What is the VA rating for Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2?
Review diabetes guidance around the five compensable DC 7913 tiers: restricted diet, insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent, regulation of activities, and the ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic-reaction hospitalization or visit-frequency findings at the two highest tiers.
Condition Overview & Clinical Scope
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VA's diabetes schedule (DC 7913) is a five-tier ladder built around three cumulative building blocks: restricted diet, insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent, and regulation of activities. The two highest tiers (60% and 100%) add a ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic-reaction hospitalization or diabetic-care-visit frequency requirement, and the 100% tier further requires either progressive weight and strength loss or complications that would be compensable if separately evaluated.
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Common Questions & FAQs
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What are you trying to understand about diabetes mellitus, type 2?
VA's diabetes schedule (DC 7913) is a five-tier ladder built around three cumulative building blocks: restricted diet, insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent, and regulation of activities. The two highest tiers (60% and 100%) add a ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic-reaction hospitalization or diabetic-care-visit frequency requirement, and the 100% tier further requires either progressive weight and strength loss or complications that would be compensable if separately evaluated.
This hub explains the published DC 7913 schedule and common record language. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: DC 7913 itself is not type-restricted, its criteria and percentages apply identically to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. A standalone Type 1 diabetes diagnosis (absent polyglandular autoimmune syndrome) is rated under this same DC 7913. It does not diagnose diabetes, determine service connection, infer undocumented findings, estimate an outcome, or replace medical care or accredited representation. Note (1)'s compensable-complications alternative for the 100% tier asks whether a qualified evaluator has already determined that a specific complication (for example, diabetic nephropathy or retinopathy) would be compensable if separately rated; RatingScope does not determine that compensability itself, since it depends on that complication's own, separately-researched rating criteria. Note (1) also allows rating a qualifying complication separately instead of counting it toward this 100% tier; RatingScope computes DC 7913's own rating under the counted-toward-100-percent path only and does not offer combination-strategy advice on which approach is more advantageous for your case.
Percentage Guides
Understanding Your Percentage
Select a pathway to see what the published criteria ask about, what records may clarify it, and what should not be assumed.
0%
Next: 10%
The 0% pathway describes a confirmed diabetes diagnosis that does not currently require a restricted diet, insulin, or an oral hypoglycemic agent.
What separates the next level: The 10% level is reached once the condition is manageable by restricted diet alone.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
DC 7913 lists no separate 0% row; RatingScope uses this pathway when a confirmed diabetes diagnosis does not meet any listed compensable tier.
Qualification explanation
The record should confirm a diabetes diagnosis and document that diet is not currently restricted and neither insulin nor an oral hypoglycemic agent is currently required.
Examples
Confirmed diabetes diagnosis with no current dietary restriction, insulin, or oral medication documented.; Enough information is available to confirm these facts, rather than simply missing.
Medical evidence
Treatment records confirming diagnosis; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ current-management section
Functional impact examples
The record documents a confirmed diabetes diagnosis without a current compensable management requirement.
Common misconceptions
A 0% pathway does not mean diabetes is imaginary or unimportant.; Missing management details should not be treated as proof of a below-threshold result.
Related topics
restricted diet; diagnosis confirmation
Source context
38 CFR 4.119; 7913; Current DC 7913 educational pathway.
10%
Next: 20%
The 10% level is reached when diabetes is manageable by restricted diet only, with no insulin or oral hypoglycemic agent required.
What separates the next level: The 20% level requires either insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent, in addition to restricted diet.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Manageable by restricted diet only.
Qualification explanation
The record should confirm a diabetes diagnosis and document that restricted diet is the sole management method, without insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent.
Examples
Confirmed diabetes managed entirely by a documented restricted diet.; No insulin or oral hypoglycemic agent currently prescribed or required.
Medical evidence
Treatment records documenting diet-only management; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ
Functional impact examples
Diet alone controls the condition without medication.
Common misconceptions
Diet restriction alone, without any medication, is still a real, compensable finding, not an automatic 0%.
