Superficial Body Scars (Not Head/Face/Neck) — VA Rating (DC 7802)

Diagnostic Code 7802 · 38 CFR §4.118

What Is It?

DC 7802 covers burn scars and scars from other causes that are NOT on the head, face, or neck and that are NOT associated with underlying soft tissue damage — surface scarring where the injury did not reach into the fat, fascia, or muscle beneath. Second-degree burns, road rash, abrasions, donor sites from skin grafts, and healed superficial lacerations typically land here. This is the narrowest code in the scar family: there is exactly one compensable level, 10 percent, and it requires an area of 144 square inches (929 sq. cm.) or greater — roughly a twelve-by-twelve-inch patch. Anything smaller is noncompensable under this code. The saving grace is the same six-zone rule that applies to DC 7801: since August 2018 the body is divided into six zones (each extremity, the anterior trunk, and the posterior trunk, divided at the midaxillary line), a separate evaluation may be assigned for each affected zone, and those evaluations are combined under 38 CFR §4.25. A veteran with extensive superficial burn scarring across both arms and the back can therefore hold three separate 10 percent evaluations rather than one.

Rating Criteria

Evidence Needed

Measurements are everything, because a single threshold decides the outcome. Records that state scar length and width in inches or centimeters — for each affected body zone separately — are what carry this claim; a note reading "multiple healed superficial scars" does not. Dated photographs with a ruler or a familiar object for scale help the rater visualize an area that is genuinely hard to estimate from words. Burn-unit records, emergency department notes, or the operative report from a skin-graft donor site establish both the cause and the superficial depth. Service treatment records or a buddy statement should tie the injury to service. If any scar is tender, breaks down, or restricts motion, gather evidence of that too — those characteristics pay under other codes even when the 144-square-inch threshold is out of reach.

C&P Exam Tips

Ask the examiner to measure each affected zone separately and to total the area within each zone rather than across the whole body, since the zones are rated separately and then combined. Expose every scarred area during the exam; superficial scars fade and an examiner who does not see one will not document it. If your total in a zone is close to 144 square inches, make sure every contributing scar in that zone is on the DBQ, because areas within a zone are added together. Separately, tell the examiner about any scar that hurts when touched or that repeatedly loses its skin covering — DC 7804 pays 10% for one or two such scars regardless of their size, and for many veterans with superficial scarring that is the code that actually produces a rating.

How to File

File on VA Form 21-526EZ, describe the injury, and list each affected body zone separately — right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, front of trunk, back of trunk. Attach measured scar dimensions, dated photographs with a scale object, and the treatment records that establish cause and depth. In the same claim, claim any painful or unstable scars under DC 7804 and any functional limitation under DC 7805, since those do not depend on the 144-square-inch threshold. Scars on the head, face, or neck are rated under DC 7800 instead and follow an entirely different set of characteristics.

Common Mistakes

The most common mistake is measuring the whole body as one area. Under the post-2018 rule the six zones are evaluated separately, so 100 square inches on the back and 60 on an arm is not one 160-square-inch rating — it is two zones, neither of which reaches the threshold on its own, and the veteran who does not know to break it out simply loses. The mirror-image mistake is giving up when the total falls short: painful and unstable scars pay under DC 7804 at any size, and DC 7805 routes any remaining disabling effect to the appropriate body-system code. Third, veterans accept a superficial classification when the original injury actually involved deeper tissue; if the wound reached fat, fascia, or muscle, DC 7801 applies and pays up to 40%, and the operative report is what proves it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is 144 square inches the only threshold for superficial scars?

Because the schedule treats surface-level scarring without underlying tissue damage as producing little functional impairment until it becomes extensive. DC 7802 provides a single 10 percent evaluation at 144 square inches (929 sq. cm.) or greater and nothing below it. The compensation for smaller superficial scars comes through DC 7804, which pays 10 percent for one or two painful or unstable scars regardless of size.

How big is 144 square inches?

About a twelve-inch by twelve-inch square — roughly the size of a sheet of legal paper and a half, or the palm-and-fingers area of both hands laid flat several times over. It is a genuinely large area of scarring, which is why the six-zone rule matters so much: the threshold applies per zone, and areas within a zone are added together.

Can superficial and deep scars both be rated?

Yes, when they are genuinely different scars. Deep scarring is rated under DC 7801 and superficial scarring under DC 7802, and both may be assigned. What is not permitted is rating the same scar under both codes — 38 CFR §4.118(b) provides that where two skin conditions involve the same area of skin, only the higher evaluation is used.

What if my superficial scars are painful?

Then DC 7804 is your code. One or two painful or unstable scars earn 10 percent, three or four earn 20 percent, and five or more earn 30 percent — with no size requirement at all. A scar that is both unstable and painful adds another 10 percent to that evaluation. For most veterans with superficial scarring, DC 7804 produces a meaningfully higher rating than DC 7802 ever will.