COPD Claims Guide

What COPD Is

COPD is a group of lung diseases, mainly emphysema and chronic bronchitis, that block airflow and make breathing progressively harder. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a chronic cough, wheezing, and frequent chest infections. The VA rates it under diagnostic code 6604, part of the respiratory schedule (see 38 CFR § 4.97).

Rated by Breathing Tests (This Is the Whole Game)

COPD is scored from a pulmonary function test (PFT), the spirometry that measures how much and how fast you can move air. Three numbers drive the rating:

• FEV-1: how much air you can force out in the first second, as a percent of what is predicted for your age and size.
• FEV-1/FVC: that first-second volume as a share of your total forced breath.
• DLCO: how well oxygen passes from your lungs into your blood.

How It Gets Service Connected

• Burn pits and airborne hazards (PACT Act presumptive). COPD is one of the respiratory conditions presumptively linked to burn-pit and airborne-hazard exposure for covered Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans. If you have a qualifying exposure and service, you generally do not have to prove the medical link. See the PACT Act and burn-pit presumptives.
• Direct. COPD shown to have started in or been caused by service through another route, for example asbestos, chemical, or other occupational exposure, with a current diagnosis and a nexus.
• Secondary. COPD caused or worsened by another service-connected condition. See secondary conditions.

Across published DC 6604 decisions, here is how often the Board granted by the legal theory the claim was argued on:

Grant rate by exposure flag

How often the Board granted DC 6604 issues that carried each exposure signal, next to the overall baseline:

Common Secondary Conditions

Lung disease strains the heart and the rest of the body, so COPD sits in a chain with other conditions in both directions. Each bar below is the Board's grant rate for DC 6604 in that pairing, with the number of decisions under it. They describe the published record across many veterans, not a prediction about any one claim.

Conditions that can cause COPD (COPD as the secondary)

Claims where COPD was argued as secondary to an already service-connected condition:

Conditions COPD can cause (COPD as the primary)

Conditions veterans have claimed as caused or aggravated by service-connected COPD, as chronic lung disease burdens the heart and reduces oxygen:

How the VA Rates COPD (DC 6604)

The level is set by the breathing-test values, taking whichever result rates highest.

The 100 percent level is also reached by other severe findings: cor pulmonale (right-sided heart failure), pulmonary hypertension, episodes of acute respiratory failure, or the need for outpatient oxygen therapy. A maximum exercise capacity below 15 ml/kg/min of oxygen consumption also reaches 100 percent.

Evidence That Wins

• A complete, current pulmonary function test, reporting post-bronchodilator FEV-1, FEV-1/FVC, and DLCO. This is what the rating is built from, an old or incomplete PFT is a leading reason ratings come in low.
• Proof of a qualifying exposure for the presumptive path: deployment records or the burn-pit registry placing you where the airborne hazards were.
• A diagnosis of COPD (emphysema or chronic bronchitis) in the medical record, distinct from asthma, which is rated differently.
• Records of oxygen use, hospitalizations, or heart involvement if you are seeking the 100 percent level.
• The Respiratory Conditions DBQ, which captures the PFT values and findings the rating turns on. See the DBQ guide.

Common Mistakes

The same handful of missteps account for most lost or under-rated COPD claims. Among the Board's classified service-connection denials for COPD, here is what claims most often fell short on:

Frequently Asked Questions