Related topics
restricted diet; oral hypoglycemic agent
Source context
38 CFR 4.119; 7913; Current DC 7913 educational pathway.
20%
Next: 40%
The 20% level is reached by one or more daily insulin injections and a restricted diet, or an oral hypoglycemic agent and a restricted diet, without a requirement to regulate activities.
What separates the next level: The 40% level additionally requires regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities), and is reached only via the insulin path, not the oral-hypoglycemic-agent path.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Requiring one or more daily injection of insulin and restricted diet, or; oral hypoglycemic agent and restricted diet.
Qualification explanation
The record should confirm a diabetes diagnosis, restricted diet, and either insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent. Regulation of activities is not part of this tier's own criteria; it is what distinguishes the insulin path here from the 40% tier above it.
Examples
Daily insulin injections and a restricted diet, without a documented activity-regulation requirement.; An oral hypoglycemic agent and a restricted diet, with no insulin required.
Medical evidence
Treatment records documenting insulin or oral medication and diet; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ
Functional impact examples
Medication and diet manage the condition without a documented need to limit activity.
Common misconceptions
An oral hypoglycemic agent is treated as equivalent to insulin at this tier; it does not require a separate, higher showing.; The oral-hypoglycemic-agent path has no activity-regulation competitor at a higher tier the way the insulin path does.
38 CFR 4.119; 7913; Current DC 7913 educational pathway.
40%
Next: 60%
The 40% level is reached by one or more daily insulin injections, a restricted diet, and regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities).
What separates the next level: The 60% level adds episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring one or two hospitalizations per year, or twice-monthly diabetic-care visits.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Requiring one or more daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities.
Qualification explanation
The record should confirm insulin, restricted diet, and a documented need to regulate activities, without a qualifying ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic-reaction hospitalization or diabetic-care-visit frequency finding.
Examples
Daily insulin, restricted diet, and a documented requirement to avoid strenuous activities, without a qualifying hospitalization or visit-frequency finding.
Medical evidence
Treatment records documenting insulin, diet, and activity limitations; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ
Functional impact examples
The veteran must avoid strenuous occupational or recreational activity to manage the condition.
Common misconceptions
Regulation of activities is a distinct, separately-documented fact; it is not assumed just because insulin is required.
Related topics
activity regulation; insulin; hospitalization frequency
Source context
38 CFR 4.119; 7913; Current DC 7913 educational pathway.
60%
Next: 100%
The 60% level adds, on top of the 40% requirements, episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring one or two hospitalizations per year, or twice-monthly visits to a diabetic care provider, plus complications that would not be compensable if separately evaluated.
What separates the next level: The 100% level requires a higher hospitalization/visit-frequency finding (at least three hospitalizations per year, or weekly visits), plus either progressive weight/strength loss or separately-compensable complications.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Requiring one or more daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring one or two hospitalizations per year or twice a month visits to a diabetic care provider, plus complications that would not be compensable if separately evaluated.
Qualification explanation
The record should confirm all 40% elements plus this specific hospitalization or visit-frequency pattern.
Examples
Insulin, diet, and activity regulation, with one to two ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic hospitalizations documented in the past year.; The same base requirements, with twice-monthly diabetic-care provider visits documented instead of hospitalizations.
Medical evidence
Hospital records documenting ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic episodes; Treatment records documenting diabetic-care visit frequency; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ
Functional impact examples
Recurring hospital or urgent diabetic-care visits are needed to manage ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic episodes.
Common misconceptions
A single hospitalization does not by itself establish the one-to-two-per-year pattern this tier describes; the record should reflect the actual frequency.
Related topics
hospitalization frequency; activity regulation
Source context
38 CFR 4.119; 7913; Current DC 7913 educational pathway.
100%
Highest listed pathway
The 100% level is the highest listed DC 7913 percentage: more than one daily insulin injection, restricted diet, and regulation of activities, with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring at least three hospitalizations per year or weekly diabetic-care visits, plus either progressive loss of weight and strength, or complications that would be compensable if separately evaluated.
