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VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 6604
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe and move air out of your lungs. The VA recognizes it as a disability and rates it under its respiratory rules in 38 CFR 4.97, using diagnostic code 6604. In most cases, to be "service-connected" the VA looks for three things: a current diagnosis of COPD, something that happened or that you were exposed to during service, and a medical link (called a "nexus") tying the two together. A presumptive pathway, explained below, can take the place of that nexus link.
The diagnostic code for COPD is 6604, and the rating level is driven mainly by breathing-test (pulmonary function test) numbers. The VA looks at measures like FEV-1 (how much air you can blow out in one second), the FEV-1/FVC ratio, and DLCO (how well oxygen passes into your blood), plus exercise capacity. In general, better lung numbers fall in the 10% and 30% ranges, more limited numbers fall around 60%, and the 100% level applies for the most severe findings — for example FEV-1 less than 40% of predicted, the need for outpatient oxygen therapy, episodes of acute respiratory failure, or heart strain from the lung disease such as cor pulmonale or pulmonary hypertension. The exact percentage depends on your test results and medical evidence, not on any guaranteed amount.
There is an exposure-based pathway that can remove the nexus burden. Under the PACT Act, the VA lists Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a presumptive condition for veterans who had qualifying exposure to burn pits and other airborne hazards, meaning the VA presumes the service link instead of requiring you to prove it. (Note: the fine-particulate-matter regulation at 38 CFR 3.320 currently lists asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis as presumptive respiratory diseases, while the broader PACT Act list recognized by the VA also includes COPD, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.) Whether a presumption applies depends on your service dates, locations, and the VA's eligibility rules.
This is educational information about how the VA's rules generally work — it is not legal advice or a VA decision, and a denial can be a starting point rather than the end.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 16,746 real Board appeals for COPD
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 COPD was linked to service:
In appeals where COPD 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 Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for COPD. The Veteran's COPD is presumed due to exposure to herbicides, but the evidence does not support a finding that it began during active service or is related to in-service exposure.
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, attributing it to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. COPD is considered a disease associated with such exposure.
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.
The Veteran's service connection claims for dermatitis/eczema, sleep apnea, a psychiatric disorder (including MDD and PTSD), hypertension, COPD, low back disorder, and prostate cancer are all granted. The Board found that the evidence supported these determinations based on direct service connection.
The Veteran's COPD is granted as service connected. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and loss of balance are remanded.
The Veteran's COPD with pulmonary fibrosis and moderate restrictive lung disease was rated at 100 percent effective August 17, 2018. The Veteran also received an earlier effective date for basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) based on the same rating.
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 COPD often look at outcomes for these too:
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.