicca, is a common eye claim with one structural quirk: it has no diagnostic code of its own. There is no line in 38 CFR § 4.79 (opens in a new tab) that reads "dry eye." Under 38 CFR § 4.20 (opens in a new tab), VA rates an unlisted condition by analogy to a listed one with closely related functions, location and symptoms. In the 2025 Board decisions I reviewed, the code doing that work was most often DC 6025, disorders of the lacrimal apparatus.

DC 6025 is short. Dry eye in one eye rates 10 percent, and dry eye in both eyes rates 20 percent, the most the code allows. A smaller group of ratings use DC 6018, chronic conjunctivitis, which gives a 10 percent minimum while the disease is active. Going above 20 percent takes something else: measured visual impairment, or documented clinic visits for treatment, under the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye.

This page covers which code VA uses and what each level pays, how to rate higher, how to prove service connection (including dry eye from medications you take for a service-connected condition, Sjogren's syndrome, eyelid disease and eye surgery), the C&P exam, and why VA denies these claims.

TL;DR

• Dry eye syndrome (keratoconjunctivitis sicca) has no diagnostic code of its own. VA rates it by analogy under 38 CFR § 4.20 (opens in a new tab), most often to DC 6025 (disorders of the lacrimal apparatus) in 38 CFR § 4.79 (opens in a new tab).
• Under DC 6025, dry eye in one eye rates 10 percent and dry eye in both eyes rates 20 percent. Twenty percent is the most DC 6025 allows.
• Some ratings use DC 6018 (chronic conjunctivitis) instead. Active disease rates at least 10 percent, and inactive disease is rated on residuals such as visual impairment.
• A rating above 20 percent needs the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye: visual impairment, or 5 or more clinic visits specifically for treatment in the past 12 months.
• Common secondary chains under § 3.310 (opens in a new tab): dry eye from medications taken for a service-connected condition, from Sjogren's syndrome, from eyelid disease, and from refractive eye surgery.
• A ruling is one issue the Board decided in one decision; one decision often rules on several issues. Across 1,532 decided Board rulings on dry eye from 2021 to 2026, 30.5% were granted, 25.7% denied and 43.7% remanded. Remand is the most common outcome, close to the Board-wide 45.3 percent, and the grant rate is 5.8 points above the Board-wide 24.7 percent.

Dry eye VA rating criteria (DC 6025)

The eye schedule in § 4.79 is organized around named diagnoses, and dry eye is not one of them. The current eye criteria took effect May 13, 2018, and they still have no dry eye line. So the rating runs through an analogy, and the code VA picks sets the ceiling.

The VA diagnostic code for dry eye syndrome

When a condition has no code, 38 CFR § 4.27 (opens in a new tab) has VA build one from the first two digits of the body system plus "99," and a decision often adds the code used for the rating after a hyphen. That is why a dry eye rating decision may read "6099-6025." In a January 2025 decision, the Board wrote that dry eye "is not a condition specifically listed in the rating schedule" and kept the veteran at 20 percent under DC 6025 (Board citation A25001655). The code itself reads this way.

6025 Disorders of the lacrimal apparatus (epiphora, dacryocystitis, etc.):

Bilateral, 20%

Unilateral, 10%

Some ratings use DC 6018, chronic conjunctivitis, instead. Under DC 6018, active disease is evaluated under the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye with a minimum of 10 percent, and inactive disease is rated on residuals such as visual impairment or disfigurement. A 2025 decision, for example, lists a veteran's dry eye syndrome at 10 percent under DC 6018 (Board citation A25007772).

Bilateral dry eye: 10 or 20 percent

Under DC 6025, the only question is whether one eye or both are affected. In a February 2025 decision, the Board granted a 20 percent rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome shown by dryness, irritation, excessive tearing and redness in both eyes (Board citation 25002893). In another case, VA rated dry eye in the left eye at 10 percent, raised it to 20 percent once dry eye was rated in both eyes, and the Board later granted service connection for the right eye for the earlier period too (Board citation 25006670). The record should name the diagnosis in each eye, not just "dry eye."

A rating under DC 6018 can stop at its 10 percent minimum even when both eyes are affected. If your record shows a tear-film problem in both eyes and you are rated 10 percent under DC 6018, it is worth asking whether DC 6025 is the closer analogy.

Rating dry eye above 20 percent

Twenty percent is the ceiling under DC 6025, so a higher rating has to come from the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye, the formula DC 6018 uses for active disease. It takes whichever is higher: visual impairment caused by the condition, or documented incapacitating episodes. An incapacitating episode is an eye condition severe enough to require a clinic visit to a provider specifically for treatment. One or two such visits in the past 12 months rate 10 percent, three or four rate 20 percent, five or six rate 40 percent, and seven or more rate 60 percent.