What separates the next level: This is the highest listed DC 7913 percentage; there is no higher schedular tier under this diagnostic code.
Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Requiring more than one daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities) with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring at least three hospitalizations per year or weekly visits to a diabetic care provider, plus either progressive loss of weight and strength or complications that would be compensable if separately evaluated.
Qualification explanation
The record should confirm the 60% elements at the higher hospitalization/visit-frequency band, plus either progressive weight and strength loss, or a specific complication a qualified evaluator has determined would be compensable if separately rated.
Examples
Insulin, diet, activity regulation, and weekly diabetic-care visits, with documented progressive weight and strength loss.; The same base requirements, with a qualified evaluator having determined that a specific diabetic complication would be independently compensable.
Medical evidence
Hospital records documenting frequent ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic episodes; Treatment records documenting weight and strength trends; A separate compensability determination for a specific complication, if that path applies; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ
Functional impact examples
Weekly diabetic-care visits or frequent hospitalizations are required to manage the condition.; Progressive weight and strength loss is documented alongside frequent ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic episodes.
Common misconceptions
Note (1) also allows rating a qualifying complication separately instead of counting it toward this 100% tier. Which approach is more advantageous depends on the complication's own separate rating and is not something RatingScope determines or recommends.; The weekly/three-or-more-hospitalization band alone, without either the weight-loss or compensable-complications finding, does not reach 100%; it remains at the tier the other confirmed facts support.
Related topics
compensable complications; hospitalization frequency; weight and strength loss
Source context
38 CFR 4.119; 7913; Current DC 7913 educational pathway and highest listed schedular percentage.
Learn
Understand the details behind the criteria
Use these short guides to connect published terms with the records and observations that may clarify them.
What 'regulation of activities' means, and why it matters
Regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities) is a distinct, separately-documented fact that separates the 20% tier from the 40% tier on the insulin path. It has no bearing on the oral-hypoglycemic-agent path, which has no higher-tier competitor of its own.
This fact must be affirmatively documented as required, not simply left unasked or assumed.
Only the insulin path competes against a higher tier on this fact; the oral-hypoglycemic-agent-only path resolves to 20% regardless of activity-regulation status, since DC 7913's 40% tier is written around insulin specifically.
An unclear or unanswered activity-regulation question is treated as unresolved, not as a confirmed 'no.'
Records to review: treatment records documenting activity limitations; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ.
How the hospitalization/diabetic-care-visit frequency bands work
The 60% and 100% tiers each require a specific ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic-reaction hospitalization or diabetic-care-visit frequency: one to two hospitalizations per year or twice-monthly visits for 60%, and at least three hospitalizations per year or weekly visits for 100%.
Each band is the regulation's own paired either/or language (a hospitalization-count floor, or a visit-frequency floor); RatingScope treats them as one banded fact, not two independent questions.
Treating the 100% band as more frequent than the 60% band is a structural, ordinal inference RatingScope makes, since the regulation states each band's own floor separately rather than describing them as nested tiers.
This frequency finding alone does not reach 100%; the weight-loss or compensable-complications requirement must also be met at that tier.
Records to review: hospital records; treatment records documenting visit frequency; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ.
Note (1) states that compensable complications are evaluated separately unless supporting a 100% rating, and that noncompensable complications are considered part of the diabetic process. RatingScope asks whether a specific complication's separate compensability has already been established, rather than determining it.
Determining whether a specific complication (for example, diabetic nephropathy or retinopathy) would be compensable if separately rated requires that complication's own rating criteria, which RatingScope has not researched as part of this diabetes hub.
This question asks whether that determination has already been made in your records, not for RatingScope to make it.
Note (1) also permits rating a qualifying complication separately instead of counting it toward the 100% tier. RatingScope computes DC 7913's own rating under the counted-toward-100-percent path only, and does not compare that outcome against separately rating the complication, since that comparison depends on facts outside this hub's scope.
This is a disclosed, known boundary, not a silent one.
Records to review: specialist evaluation records; records establishing a separate complication's compensability.
Insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents as alternative paths
DC 7913 treats an oral hypoglycemic agent as an alternative, not a lesser substitute, to insulin at the 20% tier. Both, paired with restricted diet, reach the same 20% level.
The 20% tier is reached by insulin and diet, or by an oral hypoglycemic agent and diet; either path alone is sufficient.
Only the insulin path has a documented route to the 40% tier and above (via activity regulation and the hospitalization/visit bands); DC 7913's higher tiers are all written around insulin specifically.
A veteran using only an oral hypoglycemic agent, with no insulin, is evaluated at the 20% tier or the 10% (diet-only) tier, depending on whether an oral agent is required at all.
Records to review: prescription records; treatment records documenting medication type; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ.
Common diabetes evidence
Diabetes evidence is strongest when different records describe the same management pattern consistently across diagnosis, diet, medication, activity limitations, and hospitalization or visit frequency.
Medical records can document diagnosis, current diet, medication type, and treatment history.
Hospital records can document ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic-reaction episodes and their frequency.
The Diabetes Mellitus DBQ organizes diagnosis, management method, and complication findings.
No single visit or record automatically determines a percentage; the overall documented management pattern matters.
Records to review: medical records; hospital records; Diabetes Mellitus DBQ; medication history.
How to read the Diabetes Mellitus DBQ
The official Diabetes Mellitus DBQ organizes diagnosis, current management method (diet, oral agent, or insulin), activity limitations, hospitalization/visit frequency, and complication findings.
The form generally asks about current management method, activity restrictions, and episodes requiring hospitalization or additional diabetic-care visits.
The examiner gathers evidence; the examiner does not issue the final benefits decision.
Describe the actual management pattern honestly; do not exaggerate, minimize, or rehearse an outcome.
This hub's DBQ cross-check was not completed during this build (a connectivity issue reaching VA's DBQ listing page, not a content gap) and will be verified when the source is accessible.
Records to review: Diabetes Mellitus DBQ; C&P examination.
Evidence
Evidence that may clarify the published criteria
Medical and treatment records
May document diagnosis, current diet, medication type, activity limitations, and treatment history.
Diagnosis alone does not establish a percentage without documented management-method facts.
Hospital and urgent-care records
May document ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic-reaction episodes and their frequency, supporting the 60% and 100% tiers' hospitalization/visit-frequency requirement.
A single documented episode does not by itself establish a recurring frequency pattern.
Specialist evaluation records
May document whether a specific diabetic complication has been separately evaluated and found compensable, relevant to Note (1)'s 100% tier alternative.
RatingScope does not determine a complication's separate compensability itself; it asks whether that determination has already been made.
If a specific complication of your diabetes (for example, nephropathy or retinopathy) has already been found to independently qualify for its own separate rating, that finding can support the 100% DC 7913 tier instead of, or as an alternative to, progressive weight and strength loss.
RatingScope asks whether this determination has already been made; it does not determine a complication's compensability itself, since that depends on the complication's own, separately-researched criteria.
specialist evaluation records; progressive weight and strength loss; hospitalization/visit-frequency band
A pill or non-injectable medication for diabetes, distinct from insulin injections.
This path reaches the same 20% tier as insulin plus diet, but has no documented route to the 40% tier and above, which are written around insulin specifically.
Even if the schedular rating for Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 does not reach 100 percent, TDIU may still provide a pathway to compensation at the 100 percent rate, based on unemployability from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined.
A lower schedular percentage does not by itself foreclose TDIU eligibility, this hub computes only the schedular percentage for this specific condition and does not determine TDIU eligibility.
Yes. DC 7913's criteria and percentages apply identically regardless of diabetes type. A standalone Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, absent polyglandular autoimmune syndrome, is rated under this same DC 7913, not a separate type-specific code.
How does VA rate diabetes?
VA uses Diagnostic Code 7913, a five-tier schedule (100/60/40/20/10 percent) built around restricted diet, insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent, regulation of activities, and, at the two highest tiers, a ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic-reaction hospitalization or visit-frequency finding plus, at 100 percent, either weight/strength loss or separately-compensable complications.
