Nerve damage: neuropathy, radiculopathy and the exam

How VA rates nerve damage

38 CFR 4.124a; 4.123; 4.124

VA rates nerve damage by which nerve is involved and how much function it has lost. Each nerve has its own diagnostic code with levels for complete paralysis and incomplete paralysis (mild, moderate, severe). Incomplete paralysis means function that is lost or impaired, but substantially less than the complete picture given for that nerve.

Two rules matter in almost every claim. When the involvement is wholly sensory (numbness, tingling, pain without weakness), the rating is for the mild or, at most, the moderate degree. And the arm and leg nerve ratings are for one side; when both sides are affected, the ratings combine with the bilateral factor applied.

For the arms, the schedule has two columns, major (dominant hand) and minor. The leg ratings have one column.

The ceilings on nerve pain

38 CFR 4.123, 4.124

• Neuritis (loss of reflexes, muscle wasting, sensory disturbance, constant pain): rated on the nerve’s scale, with a maximum equal to severe incomplete paralysis.
• If the neuritis is not characterized by those organic changes, the maximum drops to moderate incomplete paralysis, or moderately severe if it is the sciatic nerve.
• Neuralgia (usually dull, intermittent pain along the path of one nerve): rated on the same scale, with a maximum equal to moderate incomplete paralysis. Tic douloureux of the face is the exception and can go up to complete paralysis.

Each nerve has its own neuritis and neuralgia codes, 8600-series and 8700-series. For example, sciatic is 8520 for paralysis, 8620 neuritis and 8720 neuralgia.

Leg nerves and their levels

38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8520 to 8530

• Sciatic (8520): complete 80; severe with marked muscular atrophy 60; moderately severe 40; moderate 20; mild 10. Complete means the foot dangles and drops with no active movement below the knee.
• Common peroneal (8521): complete 40 (foot drop, cannot dorsiflex the foot); severe 30; moderate 20; mild 10.
• Superficial peroneal (8522): complete 30; severe 20; moderate 10; mild 0.
• Deep peroneal (8523): complete 30; severe 20; moderate 10; mild 0.
• Tibial (8524): complete 40; severe 30; moderate 20; mild 10.
• Posterior tibial (8525): complete 30; severe 20; moderate 10; mild 10.
• Femoral (8526): complete 40 (quadriceps paralyzed); severe 30; moderate 20; mild 10.
• Saphenous (8527), obturator (8528), outer thigh (8529), ilio-inguinal (8530): severe to complete 10; mild or moderate 0.

Arm nerves and their levels

38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8514 to 8516

The elbow and forearm page walks through the arm nerves in detail. The headline numbers, dominant hand first and non-dominant second:

• Radial (8514): complete 70 / 60; severe 50 / 40; moderate 30 / 20; mild 20 / 20.
• Median (8515): complete 70 / 60; severe 50 / 40; moderate 30 / 20; mild 10 / 10.
• Ulnar (8516): complete 60 / 50; severe 40 / 30; moderate 30 / 20; mild 10 / 10.

See Elbow and forearm VA ratings.

Radicular groups

38 CFR 4.124a, DC 8510 to 8513

When nerve damage comes from the neck and involves a group of nerve roots, the schedule has radicular group codes. Dominant / non-dominant:

• Upper group, fifth and sixth cervical (8510): complete 70 / 60; severe 50 / 40; moderate 40 / 30; mild 20 / 20.
• Middle group (8511): complete 70 / 60; severe 50 / 40; moderate 40 / 30; mild 20 / 20.
• Lower group (8512): complete 70 / 60; severe 50 / 40; moderate 40 / 30; mild 20 / 20.
• All radicular groups (8513): complete 90 / 80; severe 70 / 60; moderate 40 / 30; mild 20 / 20.

The schedule’s note says combined nerve injuries are rated by reference to the major involvement, or, if sufficient in extent, by the radicular group ratings.

Radiculopathy and the spine rating

38 CFR 4.71a, General Rating Formula, Note (1)

Radiculopathy is nerve-root irritation from the spine, felt as pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. The spine formula’s Note (1) tells VA to evaluate associated objective neurologic abnormalities, including bowel or bladder impairment, separately under the appropriate code, in addition to the spine rating.

So a lumbar or cervical rating can sit alongside a separate nerve rating, and the nerve is rated under 4.124a with the levels on this page. See degenerative disc disease ratings, lumbar spine secondaries and the cervical spine exam.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy

VA Diabetic Sensory-Motor Peripheral Neuropathy DBQ

VA has a separate exam form for diabetic neuropathy. It asks about the diagnosis, whether you have Type I or Type II diabetes, the cause, onset and course, and then severity per nerve. For the arms it lists the radial, median and ulnar nerves. For the legs it lists the sciatic and femoral nerves. It repeats the rule that wholly sensory impairment should be rated mild, or at most moderate.

See diabetes, thyroid and adrenal ratings.

What VA’s peripheral nerves form covers

VA Peripheral Nerves DBQ (updated 2026-06-01)

• Symptoms in each limb: constant pain, intermittent pain, tingling, and numbness, each marked none, mild, moderate or severe.
• Muscle strength on a 0 to 5 scale (elbow, wrist, grip, pinch, knee, ankle), and muscle atrophy with measurements in centimeters.
• Reflexes (biceps, triceps, brachioradialis, knee, ankle) and a sensory exam by dermatome.
• Trophic changes such as hair loss or smooth, shiny skin, and gait.
• Nerve by nerve: each marked normal, incomplete paralysis or complete paralysis, right and left. The sciatic adds “moderately severe” and “severe, with marked muscular atrophy.”
• Assistive devices (brace, cane, crutch, walker, wheelchair) and how often you use them.
• EMG results, if done. The form says that if EMG studies are in the record and reflect your current condition, repeat studies are not indicated.
• Functional impact on work.

See Preparing for Your C&P Exam.

How nerve ratings add up

38 CFR 4.25, 4.26

Separate nerve ratings are combined, not added, and when both arms or both legs are affected the bilateral factor applies (38 CFR 4.26). See Why 50% + 50% Is Not 100%. If a nerve condition has progressed, see When To Ask VA For A Rating Increase. For severe loss of use of a limb, see special monthly compensation.

What I could not verify

• All nerve levels come from eCFR text of 38 CFR 4.124a, 4.123 and 4.124 (current as of October 16, 2026). eCFR is unofficial, and the official text wins over me.
• I could not open VA’s two nerve forms as text myself. I checked the key lines (sensory rule, EMG sentence, nerve lists, device options) by quoting them from each form, but not every line. The forms themselves are the authority.
• Which nerve VA assigns to a given spine problem is a medical and rating judgment. I did not find a VA source that maps spinal levels to nerve codes.
• I did not check the rules for nerve damage that is a symptom of a different disease, such as multiple sclerosis or ALS.
• I did not verify medical links between conditions and nerve damage.