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Most vision claims are decided by two rules most veterans never read. The first says that needing glasses is not a disability: nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and the reading glasses that come with age are refractive error, and 38 CFR § 3.303(c) says refractive error of the eye is not a disease or injury for VA purposes. The second says that when only one eye is service connected, VA pretends the other eye sees 20/40. That rule, in 38 CFR § 4.75(c), is why a veteran who is nearly blind in one eye often ends up at 30 percent.
I walk through both rules below, then the rating tables word for word, what blindness in one eye pays, how visual field loss and double vision raise a rating, and the ways these claims get denied. The Board section further down shows how vision loss appeals have actually ended.
Vision loss VA rating criteria
VA rates the eyes under 38 CFR § 4.79. Loss of sharpness is rated under diagnostic codes 6061 to 6066, visual field loss under 6080 and 6081, and double vision under 6090. Diseases of the eye, such as glaucoma or retinal conditions, are rated on whichever gives the higher rating: the vision they cost you or how often they need treatment.
The general rules come first, in § 4.75 (paragraphs c and d):
(c) Service-connected visual impairment of only one eye. Subject to the provisions of 38 CFR 3.383(a), if visual impairment of only one eye is service-connected, the visual acuity of the other eye will be considered to be 20/40 for purposes of evaluating the service-connected visual impairment.
(d) Maximum evaluation for visual impairment of one eye. The evaluation for visual impairment of one eye must not exceed 30 percent unless there is anatomical loss of the eye.
And § 4.76 sets how vision is measured:
Evaluate central visual acuity on the basis of corrected distance vision with central fixation, even if a central scotoma is present.
The ratings themselves sit in a grid: find the vision in one eye, then the vision in the other. Here are the rows for one service-connected eye, with the other eye counted as 20/40, read straight from DCs 6063 to 6066:
| Vision in the service-connected eye | Code | Rating with the other eye at 20/40 |
|---|---|---|
| Eye lost (anatomical loss) | DC 6063 | 40% |
| Light perception only | DC 6064 | 30% |
| 5/200 | DC 6065 | 30% |
| 10/200 | DC 6066 | 30% |
| 15/200 | DC 6066 | 20% |
| 20/200 | DC 6066 | 20% |
| 20/100 | DC 6066 | 10% |
| 20/70 | DC 6066 | 10% |
| 20/50 | DC 6066 | 10% |
| 20/40 | DC 6066 | 0% |
When both eyes are service connected, the same grid produces much higher numbers. A few rows from DC 6066 and DC 6065:
| Vision in each eye | Rating |
|---|---|
| 5/200 in both eyes | 100% |
| 20/200 in both eyes | 70% |
| 20/100 in both eyes | 50% |
| 20/70 in both eyes | 30% |
| 20/50 in both eyes | 10% |
The rating table above this article covers DC 6066 with the monthly pay for each level. VA also has to round in your favor: under § 4.76(b)(4), when your vision falls between two listed values, VA uses the one that gives the higher rating.
Blind in one eye: what VA pays
Blindness in one eye is the search that brings most veterans to this page, so here is the plain answer.
If the blind eye is the only service-connected eye, the rating is 30 percent, because § 4.75(d) caps one eye at 30 percent unless the eye is gone. At VA's rates effective December 1, 2025, 30 percent pays $552.47 a month for a veteran alone. If the eye was removed (anatomical loss, DC 6063), the rating is 40 percent, and § 4.75(e) adds another 10 percent when you cannot wear a prosthesis.
That is not the whole payment. The schedule marks DC 6063 and DC 6064 with a footnote: "Review for entitlement to special monthly compensation under 38 CFR 3.350." Special monthly compensation at the K level is paid for "blindness of one eye having only light perception," and § 3.350(a)(4) defines it:
Loss of use or blindness of one eye, having only light perception, will be held to exist when there is inability to recognize test letters at 1 foot and when further examination of the eye reveals that perception of objects, hand movements, or counting fingers cannot be accomplished at 3 feet.
SMC-K was $139.87 a month at the December 2025 rates, added on top of the regular rating. If your exam shows light perception only and your decision letter does not mention special monthly compensation, that is worth raising.
When the other eye fails later
The 20/40 rule has an exception that matters for older veterans. Under 38 CFR § 3.383(a)(1), VA pays both eyes as if both were service connected when one eye's loss is service connected, the other eye's loss is not (and is not from your own willful misconduct), and either:
(i) The impairment of vision in each eye is rated at a visual acuity of 20/200 or less; or
(ii) The peripheral field of vision for each eye is 20 degrees or less.
