Reviewed by Jonathan Teplitsky · Updated August 2026 · Informational only — not legal or medical advice; Rank and Pay is not affiliated with the VA.
Melanoma is a PACT Act presumptive cancer
Melanoma appears on VA's list of presumptive cancers under the PACT Act. For a veteran with qualifying toxic-exposure service, presumptive status removes the hardest part of the claim: you do not have to prove that burn pits or other exposures caused the melanoma.
You still have to show two things. You need a current melanoma diagnosis, and you need service that qualifies under the law. The qualifying locations and date ranges are specific — see PACT Act eligibility for the current list, and the full presumptive conditions page for where melanoma sits among the other covered cancers.
Presumptive status settles how the melanoma got service-connected. It does not settle what the rating will be. That is a separate question, and it is where most of the confusion on this claim lives.
How VA rates melanoma: Diagnostic Code 7833
Melanoma is rated under Diagnostic Code 7833 in 38 CFR § 4.118, the skin rating schedule. The key thing to understand is that DC 7833 does not rate the cancer. It rates what the cancer and its treatment leave behind.
That means the rating comes from one of three places: scars, disfigurement, or impairment of function. A melanoma removed from the shoulder that heals cleanly and leaves a small flat scar may rate 0%. The same diagnosis on the face, or one that required a wide reconstruction, can rate substantially higher — because the residuals are worse, not because the cancer was.
The 100% rating and what actually triggers it
A 100% rating applies while qualifying antineoplastic treatment is under way. The regulation sets a specific bar for what counts: treatment comparable to that used for systemic malignancies — systemic chemotherapy, X-ray therapy more extensive than to a limited area, or surgery more extensive than a wide local excision. The 100% runs from the date that treatment starts.
Read that threshold carefully. It is where this claim most often goes sideways.
Most early-stage melanomas are treated by excision and nothing more. A wide local excision is the standard of care for a thin melanoma, and it is explicitly the thing the regulation says is not extensive enough. The regulation makes the point directly: if treatment is confined to the skin, the 100-percent provisions do not apply.
Veterans routinely file expecting an automatic 100% because they were treated for cancer. They are then surprised by a 0% or 10% decision that is, on the regulation's own terms, correct.
If your treatment went beyond a skin excision, document exactly what was done. Attach the operative report and the oncology record rather than describing the treatment in your own words. Whether a given course of therapy meets the comparability test is a rating judgment, and the rater can only make it from the records in front of them.
The mandatory six-month examination
The 100% rating is temporary by design. VA schedules a mandatory examination six months after qualifying antineoplastic treatment is completed, and that exam sets the residual rating going forward.
A reduction after that exam is not automatic. Any proposed reduction has to run through the procedure in 38 CFR § 3.105(e). VA must notify you first, explain the proposal, and give you a window to submit evidence and request a hearing before the reduction takes effect.
Veterans who assume the drop is a done deal often skip the one point in the process where new evidence carries the most weight.
What the rating looks like after treatment
Once treatment ends, the rating is rebuilt from residuals under Diagnostic Codes 7800, 7801, 7802, 7804, and 7805:
- DC 7800 — disfigurement of the head, face, or neck, rated on characteristics such as scar length, width, contour, texture, and any skin loss or discoloration.
- DC 7801 and 7802 — scars elsewhere on the body, rated by area covered and whether the scar is deep or superficial.
- DC 7804 — scars that are unstable or painful: 10% for one or two, 20% for three or four, 30% for five or more.
- DC 7805 — any other disabling effects the scar causes that the codes above do not capture.
These are not alternatives you pick between. A painful scar on the face can support a DC 7800 disfigurement rating and a separate DC 7804 rating at the same time. Claims that describe only the appearance, or only the pain, leave a rating on the table. See the site's scars and disfigurement page for the full criteria.
Other skin cancers: Diagnostic Code 7818
Skin cancers other than melanoma are rated under Diagnostic Code 7818, which covers malignant skin neoplasms generally — basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma among them. The structure is identical to DC 7833: rate on residual scars, disfigurement, or impaired function, with a 100% rating during qualifying antineoplastic treatment.
Benign skin conditions are a different lane entirely. Chronic dermatitis and eczema are rated under DC 7806 on body-surface-area coverage and treatment intensity — see the dermatitis rating page for that scale.
Evidence a melanoma claim needs
A melanoma claim needs four things: proof of the diagnosis, proof of what the treatment actually involved, proof of qualifying service, and documentation of whatever the treatment left behind.
- The pathology report. This is what establishes the diagnosis and the type. A dermatologist's clinical note describing a suspicious lesion is not the same thing as a biopsy result confirming melanoma.
- The treatment record, in detail. The operative report or oncology record is what decides whether the 100% threshold is met. "Lesion removed" tells a rater nothing about how extensive the surgery was.
- Proof of qualifying service. For the presumptive path, your dates and locations of service have to line up with the PACT Act criteria. Your DD-214 is the starting document.
- Photographs and a scars DBQ. Residual ratings turn on measurements and characteristics. Photographs taken after healing, plus a completed scars Disability Benefits Questionnaire, give the rater what the criteria actually ask for.
If the presumptive path does not apply to your service, melanoma can still be claimed on a direct or secondary basis with a medical nexus opinion — see the nexus letter guide for what that opinion has to say.
Common mistakes on this claim
Most melanoma claims that come back lower than expected fail on the same five points.
- Expecting 100% for any cancer treatment. The threshold is the extent of the treatment, not the seriousness of the diagnosis.
- Filing before the residuals have healed. Scar characteristics are measured after healing. An early exam can lock in a rating that does not reflect the final result.
- Documenting appearance but not symptoms. Pain and instability are separately rated. Mention both.
- Treating the six-month exam as a formality. It sets your ongoing rating, and it is the moment when your evidence matters most.
- Ignoring recurrence. A new primary melanoma or a recurrence starts the treatment analysis over. It can support an increase, but only if you file for one.
Where this fits with the rest of your claim
A melanoma rating combines with your other service-connected conditions under VA's combined-ratings math, not simple addition. Use the VA disability rating calculator to see what a residual scar rating actually does to your combined percentage before you decide whether an increase is worth filing for.
For research context on VA melanoma care, see our briefing on the VA study on melanoma treatment for veterans.
Next step
If you have a melanoma diagnosis and qualifying toxic-exposure service, confirm your eligibility on the PACT Act eligibility page, then pull your pathology and operative records before you file. Those two documents decide most of this claim. An accredited Veterans Service Officer can file it with you at no cost.
This page is informational only and is not legal or medical advice. Rank and Pay is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Rating criteria are summarized from 38 CFR Part 4; for your specific claim, consult the VA, an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO), or an accredited attorney.