Dry Eye VA Rating: 10% or 20% Bilateral (DC 6025)

What is dry eye and how does it affect veterans?

Dry eye means your eyes don’t make enough tears, or your tears dry up too fast. Doctors also call it keratoconjunctivitis sicca. It is a long-term condition.

Tears keep the eye healthy. They help you see clearly and protect against infection. Without good tears, your eyes get irritated, swollen, and easier to damage.

Veterans get dry eye more often because of what military service exposes them to:

• Sand, dust, and wind on desert deployments
• High-altitude operations
• Long hours looking at screens
• Exhaust fumes and burn pit smoke
• Protective eyewear, which can change airflow around the eyes
• LASIK or PRK eye surgery during service. This is a known cause. The surgery cuts nerves in the cornea (the clear front of the eye) that tell the eye to make tears.

Dry eye is more than a small annoyance. Veterans describe:

• Constant burning and stinging
• A gritty feeling, like sand in the eyes
• Vision that changes during the day, especially when reading, driving, or using screens
• Eye strain that leads to headaches and trouble focusing

Severe dry eye can damage the cornea. This can cause erosions (worn spots), scarring, and permanent vision loss. Many veterans find it limits their work, driving, and hobbies.

VA diagnostic code for dry eye

A diagnostic code (DC) is the number VA uses for each condition. There is no code named “dry eye.” So VA rates it by analogy. That means VA uses the rules for the closest listed condition (38 CFR § 4.20).

Most often, VA uses DC 6025, disorders of the lacrimal apparatus (problems with the tear system). Your code sheet may show DC 6099-6025.

VA picks the code based on your findings. It may instead use:

• DC 6018, chronic conjunctivitis, or
• The vision loss rules (38 CFR §§ 4.75–4.78), if dry eye has hurt your vision

The code decides which rules apply. Check which one is on your decision letter.

Rating criteria for dry eye

Rated under DC 6025 (the most common route)

Dry eye in one eye is rated 10%. Dry eye in both eyes (bilateral) is rated 20%.

• Bilateral dry eye rated under DC 6025 is 20%.
• There is no 30% level under DC 6025.
• How often you use eye drops does not change the rating.

VA may confirm dry eye but find it doesn’t meet these rules. Then it can give a 0% rating (38 CFR § 4.31). A 0% rating still counts. It means your condition is service-connected. That helps with future increases and secondary claims.

Rated like chronic conjunctivitis (DC 6018)

Under DC 6018, the rating depends on your treatment visits. Active disease gets at least 10%.

VA uses the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye. It rates you one of two ways and gives you whichever is higher:

• Vision loss caused by the condition, or
• Documented incapacitating episodes. These are clinic visits just for treatment of the eye condition in the past 12 months.

Only a clinic visit to a provider specifically for treatment counts (§ 4.79, Note 1). Picking up refills isn’t a treatment visit. The rules give examples of treatment that does count:

• Medicines that calm the immune system (immunosuppressants or biologics)
• Injections
• Laser treatment
• Other surgery

When dry eye damages your vision

If dry eye scars the cornea or lowers your vision, VA rates the vision loss. It uses the vision charts for sharpness (visual acuity) and side vision (visual field). Ask the examiner to record your best vision with glasses for each eye.

Blepharitis and other dry-eye-related conditions

Blepharitis (swollen eyelids) and meibomian gland dysfunction (blocked oil glands in the eyelids) also have no code. VA rates them like dry eye, using the closest listed condition. Based on your findings, that may be DC 6025 or DC 6018.

VA usually won’t rate the same symptoms twice (38 CFR § 4.14). So if dry eye and blepharitis cause the same problems, you will likely get one rating for both. See how VA rates blepharitis below.

How VA Rates Blepharitis

Blepharitis has no code or ratings of its own. VA rates it using the closest listed eye condition, based on your findings.

Blepharitis means swelling along the edges of the eyelids. It is not listed in VA’s eye rules (38 CFR § 4.79). So VA rates it by analogy (38 CFR § 4.20). Your code sheet may show 6099 plus the code VA used, such as 6099-6018 (38 CFR § 4.27).

Codes VA may use for eyelid and eye-surface problems:

Two rules affect your rating:

• No double rating for the same symptoms. If blepharitis and dry eye cause the same irritation and tearing, expect one rating for both (38 CFR § 4.14).
• Treatment visits count if VA uses DC 6018. Each clinic visit just for treatment counts toward the rating. Keep records of every eye clinic visit for flare-ups.

If VA confirms blepharitis but it doesn’t meet the rules for the code used, VA can give 0% (38 CFR § 4.31). That still makes it service-connected.

How VA Rates Conjunctivitis (DC 6018)

Chronic conjunctivitis is rated under DC 6018. Active disease gets at least 10%. Inactive disease is rated on what it left behind.

DC 6018 is for chronic conjunctivitis that is nontrachomatous, meaning not caused by trachoma, a bacterial eye infection (38 CFR § 4.79).