In the January 2025 decision that kept a veteran at 20 percent, the Board pointed out that the veteran's vision and visual fields were normal and there were no incapacitating episodes, so nothing supported a rating under the general formula (Board citation A25001655). If you have measured vision loss from the dry eye, or frequent clinic visits for treatment, the record has to show each one.

How much VA pays for dry eye

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

• 10% (one eye under DC 6025) pays $180.42 a month.
• 20% (both eyes under DC 6025) pays $356.66 a month.
• 40% and 60% under the General Rating Formula pay $795.84 and $1,435.02 a month.

VA pays by your combined rating, so a dry eye rating adds money only when it changes the combined percentage.

How to prove dry eye is service connected

Dry eye can be connected directly or as a secondary condition. Either way, you need a current diagnosis from an eye clinician and a reasoned link.

Direct service connection

A direct claim needs a current diagnosis, an in-service start or event, and a medical link between them. Service treatment records showing eye complaints or treatment are the core. An in-service exposure can be the event: in one 2025 decision, the Board granted service connection for dry eye in the right eye after a VA examiner explained that herbicide exposure to the eyes can disrupt the tear film (Board citation 25006670). That was a direct claim decided on its facts, not a presumption.

Refractive surgery is another in-service event worth checking. LASIK and similar corneal surgery can cause dry eye by cutting corneal nerves (PMID 28736341). If you had the surgery in service, that is the event a direct claim builds on.

Dry eye secondary to medication

Several common drug classes are linked to dry eye, including antihistamines, beta-blockers, antipsychotics, antidepressants and isotretinoin (PMID 41025570). That is an association, not proof for any one veteran. Under 38 CFR § 3.310 (opens in a new tab), dry eye caused by a medication you take for a service-connected condition can be service connected, and so can dry eye aggravated by it, meaning it would be less severe but for that medication (Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995)). The opinion has to name the drug, when you started it, and why it explains your dry eye better than age or another cause. Common chains are an antidepressant for service-connected PTSD or depression, and a beta-blocker for service-connected hypertension. Secondary conditions to PTSD, secondary conditions to depression and secondary conditions to hypertension list the other claims built on those conditions.

Other secondary chains

Sjogren's syndrome. Sjogren's is an autoimmune disease that mainly affects glands such as the salivary and tear glands (PMID 31634487). Where Sjogren's is service connected, the dry eye it causes can follow as a secondary condition.

Eyelid disease. Blepharitis and meibomian gland dysfunction are diseases of the eyelid margin (PMID 38350160), and meibomian gland findings are one of the ways eye clinicians classify dry eye as the evaporative type (PMID 28736342). Service-connected eyelid disease can support a secondary dry eye theory when the opinion explains the mechanism.

For any of these chains, a bare "dry eye is related to the veteran's medications" is not enough. The opinion has to identify the mechanism, address the time course, and account for other causes.

The dry eye C&P exam

Under 38 CFR § 4.75(b) (opens in a new tab), an eye exam for VA must be done by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist. A complete dry eye exam records these items.

• The diagnosis for each eye, since DC 6025 turns on one eye versus both.
• Tear tests: tear breakup time, staining of the eye surface with fluorescein or lissamine green, and tear volume, such as a Schirmer test (PMID 28736342).
• Signs of eyelid disease, such as meibomian gland dysfunction or blepharitis.
• Corrected visual acuity for each eye, and visual-field testing when medically indicated.
• Current treatment, such as artificial tears, prescription anti-inflammatory drops like cyclosporine or lifitegrast (PMID 32175799), or punctal plugs that block tear drainage (PMID 30337332).
• Every clinic visit for treatment in the past 12 months, with what was done.

The tear tests do not change the DC 6025 percentage, but they make the diagnosis hard to dispute. Section 4.20 warns against analogous ratings for conditions "not fully supported by clinical and laboratory findings," and a missing current diagnosis is one of the reasons the Board denies dry eye claims. If your exam is coming up, C&P exam prep helps you check what the examiner is supposed to test.

Why VA denies dry eye claims

Across 1,532 decided Board rulings on dry eye from 2021 to 2026, 30.5% were granted, 25.7% denied and 43.7% remanded. The grant rate is 5.8 points above the Board-wide 24.7%, and remand is the most common outcome, close to the Board-wide 45.3 percent. When the Board denied service connection, it most often found no link between the dry eye and service. When it sent claims back, the most common reason was a VA exam or opinion that was not adequate. Appeals for a higher rating were granted more often than appeals for service connection, so getting dry eye connected is usually the harder step, and the medical opinion the Board relied on tracked the outcome closely. The Board section below shows how often each part of the claim failed, why claims were sent back, how service connection and higher-rating appeals compared, what the Board did with medical opinions, and how direct, secondary and presumptive claims fared. The same gaps repeat in the decisions.

No link to service. Dry eye that first shows up years after separation, with no in-service eye treatment and no reasoned opinion, has nothing tying it to service. Often the link was available as a secondary claim: the veteran takes a medication for a service-connected condition that is known to cause dry eye, or has service-connected Sjogren's, but no one connected the two.

