VA Disability Rating for Blindness (DC 6061-6066)
Diagnostic Code 6062 · 38 CFR §4.79
What Is It?
Diagnostic codes 6061 through 6066 are the "Impairment of Central Visual Acuity" block in 38 CFR 4.79, and they are organised by what the worse eye has lost rather than by severity. DC 6061 is anatomical loss of both eyes — 100 percent. DC 6062 is no more than light perception in both eyes — also 100 percent, and the code this page carries. DC 6063 is anatomical loss of one eye, rated 40 to 100 percent according to the acuity of the other eye. DC 6064 is no more than light perception in one eye, 30 to 100 percent on the same principle. DC 6065 is vision in one eye of 5/200, 30 to 100 percent. DC 6066 is visual acuity in one eye of 10/200 or better, running from 90 percent down to 0 percent for 20/40 paired with 20/40. Each of DC 6061 through 6063 is marked with footnote 1 — review for special monthly compensation under 38 CFR 3.350 — and for total bilateral blindness that review is where the money is. 38 CFR 3.350(c) lists blindness in both eyes having only light perception at the 38 U.S.C. 1114(m) rate, and blindness in both eyes leaving the veteran so helpless as to need regular aid and attendance at the same rate; 38 CFR 3.350(d)(4) puts anatomical loss of both eyes, or blindness without light perception, at the (n) rate; and 38 CFR 3.350(i) supplies intermediate rates for asymmetric combinations.
Rating Criteria
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 100% | DC 6062, "No more than light perception in both eyes" — 100 percent. 38 CFR 3.350(a)(4) defines blindness having only light perception as inability to recognise test letters at one foot where further examination shows that perception of objects, hand movements, or counting fingers cannot be accomplished at three feet. Anatomical loss of both eyes is the neighbouring code DC 6061, also 100 percent; the acuity combinations for one-eye losses are DC 6063 through 6066, each with its own table. |
Evidence Needed
A current ophthalmology examination establishing the level of remaining vision in the terms the regulation uses — whether test letters can be recognised at one foot, and whether objects, hand movements or counting fingers can be perceived at three feet, which is the 38 CFR 3.350(a)(4) test. Where there is anatomical loss, the operative reports. Add the diagnosis and history of the underlying disease or injury with its nexus evidence, and, for special monthly compensation, a functional assessment addressing whether you require the regular aid and attendance of another person. Where any useful vision remains, best-corrected acuity in each eye separately is what selects the applicable code and row, and 38 CFR 4.76(b)(1) requires it to be corrected distance vision with central fixation.
C&P Exam Tips
Ask the examiner to record remaining vision against the regulation's own thresholds rather than as a general impression — light perception only, no light perception, or a measurable acuity. That distinction decides which code applies and, more importantly, which special monthly compensation rate. Where vision differs between the eyes, have each eye measured separately with best correction. Raise aid and attendance directly, and ask that the examination address it; several determinations under 38 CFR 3.350 turn on it. If a prosthesis cannot be worn on a side that has been enucleated, say so, because 38 CFR 4.75(e) adds 10 percent to a DC 6063 evaluation in that circumstance.
How to File
File for the underlying eye disease or injury and let the examination select the code; then check that the code matches the anatomy, because the block is easy to mis-cite. In the same claim ask expressly for a special monthly compensation determination and name the paragraph that fits: 38 CFR 3.350(c) for blindness in both eyes having only light perception, or where blindness leaves you in need of regular aid and attendance, at the 1114(m) rate; 38 CFR 3.350(d)(4) for anatomical loss or blindness without light perception, at the (n) rate; 38 CFR 3.350(e)(1)(ii) for the (o) rate where two or more of the rates in 1114(l) through (n) are met with no condition counted twice; and 38 CFR 3.350(i) for the intermediate rates that apply to asymmetric blindness. Where only one eye is service-connected, 38 CFR 4.75(c) considers the other eye to be 20/40, subject to 38 CFR 3.383(a), and 38 CFR 4.75(d) caps one-eye visual impairment at 30 percent absent anatomical loss.
Common Mistakes
Reading the block as a severity ladder. It is organised by the nature of the loss in the worse eye, which is why DC 6062 (light perception only, both eyes) and DC 6061 (anatomical loss, both eyes) are both 100 percent while DC 6066 reaches down to 0 percent. Citing the wrong special monthly compensation rate — the (l), (m) and (n) rates cover materially different findings and the difference is large. Missing 38 CFR 3.350(i), which provides intermediate rates for asymmetric combinations such as 5/200 in one eye with light perception only in the other. Submitting uncorrected acuity where 38 CFR 4.76(b)(1) calls for corrected distance vision with central fixation. And overlooking the visual-field alternative in DC 6080, which can produce more than the acuity result.
Frequently Asked Questions
What code covers blindness in both eyes?
Two codes, both at 100 percent. DC 6062 is no more than light perception in both eyes. DC 6061 is anatomical loss of both eyes, which also covers blindness without light perception for special monthly compensation purposes.
How does the VA define blindness with only light perception?
38 CFR 3.350(a)(4) sets the test: inability to recognise test letters at one foot, where further examination of the eye reveals that perception of objects, hand movements, or counting fingers cannot be accomplished at three feet.
Which SMC rate goes with which finding?
Blindness in both eyes having only light perception, and blindness leaving the veteran so helpless as to need regular aid and attendance, are listed in 38 CFR 3.350(c) at the 38 U.S.C. 1114(m) rate. Anatomical loss of both eyes, or blindness without light perception in both eyes, is in 38 CFR 3.350(d)(4) at the (n) rate.
What if my two eyes are not equally affected?
38 CFR 3.350(i) provides intermediate rates: 5/200 or less in one eye with light perception only in the other entitles to a rate between 1114(l) and (m); 5/200 or less in one eye with anatomical loss or no light perception in the other equals the (m) rate; and light perception only in one eye with anatomical loss or no light perception in the other entitles to a rate between (m) and (n).
How does the VA rate vision loss in only one eye?
By the combination of both eyes. DC 6063 through 6066 each take the worse eye's status and then read across to the other eye's acuity. 38 CFR 4.75(d) limits the evaluation for visual impairment of one eye to 30 percent unless there is anatomical loss of that eye, and 38 CFR 4.75(c) treats a non-service-connected other eye as 20/40, subject to 38 CFR 3.383(a).
Does a visual field defect matter if my acuity is already severe?
It can. DC 6080 rates field defects on their own scale and also provides acuity-equivalent alternatives, and concentric contraction to five degrees carries footnote 1 for special monthly compensation review. Where the field evaluation is higher, it applies.