Veterans Crisis Line Call 988, Press 1 · Text 838255 · Chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net
Loading C&P exam preparation guides…
Free tool · 282 guides · DBQ-aligned
The VA orders this exam to verify your diagnosis and measure how severe it is right now. It can shape your rating and your monthly compensation — but it does not decide your claim. A rating specialist weighs it against your full record, and if the exam does not reflect your condition, you can say so and ask the VA to correct it.
When is your exam?
Set the date and this page becomes a plan — the preparation steps get paced across the days you have left. It stays in this browser; no account, nothing sent anywhere.
A condition affecting the small nerve fibers that transmit pain and temperature sensations and control autonomic functions. Causes burning pain, tingling, and numbness, typically starting in the feet. Often missed on standard nerve conduction studies.
The percentages this diagnostic code can be rated at. Which one applies depends on the findings — no tool here can tell you in advance.
Rated under 38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8620 (sciatic neuritis) — rated by analogy under 38 CFR 4.20; ceiling set by 38 CFR 4.123. The examiner records findings on the DBQ; a rating specialist makes the decision.
| Rating | Rating criteria | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | In every instance where the schedule does not provide a zero percent evaluation for a diagnostic code, a zero percent evaluation shall be assigned when the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met. | Your small fiber neuropathy is service connected, but examination finds no burning pain, tingling or numbness in the feet or hands and skin biopsy shows a normal intraepidermal nerve fiber density, so there is no mild neuritis to rate on the sciatic nerve scale this condition is rated by analogy to. This code prints no 0% rung of its own; § 4.31 supplies it: no monthly payment, but the condition is on record and a later increase runs from it. The lowest compensable level under this code is 10 percent. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 10% | Mild incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve. When the involvement is wholly sensory, the rating should be for the mild, or at most, the moderate degree. | Mild neuritis — you have intermittent burning pain, tingling, or numbness in the feet or hands with mild functional limitation. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 20% | Moderate incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve. When the involvement is wholly sensory, the rating should be for the mild, or at most, the moderate degree. | Moderate neuritis — you have frequent burning pain and sensory disturbance that interferes with sleep, walking, and daily activities. You may also have autonomic symptoms. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 40% | Moderately severe incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve. The maximum rating which may be assigned for neuritis not characterized by organic changes referred to in this section will be that for moderate, or with sciatic nerve involvement, for moderately severe, incomplete paralysis. | Severe neuritis — you have constant burning pain, significant sensory loss, and autonomic dysfunction that substantially limits daily activities and work capacity. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 60% | Severe incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve, with marked muscular atrophy. Neuritis, cranial or peripheral, characterized by loss of reflexes, muscle atrophy, sensory disturbances, and constant pain, at times excruciating, is to be rated on the scale provided for injury of the nerve involved, with a maximum equal to severe, incomplete, paralysis. | Severe neuritis — your small fiber neuropathy causes severe, constant pain and widespread autonomic dysfunction rendering you unable to function normally. This is the ceiling: 38 CFR 4.123 caps neuritis at the evaluation for severe incomplete paralysis, so DC 8520’s 80 percent complete-paralysis rung is not available on the neuritis code. |
What supports this level
| ||
The middle column is our transcription of the criteria at 38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8620 (sciatic neuritis) — rated by analogy under 38 CFR 4.20; ceiling set by 38 CFR 4.123, condensed for reading. Read the section itself on eCFR before relying on the exact wording. The items under each level are the kinds of evidence that document it — not a VA checklist, and not a prediction of which level applies to you.
Relying on standard nerve conduction studies (NCS) alone — small fiber neuropathy typically produces normal NCS results because these tests measure large fibers. A skin punch biopsy measuring intraepidermal nerve fiber density is the diagnostic gold standard.
Not documenting autonomic symptoms — small fiber neuropathy affects autonomic nerves controlling sweating, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion. These symptoms are often overlooked but support a higher rating.
Failing to establish a service-connected cause — common military-related causes include toxic exposures (burn pits, Agent Orange, solvents), diabetes, and autoimmune conditions triggered during service.
Not keeping a detailed pain diary — documenting the daily frequency, intensity, and functional impact of burning pain episodes provides critical evidence for your rating.
These apply to every C&P exam, whatever the condition.