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VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 6602
Asthma is a long-term lung condition that makes the airways swell and tighten, causing trouble breathing, wheezing, and coughing. The VA recognizes asthma as a ratable disability under the respiratory part of its rules. To grant service connection, the VA generally looks for a current asthma diagnosis, an in-service event, injury, or exposure, and a link ("nexus") tying the two together. The VA notes that if asthma is not active during the exam, a verified history of asthmatic attacks must be in your records.
The VA rates asthma under 38 CFR 4.97, diagnostic code 6602, on a scale of 10, 30, 60, or 100 percent. Higher ratings are driven mainly by your breathing-test (pulmonary function) numbers and how much treatment you need. A 10 percent rating reflects FEV-1 of 71-80 percent predicted, FEV-1/FVC of 71-80 percent, or intermittent inhaler or oral bronchodilator therapy. A 30 percent rating reflects FEV-1 of 56-70 percent, FEV-1/FVC of 56-70 percent, or daily inhaled/oral bronchodilator therapy or inhaled anti-inflammatory medicine. A 60 percent rating reflects FEV-1 of 40-55 percent, FEV-1/FVC of 40-55 percent, at least monthly doctor visits for flare-ups, or at least three courses of systemic corticosteroids a year. The top 100 percent rating reflects FEV-1 under 40 percent, FEV-1/FVC under 40 percent, more than one attack per week with episodes of respiratory failure, or daily high-dose systemic corticosteroids or immunosuppressive medicine.
There is also a presumptive pathway that can remove the burden of proving a nexus. Under 38 CFR 3.320, asthma is treated as connected to fine particulate-matter exposure (the burn-pit pathway expanded by the PACT Act) and will be service connected if it shows up to any degree, including a non-compensable level, at any time after a qualifying period of service. A qualifying period means service in the Southwest Asia theater during the Persian Gulf War, or in Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan on or after September 19, 2001. Veterans with this kind of service are presumed to have been exposed to fine particulate matter unless there is affirmative evidence they were not.
If a claim is denied, that is a starting point, not the end, and the VA has review and appeal options. This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work, not legal advice or a VA decision about your individual claim.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 14,539 real Board appeals for Asthma
A denial is often not the end either — remands (shown below) are sent back for more development and can still end in a grant. These are historical outcomes, not a prediction of your case.
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Among the appeals that were granted or partly granted, the most common ways Asthma was linked to service:
In appeals where Asthma was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
These appeals involved a recognized exposure — which can mean the link to service is presumed, with no nexus to prove:
The Veteran's right ankle sprain, lumbar strain, bilateral plantar fasciitis, headaches (tension), and erectile dysfunction are all granted as service connection. The Veteran's asthma is also granted as service connection. However, the Veteran's muscle pain/spasms do not meet VA compensation criteria.,Service connection for these conditions is based on their onset during or shortly after service.
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment prior to August 14, 2023.
The Veteran's asthma and chronic bronchitis are granted service connection due to exposure to fine particulate matter during his military service, with the presumption of exposure under the PACT Act for chronic bronchitis.
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, asthma, and foot conditions, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history throughout the appeal period.
The Board has granted service connection for a pulmonary disability, including asthma and COPD, finding that the Veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his surgeries during active duty.
Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
New decisions are added every week, and older years are actively being backfilled — a year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.
Veterans appealing Asthma often look at outcomes for these too:
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