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VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 7833
"Skin cancer" covers more than one thing. The most serious common type is malignant melanoma, but there are also other malignant skin neoplasms such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. The VA rates skin conditions under its skin rating schedule, 38 CFR 4.118. To be service-connected in the normal way, a condition generally needs a current diagnosis, an in-service event or exposure, and a link ("nexus") tying the two together; a denial is a starting point, not the end, and you can appeal or add evidence.
Malignant melanoma uses diagnostic code 7833, and other malignant skin neoplasms (the non-melanoma skin cancers) use diagnostic code 7818. Under both codes, the cancer itself is not given one fixed percentage; instead it is rated as scars (codes 7801-7805), as disfigurement of the head, face, or neck (code 7800), or as impairment of function of the affected body system — so what drives a higher percentage is how bad the scarring, disfigurement, or loss of function is. There is an important note in the rules: if the skin cancer needs treatment comparable to that used for systemic cancers (for example, systemic chemotherapy, X-ray therapy more extensive than to the skin, or surgery more extensive than a wide local excision), a 100-percent evaluation is assigned from the date treatment begins. That 100-percent rating continues until a mandatory VA exam six months after treatment ends, after which, if there is no local recurrence or spread, the rating is based on the residuals (the leftover scars or loss of function).
There is also a presumptive pathway that can ease the "nexus" burden. Under the PACT Act, melanoma is listed as a presumptive condition tied to burn pit and other toxic exposures for Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans. When a condition is presumptive for a qualifying veteran, the VA accepts the connection to service without the veteran having to prove the medical link separately, which can make filing simpler.
This is educational information about how the VA's rules generally work — it is 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 5,619 Board decisions mentioning Skin cancer
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.
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These are decision-level labels in granted or partly granted decisions mentioning Skin cancer. They do not establish which theory succeeded for this condition.
In appeals where Skin cancer was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
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 Skin cancer →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.
Veterans appealing Skin cancer often look at outcomes for these too:
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