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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.
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A skin condition causing raised, itchy welts (hives) that come and go. DC 7825 covers CHRONIC urticaria, which the code defines as continuous urticaria at least twice per week, off treatment, for a period of six weeks or more. The VA rates it by the line of treatment your hives require for control — first line (antihistamines), second line, or third line — not by counting episodes.
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 4.118, DC 7825. 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 urticaria is service-connected but does not require first line treatment (antihistamines) for control — or does not meet this code's definition of chronic urticaria, which DC 7825 sets as continuous urticaria at least twice per week, off treatment, for a period of six weeks or more. This code prints no 0 percent rung of its own; 38 CFR § 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% | For the purposes of this diagnostic code, chronic urticaria is defined as continuous urticaria at least twice per week, off treatment, for a period of six weeks or more. Chronic urticaria that requires first line treatment (antihistamines) for control. | Your chronic urticaria requires FIRST LINE treatment — antihistamines — for control. This code does not count episodes; what it measures is the line of treatment your hives need. It also sets its own entry definition: chronic urticaria is continuous urticaria at least twice per week, off treatment, for a period of six weeks or more. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 30% | For the purposes of this diagnostic code, chronic urticaria is defined as continuous urticaria at least twice per week, off treatment, for a period of six weeks or more. Chronic urticaria that requires second line treatment (e.g., corticosteroids, sympathomimetics, leukotriene inhibitors, neutrophil inhibitors, thyroid hormone) for control. | Your chronic urticaria requires SECOND LINE treatment for control — for example corticosteroids, sympathomimetics, leukotriene inhibitors, neutrophil inhibitors, or thyroid hormone. What moves you here is that antihistamines alone are not enough, not how many outbreaks you had. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 60% | For the purposes of this diagnostic code, chronic urticaria is defined as continuous urticaria at least twice per week, off treatment, for a period of six weeks or more. Chronic refractory urticaria that requires third line treatment for control (e.g., plasmapheresis, immunotherapy, immunosuppressives) due to ineffectiveness with first and second line treatments. | You have chronic REFRACTORY urticaria that requires THIRD LINE treatment for control — for example plasmapheresis, immunotherapy, or immunosuppressives — because first and second line treatments were ineffective. Both earlier lines having failed is part of the criterion, so the record needs to show them tried. |
What supports this level
| ||
The middle column is our transcription of the criteria at 38 CFR 4.118, DC 7825, 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.
Building the claim around an episode count — DC 7825 was revised and no longer rates by how many outbreaks you had in a year. Every level turns on the LINE OF TREATMENT your hives require for control: first line (antihistamines) is 10 percent, second line is 30 percent, third line for refractory urticaria is 60 percent. An episode log is still useful, but the medication record is what the criteria read.
Not documenting the code's entry definition — DC 7825 defines chronic urticaria as continuous urticaria at least twice per week, OFF TREATMENT, for a period of six weeks or more. If your notes only describe the hives while you are medicated, ask your provider to record the off-treatment picture too.
Not recognizing that daily antihistamine use is the 10 percent criterion — if you take antihistamines (Zyrtec, Benadryl, etc.) to keep hives controlled, that is first line treatment required for control. Document it as ongoing treatment rather than as an over-the-counter habit.
Not showing that an earlier line failed — the 30 and 60 percent levels rest on needing a higher line of treatment. For 60 percent the code requires ineffectiveness with BOTH first and second line treatments, so make sure each trial and its failure is in the record.
Failing to claim angioedema — if you also experience swelling of the lips, face, or throat (angioedema), document it; it is a separate finding from the hives this code rates.
These apply to every C&P exam, whatever the condition.