What's the difference between the 20% and 40% tiers?
Both can involve insulin and restricted diet. The 40% tier additionally requires a documented need to regulate activities (avoid strenuous occupational and recreational activities); the 20% tier does not have this requirement.
What counts toward the hospitalization/visit frequency?
The 60% tier requires one to two ketoacidosis/hypoglycemic-reaction hospitalizations per year, or twice-monthly diabetic-care visits. The 100% tier requires at least three hospitalizations per year, or weekly visits. These are the regulation's own paired either/or thresholds at each tier.
What are 'compensable complications' at the 100% tier?
Per Note (1), if a specific diabetic complication has already been determined to be independently compensable under its own rating criteria, that finding can support the 100% DC 7913 tier as an alternative to progressive weight and strength loss. RatingScope asks whether this determination has already been made; it does not determine a complication's compensability itself.
Does an oral medication count the same as insulin?
At the 20% tier, yes: an oral hypoglycemic agent plus restricted diet reaches the same 20% level as insulin plus restricted diet. But only the insulin path has a documented route to the 40% tier and above.
What evidence commonly helps explain diabetes severity?
Treatment records, hospital records documenting ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic episodes, a Diabetes Mellitus DBQ, and, where relevant, specialist records establishing a complication's separate compensability may help explain the documented management pattern.
What happens during a diabetes C&P exam?
The examiner may review diagnosis, current management method, activity limitations, hospitalization or diabetic-care-visit frequency, and weight/strength or complication findings. The examination gathers information for VA; the examiner does not issue the final benefits decision.
If my schedular rating for Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 is below 100%, can I still be compensated at the 100% rate?
Possibly, through TDIU (Total Disability rating based on Individual Unemployability, 38 CFR 4.16), a separate pathway to 100 percent compensation based on unemployability, from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined, independent of whether the schedular rating itself reaches 100 percent. This hub computes only the schedular percentage and does not determine TDIU eligibility.
What separates the 0% rating from adjacent levels?
The 10% level is reached once the condition is manageable by restricted diet alone.
What separates the 10% rating from adjacent levels?
The 20% level requires either insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent, in addition to restricted diet.
What separates the 20% rating from adjacent levels?
The 40% level additionally requires regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities), and is reached only via the insulin path, not the oral-hypoglycemic-agent path.
What separates the 40% rating from adjacent levels?
The 60% level adds episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring one or two hospitalizations per year, or twice-monthly diabetic-care visits.
What separates the 60% rating from adjacent levels?
The 100% level requires a higher hospitalization/visit-frequency finding (at least three hospitalizations per year, or weekly visits), plus either progressive weight/strength loss or separately-compensable complications.
What separates the 100% rating from adjacent levels?
This is the highest listed DC 7913 percentage; there is no higher schedular tier under this diagnostic code.
Separate the question of confirmed DC 7913 severity from the medical question of whether a specific complication would independently qualify for its own rating.
Ready when you are
Compare documented diabetes findings
Use the diet, medication, activity-regulation, and hospitalization/visit-frequency language already documented in your records. Do not upload records or enter Social Security numbers, claim numbers, full dates of birth, or other sensitive identifiers. RatingScope does not infer missing findings.
Informational guidance only. RatingScope does not predict, decide, or guarantee VA outcomes.
Official VA form; organizes current management method (diet, oral agent, or insulin), activity limitations, hospitalization frequency, and complications.
38 CFR 4.16 - Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability (TDIU)
Official source for TDIU, a separate pathway to 100 percent compensation based on unemployability, independent of the schedular percentage. This hub does not determine TDIU eligibility.
Conditions commonly connected to Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
This reflects regulatory and clinical relationships already explained elsewhere on this site. It is not a diagnosis, not a prediction that you have or will develop a connected condition, and not personalized medical or legal advice.
Educational relationship
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 Hypertension
Diabetes and hypertension are commonly documented together, but each follows its own separate rating schedule.