No current diagnosis. Complaints of dryness and burning without an eye clinician's diagnosis, or a diagnosis with no supporting findings, give the rater little to rate.

Only one eye documented. Under DC 6025, the difference between one eye and both is 10 versus 20 percent. If both eyes are affected and the exam names only one, the rating follows the exam.

Treatment visits not documented. A rating above 20 percent through the general formula needs each clinic visit for treatment in the record, with the date and what was done. Drops bought over the counter and used at home do not count as visits.

The narrower code applied. A DC 6018 rating can stay at 10 percent for disease in both eyes, while DC 6025 rates both eyes at 20 percent. The record should make clear which problem drives your symptoms so the closer analogy gets used.

Questions veterans ask about dry eye

What is the VA rating for dry eye syndrome?

Most dry eye is rated by analogy under DC 6025, at 10 percent for one eye and 20 percent for both. A higher rating needs visual impairment or 5 or more clinic visits for treatment in a year under the general eye formula.

What is the VA diagnostic code for dry eye syndrome?

Dry eye has no code of its own. VA usually rates it under DC 6025, often written as 6099-6025 to show an analogous rating, and sometimes under DC 6018 for chronic conjunctivitis.

What is the VA rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome?

Bilateral dry eye rates 20 percent under DC 6025, the most that code allows. At the 2026 rates, 20 percent pays $356.66 a month for a veteran with no dependents.

Can dry eye be secondary to PTSD medication?

Yes, if a medical opinion explains how a medication you take for service-connected PTSD or depression caused or worsened your dry eye. Antidepressants are among the drugs linked to dry eye, but the opinion still has to address your own records.

Is dry eye a presumptive condition for veterans?

No. Dry eye is not on the Agent Orange list in 38 CFR § 3.309(e) or the burn pit list in § 3.320, so you prove it directly or as secondary to a service-connected condition.

Bottom Line

Dry eye has no diagnostic code of its own, so VA rates it by analogy, most often under DC 6025: 10 percent for one eye and 20 percent for both, which is the ceiling for that code. Going higher takes the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye, with measured visual impairment or documented clinic visits for treatment. The harder step is usually service connection: a current diagnosis in each affected eye, an in-service start or a secondary chain such as a medication you take for a service-connected condition, and an opinion that explains the link. Same condition, different paper trail, different outcome.

Related Conditions

Dry eye claims sit alongside the other vision pages, and the same § 4.79 framework carries across them. Chronic conjunctivitis is the code some raters use for dry eye, and cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy share the eye rating schedule and its emphasis on measured findings. If your dry eye traces back to a medication or an upstream condition, work through the secondary conditions tool before filing it as a direct claim, and use the evidence checklist so the diagnosis for each eye, the tear tests and your treatment visits all make it into the record.

Methodology and Limitations

• Data source: Rating criteria from 38 CFR § 4.79 (opens in a new tab) (DC 6018, DC 6025 and the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye), with analogous ratings and code numbers under § 4.20 (opens in a new tab) and § 4.27 and the exam rule in § 4.75, checked against the eCFR text current to October 2, 2026. The current eye criteria took effect May 13, 2018 (83 FR 15316). Secondary service connection from § 3.310 (opens in a new tab), with aggravation under Allen v. Brown. Board practice from 2025 decisions A25001655, 25002893, 25006670 and A25007772. Medical background from PubMed abstracts (PMIDs 41025570, 31634487, 28736341, 28736342, 38350160, 32175799 and 30337332).
• Sample size: Patterns in this post are drawn from Claim Raven's read of every Board decision from 2021 to 2026 that it holds: 511,036 decisions containing 1,378,030 rulings, including 1,681 Board rulings on dry eye (1,532 decided). Among the decided rulings, outcomes ran 30.5% granted, 25.7% denied, and 43.7% remanded. The grant rate counts granted rulings over granted, denied and remanded rulings; dismissed and withdrawn rulings are left out. The Board section on this page breaks these down by denial reason, remand reason, appeal type, medical opinion, claim theory and era; those figures are computed from the data, not typed here.
• Classification approach: Code and analogy framework drawn from the regulatory text. The one-eye-versus-both-eyes distinction follows DC 6025, and the active-versus-inactive distinction follows DC 6018. Which code the Board used comes from a read of 2025 Board decisions that discuss dry eye.
• Limitations:
• Because dry eye is rated by analogy, the controlling code can vary by case, and the figures on this page do not split results by diagnostic code.
• Compensation amounts reflect the 2026 rates for a single veteran with no dependents and change annually with COLA.
• Medication studies cited here show associations, not proof that a drug caused a particular veteran's dry eye.
• Selection bias: BVA-level patterns reflect cases that appealed. Most dry eye claims resolve at the RO level and are not in any BVA dataset.
• These observations reflect patterns from the regulatory text and BVA decisions. They are not predictions of individual outcomes.