Peripheral neuropathy VA rating
The VA rates peripheral neuropathy under DC 8515 / 8520, and most ratings land in the 10–80% per extremity range. What decides yours is the criteria below and what your record actually documents.
What the criteria ask for at each level
DC 8515 / 8520 - 38 CFR §4.124a
| Rating | What the record has to show |
|---|---|
| Mild incomplete | Median nerve (DC 8515) 10% either arm. Sciatic (DC 8520) 10%. Rated per nerve, per extremity - two arms means two ratings, and separate extremities can trigger the bilateral factor. |
| Moderate incomplete | Median nerve 30% dominant arm / 20% non-dominant. Sciatic 20%. |
| Moderately severe | Sciatic 40%. (The median nerve has no moderately-severe tier.) |
| Severe incomplete | Median nerve 50% dominant / 40% non-dominant. Sciatic 60%, with marked muscular atrophy. |
| Complete paralysis | Median nerve 70% dominant / 60% non-dominant. Sciatic 80% - the foot dangles and drops, no active movement below the knee. |
The schedule's own words
Ratings turn on specific terms, and a record that describes the same reality in different language often reads as a lower rating. These are the words this code measures:
- WHOLLY SENSORY involvement is capped - the schedule says a rating should then be for the mild, or at most the moderate, degree. Numbness and tingling alone cannot reach the severe tiers, which is why so many of these ratings land at 10 to 20%. Documented MOTOR loss - weakness, atrophy, foot drop - is what opens the rest of the scale
- incomplete paralysis
- marked muscular atrophy
- upper-extremity codes pay more for the DOMINANT arm; sciatic does not distinguish
Evidence that moves this rating
- EMG/nerve conduction study
- If secondary to diabetes: records connecting onset to blood sugar history
What your statement has to cover
Doctors chart symptoms; they rarely chart consequences. That part is yours, and it is usually what separates a documented rating from a reported one.
- Name every affected limb separately - each hand/foot is its own rating and paired limbs earn the bilateral factor.
- Describe function: buttons, jar lids, standing time, dropping objects.
Our Statement Builderwalks through the questions that produce that kind of statement, in the schedule's own terms.
What peripheral neuropathy can lead to 2 documented pathways
A secondary claim runs through a condition the VA already accepts, so the argument about your service is already won. What is left is the medical link - and a nexus opinion has to name the mechanism, not just the pair.
| Can lead to | The mechanism a nexus has to state |
|---|---|
| Depression | Chronic burning, numbness, and nerve pain degrade mental health. |
| Vertigo / vestibular disorder | Lost sensation in the feet disrupts balance and proprioception. |
A pathway existing in the literature is not the same as your claim being granted - your records and the VA decide that. How secondary claims work covers the argument.
Before you spend money on this claim
VA ratings do not add. Each new rating applies only to the part of you the VA still counts as unimpaired, then rounds to the nearest ten - so from 70%, a new 10% condition leaves you at exactly 70% and changes your payment by nothing.
That does not make the claim worthless; it can still matter for TDIU, for SMC, or later when something else is added. But it is worth knowing before you pay for a nexus letter rather than after. Check what one more condition does at your rating - it takes a minute.