Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This rule describes the testing and recording requirements for evaluating visual fields. It explains how the field findings are documented and used with the relevant eye-rating criteria.
A complete field examination contains more information than a general observation that vision is restricted. The original official figure and the detailed testing provisions below help identify what the measurement record should show.
How this helps your claim
This helps you check whether the field report contains the information needed for an evaluation. It also helps distinguish field loss from reduced clarity of central vision.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Locate the field-testing report and the method used.
- Check the recorded field findings for each affected eye.
- Compare the report with any separate visual-acuity evaluation.
Keep the complete visual-field examination
A visual-field result includes testing and recording details that may not appear in a general eye-exam summary. The regulation identifies how findings should be obtained and documented. The underlying chart can therefore matter as much as a short conclusion saying field loss is present.
Compare the recorded findings with the applicable eye-rating criteria and calculation method. If a value or direction is missing, identify that specific gap. Do not assume that a symptom description alone establishes the measured field pattern or that every field defect is evaluated identically.
Is a general note about peripheral vision enough for the calculation?
It may describe a concern, but it does not necessarily contain the required testing information. This provision calls for particular field documentation. Keep the distinction between the reported difficulty, the medical diagnosis and the measured values used to evaluate the impairment.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 4.77
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 4.77 Visual fields.
(a) Examination of visual fields. Examiners must use either Goldmann kinetic perimetry or automated perimetry using Humphrey Model 750, Octopus Model 101, or later versions of these perimetric devices with simulated kinetic Goldmann testing capability. For phakic (normal) individuals, as well as for pseudophakic or aphakic individuals who are well adapted to intraocular lens implant or contact lens correction, visual field examinations must be conducted using a standard target size and luminance, which is Goldmann's equivalent III/4e. For aphakic individuals not well adapted to contact lens correction or pseudophakic individuals not well adapted to intraocular lens implant, visual field examinations must be conducted using Goldmann's equivalent IV/4e. The examiner must document the results for at least 16 meridians 22 1 ⁄ 2 degrees apart for each eye and indicate the Goldmann equivalent used. See Table III for the normal extent (in degrees) of the visual fields at the 8 principal meridians (45 degrees apart). When the examiner indicates that additional testing is necessary to evaluate visual fields, the additional testing must be conducted using either a tangent screen or a 30-degree threshold visual field with the Goldmann III stimulus size. The examination report must document the results of either the tangent screen or of the 30-degree threshold visual field with the Goldmann III stimulus size.
(b) Evaluation of visual fields. Determine the average concentric contraction of the visual field of each eye by measuring the remaining visual field (in degrees) at each of eight principal meridians 45 degrees apart, adding them, and dividing the sum by eight.
(c) Combination of visual field defect and decreased visual acuity. To determine the evaluation for visual impairment when both decreased visual acuity and visual field defect are present in one or both eyes and are service connected, separately evaluate the visual acuity and visual field defect (expressed as a level of visual acuity), and combine them under the provisions of § 4.25.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155)
[53 FR 30262, Aug. 11, 1988, as amended at 73 FR 66549, Nov. 10, 2008; 74 FR 7648, Feb. 19, 2009; 83 FR 15320, Apr. 10, 2018]
Original official figures and tables
These images are part of the official section. Open an original to inspect it at full size.
Related references
- 38 CFR § 4.25: VA combined ratings: how the math works
- 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
Ready to review your own document? Start your free claim review.