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Current 38 CFR § 4.114, Diagnostic Code 7307, does not contain a separate percentage table for chronic gastritis. It directs VA to rate the condition as peptic ulcer disease under DC 7304.
That current cross-reference matters because older articles may still use the former gastritis criteria based on eroded or ulcerated areas and hemorrhage. The digestive schedule changed effective May 19, 2024. Current DC 7304 focuses on episode duration and frequency, daily prescribed medication, bleeding, anemia, hospitalization, and surgery for perforation or hemorrhage.
TL;DR
- DC 7307 tells VA to rate chronic gastritis under DC 7304.
- The current levels are 0, 20, 40, 60, and a temporary 100 percent.
- The 20- and 40-percent levels require episodes lasting at least three consecutive days and managed by daily prescribed medication.
- The difference between 20 and 40 percent is whether those qualifying episodes occurred three times or less, or four or more times, in the past 12 months.
- The 60-percent level requires a severe combination including continuous pain, vomiting, recurrent bleeding, anemia, and hospitalization.
- The 100-percent level applies for three months after surgery for perforation or hemorrhage, followed by a mandatory examination and rating of residuals.
- DC 7307 includes H. pylori infection, drug-induced gastritis, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, and portal-hypertensive gastropathy with varix-related complications.
Why DC 7307 Uses DC 7304
DC 7307 states: rate chronic gastritis as peptic ulcer disease under DC 7304. That does not mean gastritis and peptic ulcer disease are medically identical. It means VA uses the DC 7304 severity criteria to assign the percentage for chronic gastritis.
The diagnosis still matters. DC 7307's note expressly includes several forms or causes of gastritis and gastropathy. The medical record should identify the actual diagnosis, its basis, and the manifestations attributed to it rather than treating every upper-abdominal symptom as gastritis.
Current Rating Criteria
0 percent
A documented history that fits the DC 7304 cross-referenced framework without meeting a compensable level. DC 7304 describes the noncompensable level as a history documented by endoscopy or diagnostic imaging.
20 percent
Episodes of abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting that:
- last at least three consecutive days;
- occur three times or less in the past 12 months; and
- are managed by daily prescribed medication.
40 percent
Episodes with the same three-consecutive-day duration and daily prescribed medication requirements, occurring four or more times in the past 12 months.
60 percent
Continuous abdominal pain with intermittent vomiting, recurrent hematemesis or melena, and manifestations of anemia that require hospitalization at least once in the past 12 months. Hematemesis means vomiting blood; melena means tarry stools.
This is a combined severe pattern. One isolated symptom does not reproduce the entire 60-percent criterion.
100 percent
For three months after surgery for perforation or hemorrhage. After the three-month period, DC 7304 requires a mandatory VA examination and rating of residuals, with the due-process rules in § 3.105(e) applying to a reduction.
The May 19, 2024 Rating Change
The current digestive schedule became effective May 19, 2024. Older gastritis guidance may discuss chronic hypertrophic gastritis, small or large eroded areas, or severe hemorrhage under a former DC 7307 ladder. That is historical law, not the current percentage table.
An older or pending claim may require an effective-date analysis. VA should identify which version applies to each period and should not use current criteria to erase a protected or properly staged earlier evaluation.
What Medical Records Distinguish Gastritis
Symptoms overlap among gastritis, GERD, ulcer disease, and other digestive conditions. Useful evidence can include:
- endoscopy and biopsy reports;
- H. pylori testing and treatment records;
- imaging when relevant;
- the clinician's diagnosis and attribution of symptoms;
- prescribed medication names, doses, and daily use;
- a dated log of qualifying episodes and their duration;
- emergency and inpatient records for bleeding or anemia; and
- operative records for perforation or hemorrhage.
The rating record should not count the same abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding, or anemia twice under different digestive labels. 38 CFR § 4.14 bars duplicate compensation for the same manifestation.
Direct and Secondary Service Connection
Direct service connection under 38 CFR § 3.303 requires a current chronic diagnosis, an in-service disease, event, or onset, and a medical link. In-service gastritis, repeated treatment for persistent epigastric symptoms, H. pylori findings, or medication exposure may be relevant, but a clinician must connect the current diagnosis to that history.
Secondary service connection under 38 CFR § 3.310 may be available when treatment for a service-connected disability caused or aggravated the gastritis. NSAID use is a common claimed pathway, but it is not automatic. The record should show the prescribed medication timeline, why the medication was used, the gastric findings, and a medical opinion addressing other potential causes and aggravation.
Common Failure Modes
- Using the former hemorrhage-and-eroded-area table as current law.
- Calling DC 7307 a generic digestive formula instead of the DC 7304 cross-reference.
- Counting brief one-day symptoms as a three-consecutive-day episode.
- Omitting proof of daily prescribed medication at the 20- and 40-percent levels.
- Treating any anemia or bleeding as the full 60-percent pattern.
- Claiming medication causation without a medical opinion and treatment timeline.
- Paying twice for the same upper-GI manifestations under different diagnoses.
Bottom Line
Current chronic gastritis ratings follow DC 7304 because DC 7307 expressly directs VA there. The core evidence is the diagnosis, episode dates and duration, daily prescribed medication, and any documented bleeding, anemia, hospitalization, or surgery. The service-connection record is separate and must establish the veteran-specific link without turning a possible medication pathway into an automatic nexus.
Related Conditions and Tools
Compare GERD, IBS, and ulcerative colitis. Review DC 7307 and DC 7304, and organize episode and medication evidence with the Statement Builder.
Legal sources: 38 CFR § 4.114, § 4.14, § 3.303, and § 3.310, checked August 17, 2026.