So a veteran rated 30 percent for one eye who later loses the other eye to macular degeneration or diabetes that is not service connected can jump to the both-eyes rows of the grid once each eye reaches 20/200. Because it turns on an eye VA has never rated, VA may not know to look. Request a new eye exam and cite § 3.383.
Visual field loss and double vision
Sharpness is only one of three things VA measures. Section 4.75(a) says visual impairment is based on "visual acuity (excluding developmental errors of refraction), visual field, and muscle function." A veteran with 20/20 vision can still have a compensable eye rating.
Visual field loss (DC 6080). VA rates loss of half the field and narrowing of the whole field. Concentric contraction is the common one after glaucoma or brain injury. From the schedule:
| Remaining visual field | Both eyes | One eye |
|---|---|---|
| 5 degrees | 100% | 30% |
| 6 to 15 degrees | 70% | 20% |
| 16 to 30 degrees | 50% | 10% |
| 31 to 45 degrees | 30% | 10% |
| 46 to 60 degrees | 10% | 10% |
Homonymous hemianopsia, the loss of the same half of the field in both eyes that can follow a stroke or brain injury, rates 30 percent. Section 4.77 requires Goldmann perimetry or an automated machine with Goldmann-equivalent testing, and when you have both field loss and reduced sharpness, VA rates each and combines them.
Scotoma (DC 6081). A blind spot in one eye rates at least 10 percent when it covers a quarter of the field or sits in the center of vision.
Double vision (DC 6090). Diplopia is converted to an equivalent level of vision. Double vision in the central 20 degrees counts as 5/200; double vision 21 to 30 degrees down counts as 15/200, and so on. The note to the code limits it: "diplopia that is occasional or that is correctable with spectacles is evaluated at 0 percent." Under § 4.78, when you have both double vision and reduced acuity, the poorer eye is moved one to three steps worse before the grid is applied.
How to prove vision loss is service connected
Every claim needs a current eye condition, an event or exposure in service, and a medical link between them. For vision, the first part trips people up, because the condition has to be a disease or injury, not refractive error.
An eye injury or disease that began in service
Direct claims come from documented eye injuries (blast, fragments, chemical burns, blunt trauma) and eye diseases first treated in service. Service treatment records showing the injury, an optometry record from separation, and a current exam that ties today's loss to that injury are the core of the file. If the eye injury left a scar on the face or eyelid, that scar can be rated separately under the scar codes; see scars.
Vision loss after a TBI or blast
Blast exposure damages vision in ways a standard eye chart misses. In a VA study of 31 veterans with blast-related mild TBI and no eye injury, average corrected distance vision was 20/20, yet 68 percent had visual complaints years later, most often light sensitivity and trouble reading, and about a quarter had convergence insufficiency (Magone and colleagues, 2014). A second VA study of 61 veterans with blast TBI found that 15 percent had hemianopia or quadrantanopia on automated field testing and another 36 percent had an abnormal visual field index (Lemke and colleagues, 2016).
For a claim, that means two things. Ask for visual field testing, not only an eye chart. And if your TBI is service connected, the vision problem can be claimed as part of the TBI residuals or as a secondary condition; see the TBI page.
Secondary to diabetes, high blood pressure or a stroke
Under 38 CFR § 3.310(a), a disability "proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury shall be service connected." Diabetic eye disease has its own page: diabetic retinopathy. If your diabetes is presumptive from Agent Orange exposure, a retinopathy or vision claim secondary to it rides on that grant.
A secondary opinion should address both ways the link can work: that the service-connected condition caused the vision loss, and that it aggravated it, meaning the vision loss would be less severe but for the service-connected condition. An opinion that skips aggravation is inadequate.
Glasses, contacts and refractive error
38 CFR § 3.303(c) and § 4.9 say refractive error is not a disease or injury. A claim for "poor eyesight" with nothing but a glasses prescription will be denied. A diagnosed eye disease, an eye injury, or vision loss from a brain injury is different, even if you also wear glasses. Name the diagnosis, not the prescription.
The VA eye exam and the Eye Conditions DBQ
Section 4.75(b) sets three rules for the exam. It must be done by "a licensed optometrist or by a licensed ophthalmologist." The examiner "must identify the disease, injury, or other pathologic process responsible for any visual impairment found." And unless there is a medical reason not to, your pupils must be dilated for the fundus exam.
