Organic Mental Disorder, Other — VA Disability Rating (DC 9327 Retired)

Diagnostic Code 9327 · 38 CFR §4.130

What Is It?

DC 9327 is the broad catch-all code for mental disorders attributable to an identifiable medical condition or organic cause — what the DSM-5 calls "mental disorder due to another medical condition" or "unspecified neurocognitive disorder" when a specific code does not fit. It captures presentations where psychiatric symptoms (mood changes, personality changes, anxiety, psychotic features, cognitive impairment) develop as a direct consequence of a documented medical or neurological condition rather than from a primary psychiatric diagnosis. Examples include personality and behavioral changes after frontal lobe injury, mood symptoms from endocrine disorders (Cushing, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism), psychiatric features of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder, post-encephalitic mood and behavioral changes, and chronic medical illness producing depression and anxiety with documented organic contribution. For veterans, the typical pathway is service-connected medical condition producing secondary psychiatric symptoms; the underlying medical condition is the primary claim and DC 9327 captures the psychiatric residual. The rating flows through the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders under 38 CFR §4.130, the same framework used for PTSD, depression, and the schizophrenia subtypes. One thing to know before filing: DC 9327 no longer appears as a live code. Current §4.130 prints the entry as '9327 [Removed]', alongside the four schizophrenia subtype codes 9202 through 9205, which were removed the same way. A new claim is diagnosed and coded under whichever current code fits — most often major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to another medical condition, or the unspecified variant — while an evaluation already running under DC 9327 keeps it, because 38 CFR §3.951(a) provides that a readjustment to the rating schedule is not by itself grounds for reduction unless medical evidence establishes actual improvement. The criteria below are the General Rating Formula as it governed and still governs those evaluations.

Rating Criteria

Evidence Needed

A psychiatric or neurology diagnosis specifying the organic mental disorder and identifying the underlying medical condition is the anchor. Medical records documenting the underlying condition (TBI, encephalitis, endocrine disorder, HIV, autoimmune disease, etc.) establish the organic basis. Neuropsychological testing characterizes the cognitive component. Treatment records covering psychotropic medications and any specialist follow-up demonstrate the management burden. Service treatment records or post-service records establishing the underlying medical condition as service-connected or related to service support the nexus.

C&P Exam Tips

Bring the psychiatric diagnosis, the underlying medical condition records, neuropsychological testing if performed, and the treatment history. The exam follows the General Rating Formula like other mental-health conditions, so the examiner should ask about specific symptom clusters at each tier. Describe how the underlying medical condition produces the psychiatric symptoms (the mechanism) and how the symptoms have changed over time as the underlying condition has progressed or responded to treatment. Mention any cognitive symptoms — memory, executive function, processing speed — explicitly because they often distinguish DC 9327 from primary psychiatric conditions.

How to File

File VA Form 21-526EZ listing organic mental disorder under DC 9327 alongside the underlying medical condition under its appropriate code. Reference 38 CFR §4.130. Attach the psychiatric diagnosis, medical records establishing the underlying organic cause, neuropsychological testing if performed, and the treatment history. When the cognitive component is dominant, request evaluation under DC 9304 or DC 8045 by analogy to capture the appropriate rating.

Common Mistakes

Filing under DC 9327 without claiming the underlying medical condition separately, when the underlying condition has its own rating ceiling that could substantially exceed the mental health rating Missing the cognitive evaluation when neuropsychological testing would support a different mental health code or the TBI residuals code Treating organic mental disorder as a primary psychiatric diagnosis instead of as a secondary manifestation of the underlying medical condition Letting the rating sit at 30% when the documented functional impairment supports the 50% or 70% tier

Frequently Asked Questions

How is DC 9327 different from PTSD or depression?

PTSD (DC 9411) and major depression (DC 9434) are primary psychiatric diagnoses with their own etiologies — trauma exposure for PTSD, mood disorder for depression. DC 9327 captures psychiatric symptoms caused by an underlying medical condition rather than by primary psychiatric pathology. The clinical picture may look similar, but the rating frameworks are the same (General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders) and the service-connection theory differs: PTSD requires a service-connected stressor, depression requires direct or aggravation pathway, and DC 9327 typically runs through secondary service connection to the underlying medical condition.

Can I rate both DC 9327 and the underlying medical condition?

Yes — they are separate diagnoses with separate impacts. The underlying medical condition (TBI, endocrine disorder, autoimmune disease) is rated under its own code for its physical manifestations. DC 9327 captures the psychiatric residuals. The combined rating reflects both impacts. The exception is when the underlying condition is a TBI rated under DC 8045 — the DC 8045 framework already includes a mental health facet, so the rater applies whichever framework produces the higher single rating to avoid pyramiding.

Does the rating drop if the underlying condition improves?

It can, but three separate protections sit in the way and they are routinely confused with each other. 38 CFR §3.344(a) and (b) restrict reduction of a rating that has continued at the same level for a long period, which §3.344(c) defines as five years or more, and they expressly do not apply to disabilities that have not stabilized and are likely to improve. 38 CFR §3.951(b) bars reduction below an evaluation that has been continuously in effect for twenty years or more except on a showing that the rating was based on fraud. And §3.951(a) provides that a readjustment to the rating schedule itself — such as the removal of DC 9327 — is not grounds for reduction unless medical evidence establishes that the disability has actually improved. Separately, 38 CFR §3.105(e) requires notice and an opportunity to respond before any reduction takes effect.