For active disease, VA rates either vision loss or treatment visits, whichever is higher. The visit levels match the DC 6018 table above:

• 10% for 1 to 2 treatment visits in the past 12 months
• 20% for 3 to 4
• 40% for 5 to 6
• 60% for 7 or more

Active chronic conjunctivitis gets at least 10%, even with fewer visits.

Allergic conjunctivitis: VA has no separate code for it. DC 6018 covers chronic conjunctivitis that is nontrachomatous, whatever the cause. The only other conjunctivitis code is DC 6017, trachomatous conjunctivitis (caused by trachoma). It gets at least 30% while active. Once inactive, it is rated on what it left behind.

Other eye conditions VA rates

Most eye diseases use the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye. It rates vision loss or treatment visits, whichever is higher.

Vision loss itself is rated under 38 CFR §§ 4.75–4.78 and DCs 6061–6091. A few examples:

What evidence do you need?

Service records

• Service treatment records showing eye dryness, irritation, or other eye complaints in service
• Records of exposures, such as desert deployments, burn pits, or chemicals
• LASIK or PRK surgery records if you had eye surgery in service
• Records of protective eyewear you were issued and why
• Records of duties with long screen time, wind, or dust

Medical evidence

• A diagnosis from an eye doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) of dry eye or keratoconjunctivitis sicca
• Schirmer test results. This test measures tear production. Less than 10mm in 5 minutes is abnormal.
• Tear breakup time (TBUT). This shows how fast your tear film breaks apart.
• Corneal staining results (fluorescein, lissamine green, or rose bengal) showing eye surface damage
• Your best vision with glasses for each eye. This matters if dry eye has hurt your vision.
• Records of each clinic visit for eye treatment (dates and treatment). These matter if VA uses the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye.
• All prescribed medicines (artificial tears, Restasis, Xiidra, etc.)
• Records of any dry eye procedures (punctal plugs, intense pulsed light, etc.)
• Meibomian gland imaging, if you have it

Nexus letter

A nexus letter is a medical opinion from an eye doctor. It links your dry eye to your service. It should name the cause and explain how it led to dry eye. Causes include exposures, eye surgery, a TBI or medicine, or onset during service.

Buddy statements

These are statements from people who see your symptoms every day. They can describe:

• How often you use eye drops
• Rubbing or squinting your eyes
• Complaints about your vision
• Trouble driving or reading
• Things you avoid because of eye pain

Fellow service members who had the same exposures can also write statements.

C&P exam tips for dry eye

The C&P (Compensation and Pension) exam is VA’s medical exam for your claim. The examiner tests your tears and vision and asks how dry eye affects your life.

What the examiner evaluates

• Tests that confirm dry eye
• How many tears you make (Schirmer test)
• How stable your tears are (tear breakup time)
• The health of your eye surface (corneal and conjunctival staining)
• Your vision with and without glasses
• Your current treatment and how well it works
• How dry eye affects daily life and work
• The link to service or to service-connected conditions

How to prepare

1. Follow clinician and testing-team preparation instructions. Do not stop or delay prescribed or over-the-counter drops on your own for the exam. Ask the examiner or treating eye clinician about any test-specific preparation. Disclose which drops you use, when you last used them, their benefit, and symptoms between doses.
2. Bring all eye medicines. Bring every drop, ointment, and supplement you use. Know how often you use each one.
3. Know your test results. Bring copies of past Schirmer tests, tear breakup times, and staining results. Results that get worse over time are very helpful.
4. Describe your worst symptoms. Talk about burning, stinging, blurry vision, and light sensitivity. Explain how they affect driving, reading, screens, and time outdoors.
5. Report vision changes. Say if your vision gets worse later in the day. Say if it gets worse in wind, air conditioning, or with screens.
6. Mention headaches and tiredness. Eye strain from dry eye often causes headaches and mental fatigue. These show how much the condition affects you.

Common secondary conditions linked to dry eye

Dry eye can cause or worsen other conditions. These can raise your combined rating:

• Migraines: Ongoing eye strain from dry eye can trigger or worsen migraines and tension headaches.
• Depression: Constant eye pain and limits on daily life are linked to depression. Others can’t see the condition, but you feel it all the time.
• Corneal conditions: Long-term dry eye can cause erosions, ulcers, and scarring on the cornea. Vision loss from that damage is rated under the vision loss rules. VA won’t rate the same symptoms twice (38 CFR § 4.14).

How to calculate your monthly payment

Your monthly payment depends on your combined rating for all service-connected conditions. That includes dry eye plus others, like TBI, migraines, or depression.

Use our VA disability calculator to:

• Find your combined rating with more than one condition
• See how VA math combines ratings (10% + 10% does not equal 20%)
• Estimate your monthly payment, including dependents

For payment amounts at every rating level, see our 2026 VA disability pay rates page.

Correction — October 21, 2026: Replaced advice to skip eye drops before the exam with guidance to follow your clinician’s and testing team’s instructions.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. For personalized guidance on your VA disability claim, consult a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO), attorney, or claims agent. You can find accredited representatives at VA.gov.