How the VA Rates Gastrointestinal Conditions

The VA rates digestive-system conditions under 38 CFR §4.114, a group of diagnostic codes covering everything from stomach lining inflammation to hernias. This page covers the gastrointestinal conditions that don't already have their own dedicated page on this site: gastritis, gallbladder removal, ulcerative colitis, inguinal hernia, umbilical hernia, and hemorrhoids. If you're looking for GERD or IBS specifically, see our dedicated GERD rating guide and IBS rating guide, since those conditions have their own diagnostic codes and criteria distinct from what's covered here.

A Key Rule: Digestive Ratings Usually Don't Stack

Section 4.114 includes an important instruction most veterans miss: many digestive conditions rated under this section, particularly conditions of the peptic ulcer/gastritis/colitis family, are not combined at full value with each other because their symptoms overlap (abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, malnutrition). Where two or more digestive diagnoses coexist, the VA generally assigns a single rating based on the predominant disability picture rather than adding every diagnostic code's rating together. This makes accurate, complete documentation of your worst symptoms at the C&P exam more important than simply listing every digestive diagnosis you have.

VA Rating for Gastritis

Chronic hypertrophic gastritis is rated under DC 7307, with ratings of 10% (chronic, with small, nodular lesions and symptoms), 30% (chronic, with multiple small eroded or ulcerated areas and symptoms), and 60% (chronic, with severe hemorrhages or large ulcerated or eroded areas). The diagnosis typically requires endoscopic (gastroscope) confirmation of the lesion pattern rather than a symptom complaint alone, so an upper endoscopy report is the central piece of evidence for this claim. Veterans should track how often symptoms flare, whether any episode involved bleeding, and what medications (proton pump inhibitors, H2 blockers) are required to manage it.

VA Rating for Gallbladder Removal (Cholecystectomy)

Residuals of gallbladder removal are rated under DC 7318: 0% if the removal is asymptomatic, 10% for mild post-removal symptoms, and 30% for severe symptoms that persist after surgery. Many veterans assume that once the gallbladder is out, the condition is "resolved" and not worth filing. In fact, a meaningful share of post-cholecystectomy patients develop ongoing digestive symptoms (bile reflux, chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain) that qualify for the 10% or 30% tier. Surgical records documenting the cholecystectomy plus a current statement of ongoing digestive symptoms support this claim.

VA Rating for Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is rated under DC 7323 on a four-tier scale based on exacerbation frequency and how much the disease affects overall health: 10% (moderate, with infrequent exacerbations), 30% (moderately severe, with frequent exacerbations), 60% (severe, with numerous exacerbations and malnutrition, health only fair during remissions), and 100% (pronounced, resulting in marked malnutrition, anemia, general debility, or a serious complication such as a liver abscess). Because this rating turns heavily on exacerbation frequency and nutritional impact, a gastroenterologist's treatment notes, colonoscopy findings, and any documented weight loss or anemia labs are the strongest supporting evidence.

VA Rating for Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are rated under DC 7336 at 0% (mild or moderate), 10% (large or thrombotic, irreducible, with excessive redundant tissue), or 20% (with persistent bleeding and secondary anemia, or with fissures). It's a low-ceiling rating on its own, but hemorrhoids are frequently service-connected due to years of prolonged sitting in vehicles, aircraft, or at a desk, and they're worth filing alongside other GI conditions since VA's combined ratings table means even a 10% or 20% addition can move a veteran's overall combined rating up a full 10-point bracket. See our full hemorrhoids VA rating guide for the complete criteria and evidence checklist.

VA Rating for Inguinal and Umbilical Hernias

Inguinal hernia is rated under DC 7338, from 0% (small, reducible, or without a true hernia protrusion) up through 10% (small, postoperative recurrent, or well-supported by a truss or belt), 30% (small, postoperative recurrent, not well supported, or irreducible), and 60% (large, postoperative recurrent, not well supported under ordinary conditions and not readily reducible, considered inoperable); a bilateral hernia adds a further percentage under the regulation's bilateral instructions.

Umbilical hernia has no dedicated diagnostic code and is rated by analogy under DC 7339 (postoperative ventral hernia): 0% for a healed, asymptomatic postoperative wound with no belt indicated, 20% for a small hernia not well supported by a belt under ordinary conditions, 40% for a large hernia not well supported by a belt, and 100% for a massive, persistent hernia with severe diastasis of the recti muscles or muscular deficiency. A surgeon's operative note describing hernia size and any recurrence, plus a current exam confirming whether a belt adequately controls it, drives this rating.

Secondary Service Connection for Digestive Conditions

Digestive conditions are secondarily connected more often than veterans expect, because the gut is unusually sensitive to both medication side effects and chronic stress. Long-term use of NSAIDs for a service-connected joint or back condition is a well-documented cause of gastritis, giving veterans with an existing musculoskeletal rating a plausible secondary pathway into a DC 7307 claim. Chronic stress, anxiety, and PTSD are also recognized triggers or aggravating factors for several digestive conditions, including flares of ulcerative colitis, so a veteran with a service-connected mental health condition and a later digestive diagnosis should have a treating provider address whether one aggravated the other. Building this link with a nexus letter, rather than assuming the connection is obvious, is what separates a granted secondary claim from a denied one.

Evidence for a Gastrointestinal Claim

What to Expect at Your C&P Exam

Filing More Than One GI Condition Together

Because 38 CFR §4.114 limits how much overlapping digestive conditions stack, the strategic move for veterans with more than one GI diagnosis is to file everything at once rather than piecemeal, so the rater has the full symptom picture needed to apply the coexisting-conditions rule correctly instead of evaluating each claim in isolation on a different date. A veteran who files gastritis alone, gets a low rating, and then files ulcerative colitis a year later has effectively asked two different raters to guess at the predominant disability with incomplete information each time. Conditions with clearly separate anatomical bases (a hernia and hemorrhoids, for instance, or a hernia and gastritis) are more likely to be rated independently than two conditions that share the same symptom profile, so grouping related claims and letting the evidence show which diagnosis is actually driving your worst symptoms tends to produce a more accurate overall rating than filing reactively.

Use our VA disability rating calculator to see how a gastrointestinal rating combines with your other conditions, or browse every rated condition at VA disability.