Loading condition outcomes…
Loading condition outcomes…
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, often from raised pressure inside the eye, and can reduce the field of vision over time.
VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 6013
Glaucoma is a recognized eye condition the VA can service-connect and rate when it is linked to your military service. The VA rates eye conditions under its schedule for diseases of the eye in 38 CFR § 4.79. Glaucoma has its own diagnostic codes: code 6013 covers open-angle glaucoma (the most common type, which slowly and often painlessly affects vision over time) and code 6012 covers angle-closure glaucoma.
Glaucoma is not rated by the diagnosis alone. Instead, the VA evaluates it under the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Eye, which looks at how much the condition affects your sight — your visual acuity (how clearly you see) and your visual field (how much area you can see). For some eye conditions the formula can also consider "incapacitating episodes," and the VA uses whichever method results in the higher evaluation.
The rules also include a minimum-rating concept. For both open-angle (6013) and angle-closure (6012) glaucoma, 38 CFR § 4.79 provides a minimum evaluation of 10 percent if continuous medication is required to manage the condition. So if your records show you must take ongoing medication, such as daily eye drops, the rules set a floor of at least 10 percent even when measured vision loss is limited. Your diagnosis, treatment records, and eye-exam results all help the VA apply these rules.
This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work — not legal advice, not a VA decision, and not a prediction about any individual claim. Outcomes depend on your own facts and evidence; a denial can be appealed.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 4,809 Board decisions mentioning Glaucoma
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 whole-decision outcomes, not condition-specific success rates or a prediction of your case.
Appeals with representation succeed more often. Find free (VSO) or accredited help →
These are decision-level labels in granted or partly granted decisions mentioning Glaucoma. They do not establish which theory succeeded for this condition.
Ratings from individual decisions are not shown until verified against the original source. This does not mean that no rating was assigned. Check the original Board decision.
A decision may address several conditions. Its overall outcome or exposure tags do not establish what happened to each individual claim. Verify the specific issue against the original Board decision.
Browse decisions mentioning Glaucoma →Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
Coverage is incomplete and may lag publication. A year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.
We’ll send the free starter guide now, then a note when notable new Glaucoma Board decisions are added. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
We will only use this to send the guide and occasional updates for this condition. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.