Mesothelioma is rated 100 percent disabling by VA for as long as it is being treated. Asbestosis is rated differently, on a sliding scale from 0 to 100 percent that depends entirely on two pulmonary function test results. Both ratings come from the same part of the rating schedule, 38 CFR 4.97, and this page quotes the criteria VA actually applies.
A VA disability rating is a percentage that describes how much a service-connected condition reduces earning capacity. The percentage sets the monthly compensation amount. Getting a rating requires two separate things: the condition has to be service connected first, and then it is rated. If service connection is the open question, start with how VA decides asbestos service connection.
How VA rates mesothelioma and other respiratory cancers
Mesothelioma is rated under diagnostic code 6819. The rating schedule text is short and leaves no discretion on the percentage:
6819 Neoplasms, malignant, any specified part of respiratory system exclusive of skin growths 100
There is no lower tier. An active respiratory malignancy is rated 100 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating. This applies to pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma rated by analogy, and asbestos-related lung cancer alike, so long as the cancer is service connected.
The 100 percent rating does not end when treatment ends
The note attached to diagnostic code 6819 controls what happens afterward, and it is the part veterans and families most often get wrong:
Note: A rating of 100 percent shall continue beyond the cessation of any surgical, X-ray, antineoplastic chemotherapy or other therapeutic procedure. Six months after discontinuance of such treatment, the appropriate disability rating shall be determined by mandatory VA examination. Any change in evaluation based upon that or any subsequent examination shall be subject to the provisions of 38 CFR 3.105(e). If there has been no local recurrence or metastasis, rate on residuals.
Three things follow from that note:
- The 100 percent rating continues through treatment and for six months after treatment stops. It is not reduced mid-treatment.
- At the six-month mark VA is required to schedule an examination. That examination is mandatory, not optional, and missing it can itself cause a problem.
- If the cancer has not recurred or spread, VA rates the residuals instead. Residuals for an asbestos cancer commonly means reduced lung function, surgical loss of lung tissue, or removal of the pleura, each of which is rated on its own criteria. A residual rating is frequently still substantial.
A reduction after that examination is governed by 38 CFR 3.105(e), which requires VA to give advance written notice and an opportunity to respond before the payment amount drops. A reduction that arrives with no notice period is a procedural error worth raising.
How VA rates asbestosis
Asbestosis is diagnostic code 6833. Unlike mesothelioma, it carries no fixed percentage. It is rated under the General Rating Formula for Interstitial Lung Disease, which is shared by diagnostic codes 6825 through 6833, and the percentage is driven by pulmonary function testing.
| Rating | Criteria (any one is enough) |
|---|---|
| 100% | FVC less than 50 percent predicted; or DLCO (SB) less than 40 percent predicted; or maximum exercise capacity less than 15 ml/kg/min oxygen consumption with cardiorespiratory limitation; or cor pulmonale or pulmonary hypertension; or requires outpatient oxygen therapy |
| 60% | FVC of 50 to 64 percent predicted; or DLCO (SB) of 40 to 55 percent predicted; or maximum exercise capacity of 15 to 20 ml/kg/min oxygen consumption with cardiorespiratory limitation |
| 30% | FVC of 65 to 74 percent predicted; or DLCO (SB) of 56 to 65 percent predicted |
| 10% | FVC of 75 to 80 percent predicted; or DLCO (SB) of 66 to 80 percent predicted |
The criteria are written with “or” between them, which matters. A veteran who meets the DLCO threshold for 60 percent but not the FVC threshold is rated at 60 percent. VA applies whichever single criterion produces the higher evaluation.
What FVC and DLCO measure
FVC is forced vital capacity, the total volume of air a person can force out of the lungs after breathing in as deeply as possible. Asbestosis stiffens and scars lung tissue, so the lungs hold and release less air. FVC is expressed as a percentage of what a healthy person of the same age, sex, height, and race would be predicted to produce.
DLCO is diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide, measured by the single breath method. It measures how efficiently gas crosses from the air sacs into the bloodstream. Scarring thickens that barrier, so DLCO often falls before FVC does. In asbestosis claims DLCO is frequently the test that drives the rating, which is a reason to make sure the examination includes it.
Because the entire rating rests on these numbers, the quality and timing of the pulmonary function test matters more in an asbestosis claim than in almost any other. A test performed on a good day, or without DLCO, can understate the disability by a full rating tier.
What a rating is worth each month
Compensation amounts change annually with the cost-of-living adjustment and vary with dependents, so this page does not reproduce them. VA publishes the current tables directly:
- Current VA disability compensation rates
- Special monthly compensation rates, which can apply above the 100 percent level for things like the need for regular aid and attendance
Two related points are worth knowing. A veteran rated 100 percent may still qualify for aid and attendance on top of the schedular rating. And when a service-connected condition causes death, a surviving spouse or dependent may be eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, which is a separate benefit with its own criteria.
A VA rating and an asbestos trust claim are separate
A VA disability rating does not reduce, offset, or disqualify a claim against an asbestos bankruptcy trust, and a trust payment does not reduce a VA rating. They are different systems with different decision makers. Veterans regularly pursue both. See filing a VA claim and a trust fund claim at the same time.
We build the evidence. A VA-accredited representative files it.
A claim is decided on the record in front of the rater, and assembling that record is the part most veterans do alone. We do it at no cost: service history, the ship or shore station where the exposure happened, the occupational specialty, and the medical documentation that ties the diagnosis to the exposure.
We then hand the completed file to the VA-accredited representative we have engaged, who under federal law is the person permitted to prepare and present a VA claim. We do not charge you. Neither will they for an initial claim: an accredited representative may not charge a fee for services provided before a notice of disagreement is filed. County Veterans Service Officers are free for the same reason.
Sources
- 38 CFR 4.97, Schedule of ratings, respiratory system, diagnostic codes 6819 and 6833, and the General Rating Formula for Interstitial Lung Disease. Text quoted from the Code of Federal Regulations as published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo.gov), 2025 edition.
- 38 CFR 3.105(e), reduction of evaluations, procedural requirements.
- VA published compensation rate tables.
Mesothelioma Funds Administration is a private advocate resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This page explains published federal regulations and is general information, not legal advice or a promise of any particular rating outcome.