That second rule is where many exams fall short. An exam that records 20/100 in one eye but never says why leaves the rater nothing to connect to service. Before the exam, read the Eye Conditions DBQ guide so you know what the examiner is supposed to record. If you have an outside eye doctor, a completed DBQ from them carries the same questions.
Bring your own records: the service treatment records for the injury, every outside eye exam since, and any visual field printouts. Raven Scan reads your medical records and pulls out the eye findings that match these criteria, which is faster than paging through years of optometry notes yourself.
Why VA denies vision loss claims
The Board section below shows which part of the claim failed most often in denied vision loss appeals and why the Board sent others back. These are the patterns behind those numbers.
The claim is for refractive error. A claim built on a glasses prescription fails at the first step. Diagnose the eye disease or injury, or the brain injury behind the vision change.
No medical link to service. Cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma are common with age, and a VA examiner will often say the loss is age related. A favorable opinion has to explain why service, or a service-connected condition, is the more likely cause or made it worse.
Only one eye is service connected. Many veterans are surprised by a 10 or 20 percent rating for an eye that barely sees. That is the 20/40 rule doing what it says. The fix is § 3.383 if the other eye later fails, or a claim for the other eye if it has its own service link.
The exam did not identify a cause or test the field. An inadequate VA exam is among the most common reasons the Board sends eye claims back; the remand reasons below show how often. Section 4.75(b) requires the examiner to name the cause of the vision loss, so an exam that does not is open to challenge. Ask for field testing and a dilated exam up front.
Records were never obtained. Outside ophthalmology records, especially surgery notes, are often missing from the file. Send them yourself.
Questions veterans ask about vision loss
What is the VA rating for blindness in one eye?
When only the blind eye is service connected, the rating is 30 percent because § 4.75(d) caps one eye at 30 percent. If the eye was removed, it rates 40 percent under DC 6063, with 10 percent more if you cannot wear a prosthesis. Blindness with only light perception is also reviewed for special monthly compensation at the K level, paid on top of the rating.
Does VA pay for nearsightedness or needing glasses?
No. Refractive error, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and age-related reading vision, is not a disease or injury under 38 CFR § 3.303(c) and § 4.9. An eye disease or injury is rated even if you also wear glasses.
Does VA rate my vision with or without glasses?
With them. Section 4.76 rates corrected distance vision. One exception: for a corneal disorder that causes severe irregular astigmatism and that contacts correct better than glasses, VA rates vision as corrected by contact lenses if you usually wear them.
What VA rating is legally blind?
VA does not use the term legally blind. Vision of 20/200 in both service-connected eyes rates 70 percent, and 5/200 in both eyes rates 100 percent. Blindness in both eyes with vision of 5/200 or less also qualifies for special monthly compensation at the L level under § 3.350(b).
Can vision problems after a TBI be service connected?
Yes. Vision problems from a service-connected brain injury can be rated as part of the TBI residuals or as a secondary condition under § 3.310. Ask for visual field testing as well as an eye chart, because blast-related damage often leaves distance vision normal.
Can I get a higher rating for double vision?
Yes, if it is constant and not corrected by glasses. Double vision is converted to an equivalent level of vision under DC 6090, and § 4.78 makes the poorer eye one to three steps worse when you also have reduced sharpness. Occasional double vision rates 0 percent.
Sources
- 38 CFR § 4.75 to § 4.79, eye ratings (opens in a new tab), eCFR text as of October 2, 2026
- 38 CFR § 3.303, direct service connection and refractive error (opens in a new tab)
- 38 CFR § 3.310, secondary service connection (opens in a new tab)
- 38 CFR § 3.350, special monthly compensation (opens in a new tab)
- 38 CFR § 3.383, paired organs (opens in a new tab)
- 38 CFR § 4.9, refractive error (opens in a new tab)
- Magone MT, Kwon E, Shin SY. Chronic visual dysfunction after blast-induced mild traumatic brain injury. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2014;51(1):71-80. doi:10.1682/JRRD.2013.01.0008 (opens in a new tab)
- Lemke S, Cockerham GC, Glynn-Milley C, Lin R, Cockerham KP. Automated perimetry and visual dysfunction in blast-related traumatic brain injury. Ophthalmology. 2016;123(2):415-424. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.10.003 (opens in a new tab)
- VA disability compensation rates (opens in a new tab) and special monthly compensation rates (opens in a new tab), effective December 1, 2025
- Eye Conditions DBQ guide