Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This section explains how central visual acuity is examined and evaluated. The examination includes corrected and uncorrected near and distance vision, while the rating rules specify which measurements control in particular circumstances.
Corrected distance vision is central to the usual evaluation, but the section includes exceptions and special instructions. The strength of a glasses prescription by itself is not the same as the visual-acuity measurement used for a rating.
How this helps your claim
This helps you read an eye examination and identify which result VA used. Compare the actual test entries for each eye with the applicable rule, rather than assuming the worst number automatically controls.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Locate corrected and uncorrected near and distance results for each eye.
- Check whether the report explains any applicable exception or testing issue.
- Compare the measurement used in the decision with the recorded examination.
Read corrected and uncorrected results carefully
An eye examination can record several acuity values for each eye. Near versus distance and corrected versus uncorrected results are different measurements. The regulation explains which findings govern particular evaluation circumstances, so choose the value by the rule rather than whichever looks worst.
Keep the full examination available when reading a rating calculation. A short optical-store summary may omit required context. If an exception or special instruction is used, identify it explicitly so the reason for departing from the usual corrected-distance approach remains understandable.
Does needing stronger glasses automatically mean a higher VA rating?
No. Lens strength and evaluated visual acuity are different measures. The relevant test findings and regulatory instructions determine the evaluation. A change in prescription may be part of the medical history, but it does not by itself establish a particular level of ratable visual impairment.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 4.76
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 4.76 Visual acuity.
(a) Examination of visual acuity. Examination of visual acuity must include the central uncorrected and corrected visual acuity for distance and near vision using Snellen's test type or its equivalent.
(b) Evaluation of visual acuity.
(1) Evaluate central visual acuity on the basis of corrected distance vision with central fixation, even if a central scotoma is present. However, when the lens required to correct distance vision in the poorer eye differs by more than three diopters from the lens required to correct distance vision in the better eye (and the difference is not due to congenital or developmental refractive error), and either the poorer eye or both eyes are service connected, evaluate the visual acuity of the poorer eye using either its uncorrected or corrected visual acuity, whichever results in better combined visual acuity.
(2) Provided that he or she customarily wears contact lenses, evaluate the visual acuity of any individual affected by a corneal disorder that results in severe irregular astigmatism that can be improved more by contact lenses than by eyeglass lenses, as corrected by contact lenses.
(3) In any case where the examiner reports that there is a difference equal to two or more scheduled steps between near and distance corrected vision, with the near vision being worse, the examination report must include at least two recordings of near and distance corrected vision and an explanation of the reason for the difference. In these cases, evaluate based on corrected distance vision adjusted to one step poorer than measured.
(4) To evaluate the impairment of visual acuity where a claimant has a reported visual acuity that is between two sequentially listed visual acuities, use the visual acuity which permits the higher evaluation.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155)
[73 FR 66549, Nov. 10, 2008]
Related references
- 38 USC § 1155: The law behind VA disability rating percentages
- 38 CFR § 4.1: What a VA disability rating measures
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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