Deep Body Scars (Not Head/Face/Neck) — VA Disability Rating (DC 7801)

Diagnostic Code 7801 · 38 CFR §4.118

What Is It?

DC 7801 covers burn scars and scars from any other cause that are NOT on the head, face, or neck and that are associated with underlying soft tissue damage — the regulation's phrase for scarring that goes deeper than the skin surface and involves the fat, fascia, or muscle beneath it. Think shrapnel and blast wounds, third-degree burns, crush injuries, and the surgical scars left by fasciotomies, muscle repairs, and orthopedic hardware. The rating is driven entirely by area: the VA measures the affected surface in square inches (or square centimeters) and matches it to one of four thresholds. What most veterans do not know is that since the August 2018 revision the body is divided into six zones — each extremity, the anterior trunk, and the posterior trunk, with the midaxillary line separating front from back — and a separate evaluation may be assigned for each affected zone, then combined under 38 CFR §4.25. A veteran with qualifying deep scarring on two legs and the back can hold three separate DC 7801 evaluations rather than one.

Rating Criteria

Evidence Needed

The single most important piece of evidence is a measurement. The rating turns on square inches, so every treatment record, photograph, and exam report that states the length and width of each scar moves the claim forward, and anything that says only "well-healed scar" does not. Get the operative reports or the burn-unit records that establish soft tissue involvement — DC 7801 requires damage beneath the skin, and a dermatology note describing only the surface will push the rating down to DC 7802. Photographs with a ruler or a common object for scale are persuasive and cost nothing. Service treatment records or a buddy statement should tie the injury to a specific date and event in service. If the scarring crosses more than one of the six body zones, say so explicitly and measure each zone separately, because the VA will not volunteer the zone-by-zone breakout on its own.

C&P Exam Tips

Ask the examiner to measure, not estimate, and to record the measurement for each affected zone separately on the scars DBQ. Bring your own photographs with a scale object in frame. Wear clothing that lets you expose every scarred area without a struggle — examiners routinely document only what they actually see. Point out any scar that is painful to the touch or that breaks down and loses its skin covering, because those characteristics are rated separately under DC 7804 and are not covered by the area-based DC 7801 evaluation. If a scar crosses a joint or overlies a muscle group and restricts your motion or strength, say so and name the movement it limits; that is a DC 7805 referral to a musculoskeletal code, and it is the single most commonly missed piece of a scar claim.

How to File

File on VA Form 21-526EZ and describe the injury and the body areas involved, listing each of the six zones separately (each arm, each leg, front of trunk, back of trunk). Attach operative or burn-treatment records showing soft tissue involvement, measured scar dimensions, and dated photographs. Claim painful or unstable scars under DC 7804 in the same claim, and claim any limitation of motion, muscle damage, or nerve involvement separately — DC 7805 exists to route those effects to the appropriate body-system code. If the scars are on the head, face, or neck, they belong under DC 7800 instead, which uses a different set of characteristics.

Common Mistakes

The costliest mistake is accepting a single DC 7801 evaluation when scarring covers more than one body zone. The 2018 revision made per-zone evaluations explicit, and combining them under §4.25 can double or triple the outcome — but the rater will usually assign one evaluation unless the claim identifies the zones. The second mistake is letting the record say "superficial" when the injury actually damaged tissue beneath the skin; that one word moves the claim from a four-tier code with a 40% ceiling to DC 7802, which tops out at 10%. Third, veterans routinely stop at the area rating and never claim the pain, the instability, or the limitation of function that the same scars cause, all of which are separately compensable. Fourth, small scars get abandoned because they seem trivial — but areas from separate scars in the same zone are added together to reach a threshold, so the collection can matter even when no single scar does.

Frequently Asked Questions

How large does a deep scar have to be to get a VA rating?

At least 6 square inches (39 sq. cm.) in a single body zone for the 10% level. Below that the scar is noncompensable under DC 7801 — but it may still be compensable under DC 7804 if it is painful or unstable, and a painful scar of any size earns 10%. Area is measured as the total affected surface in a zone, so several smaller scars in the same zone are added together rather than judged one at a time.

What are the six body zones for scar ratings?

Each extremity counts as its own zone — right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg — plus the anterior trunk and the posterior trunk, with the midaxillary line dividing front from back. That makes six. A separate evaluation may be assigned for each affected zone under DC 7801 or DC 7802, and the separate evaluations are then combined under 38 CFR §4.25 rather than merged into a single figure.

What is the difference between DC 7801 and DC 7802?

Depth. DC 7801 applies when the scar is associated with underlying soft tissue damage — the injury went beneath the skin into fat, fascia, or muscle. DC 7802 applies when it is not. The practical difference is large: DC 7801 runs 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% by size, while DC 7802 offers a single 10% rating and only once the area reaches 144 square inches. Operative reports and burn-depth documentation are what separate the two.

Can I get a rating for both the size of my scar and the pain?

Yes, and you should. Note (3) under DC 7804 states that scars evaluated under DC 7800, 7801, 7802, or 7805 may also receive an evaluation under DC 7804 when applicable. Size and pain are different disabling characteristics, so rating both is not pyramiding. A veteran with 80 square inches of deep scarring on one thigh that is also painful can hold a 30% evaluation under DC 7801 and a 10% evaluation under DC 7804.

Do surgical scars from a service-connected condition count?

Yes. A scar caused by surgery to treat a service-connected disability is itself service-connected on a secondary basis. That covers everything from knee replacement incisions to hardware-removal scars to skin-cancer excisions, as long as the underlying condition or the treatment for it is service-connected. File it as a secondary claim and name the primary condition and the operation.