Ulcerative colitis is rated under diagnostic code 7323 in 38 CFR 4.114, but since May 19, 2024, DC 7323 no longer has its own criteria. The current regulation says one line: "Colitis, ulcerative: Rate as Crohn's disease or undifferentiated form of inflammatory bowel disease (DC 7326)." That means every ulcerative colitis claim decided today is graded against the DC 7326 criteria, which award 10, 30, 60, or 100 percent based on what treatment the disease requires, how many daily episodes of diarrhea you have, and whether there are signs of systemic toxicity. The old language most articles still quote, "moderate with infrequent exacerbations," "moderately severe," "severe," and "pronounced," was removed from the regulation and is no longer used for new decisions.
If you are researching stomach or duodenal ulcers rather than colitis, that is a different disease with different codes. See our guide to VA disability ratings for ulcers.
What Changed on May 19, 2024
VA published a final rule revising the entire digestive system rating schedule on March 20, 2024, effective May 19, 2024 (89 FR 19735). The rule rewrote or removed dozens of digestive diagnostic codes. For ulcerative colitis specifically, the Federal Register table of changes lists DC 7323 as "Criterion and note May 19, 2024" and DC 7326 as "Title, evaluation, criterion and note May 19, 2024."
The practical effect is that ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are now graded on the same ladder. The distinction between the two diseases still matters medically, and it still matters for what your gastroenterologist documents, but it no longer changes which criteria the rater applies.
Ulcerative colitis is continuous inflammation limited to the inner lining of the colon and rectum, typically starting at the rectum and extending upward. Crohn's disease is patchy, can involve the full thickness of the bowel wall, and can appear anywhere from the mouth to the anus. Note (3) under DC 7326 acknowledges both patterns, stating that "inflammation may involve small bowel (ileitis), large bowel (colitis), or inflammation of any component of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus."
Do not confuse either one with irritable bowel syndrome. IBS is rated under DC 7319 and is a functional disorder with no structural or endoscopic evidence of disease. Ulcerative colitis is a structural inflammatory disease with visible ulceration on colonoscopy. This distinction is the single most consequential detail on this page, and it drives both the rating and the service connection route. Our separate guide covers IBS VA ratings under DC 7319.
The Current DC 7326 Rating Criteria
These are the criteria as written in 38 CFR 4.114 today. Note the structure: each level requires a treatment level, a symptom frequency, and a toxicity finding together, not any one of them alone.
| Rating | Criteria (38 CFR 4.114, DC 7326) |
|---|
| 100% | Severe inflammatory bowel disease that is unresponsive to treatment; and requires hospitalization at least once per year; and results in either an inability to work or is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain associated with at least two of the following: (1) six or more episodes per day of diarrhea, (2) six or more episodes per day of rectal bleeding, (3) recurrent episodes of rectal incontinence, or (4) recurrent abdominal distension |
| 60% | Moderate inflammatory bowel disease that is managed on an outpatient basis with immunosuppressants or other biologic agents; and is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain, four to five daily episodes of diarrhea; and intermittent signs of toxicity such as fever, tachycardia, or anemia |
| 30% | Mild to moderate inflammatory bowel disease that is managed with oral and topical agents (other than immunosuppressants or other biologic agents); and is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain with three or less daily episodes of diarrhea and minimal signs of toxicity such as fever, tachycardia, or anemia |
| 10% | Minimal to mild symptomatic inflammatory bowel disease that is managed with oral or topical agents (other than immunosuppressants or other biologic agents); and is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain with three or less daily episodes of diarrhea and no signs of systemic toxicity |
There is no 20, 40, 50, 70, 80, or 90 percent level under DC 7326. The ladder goes 10, 30, 60, 100.
Three notes accompany the code:
- Note (1): Following colectomy or colostomy with persistent or recurrent symptoms, rate either under DC 7326 or DC 7329 (Intestine, large, resection of), whichever provides the highest rating.
- Note (2): VA requires diagnoses under DC 7326 to be confirmed by endoscopy or radiologic studies.
- Note (3): Inflammation may involve small bowel, large bowel, or any component of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus.
Note (2) is the one veterans lose claims over. A symptom history without a colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, biopsy, or imaging study in the file gives the rater no basis to apply DC 7326 at all.
The Line Between 30 and 60 Percent
The biggest jump in this schedule is 30 to 60, and it turns almost entirely on your medication class. The 30 percent tier describes disease "managed with oral and topical agents (other than immunosuppressants or other biologic agents)." That is mesalamine, sulfasalazine, budesonide, rectal foams and suppositories. The 60 percent tier describes disease "managed on an outpatient basis with immunosuppressants or other biologic agents."
If you are on a biologic or an immunosuppressant, your treatment record should say so by drug name and by the class it belongs to, and it should be current. Many veterans are on these drugs and rated at 30 percent because nobody in the file ever connected the prescription to the criterion.
The 60 percent tier also requires four to five daily episodes of diarrhea and intermittent signs of toxicity such as fever, tachycardia, or anemia. Anemia is the most commonly documented of the three because it shows up in routine bloodwork. If your hemoglobin or ferritin has been low, make sure those labs are in the record.
What the 100 Percent Rating Actually Requires
This is the query behind most searches on this topic, so read the structure carefully. The 100 percent criterion is conjunctive. All of the following must be present:
- Severe inflammatory bowel disease that is unresponsive to treatment, and
- Hospitalization at least once per year, and
- Either an inability to work, or recurrent abdominal pain associated with at least two of these four: six or more daily episodes of diarrhea, six or more daily episodes of rectal bleeding, recurrent rectal incontinence, or recurrent abdominal distension.
"Unresponsive to treatment" is the gate most claims fail. A veteran who is stable on infliximab or vedolizumab is, by definition, responsive, and that record supports 60 rather than 100 no matter how disruptive the disease feels. The claims that reach 100 percent generally show failed or exhausted therapy, at least one inpatient admission documented in the last 12 months, and either a work history that ended because of the disease or a symptom log meeting two of the four listed findings.
There is a second route to 100 percent for veterans who have had surgery. Under DC 7329 (Intestine, large, resection of), a 100 percent rating is assigned for "total colectomy with formation of ileostomy, high-output syndrome, and more than two episodes of dehydration requiring intravenous hydration in the past 12 months." Note (1) under DC 7326 directs the rater to use whichever of the two codes gives the higher result.
If you cannot meet either criterion but the disease keeps you from holding substantially gainful employment, the correct target is total disability based on individual unemployability, which pays at the 100 percent rate without a 100 percent schedular rating. Our TDIU guide covers the 38 CFR 4.16 thresholds, generally one disability rated at 60 percent or a combined 70 percent with one disability at 40 percent.
Surgical Residuals Rate Under Separate Codes
Ulcerative colitis is one of the few GI conditions that is sometimes cured surgically and still leaves a permanently disabled veteran. Those residuals are not rated under DC 7326. The relevant codes:
| Code | Condition | Range |
|---|
| 7328 | Intestine, small, resection of | 0 to 80% |
| 7329 | Intestine, large, resection of | 10 to 100% |
| 7330 | Intestinal fistulous diseases, external | 30 to 100% |
| 7332 | Rectum and anus, impairment of sphincter control | 0 to 100% |
| 7333 | Rectum and anus, stricture of | 10 to 100% |
Under DC 7329, a partial colectomy with permanent colostomy or ileostomy without high-output syndrome is 40 percent, and a total colectomy with or without a permanent colostomy or ileostomy and without high-output syndrome is 60 percent. Note (2) under DC 7333 instructs raters to "evaluate an ostomy as Intestine, large, resection of (DC 7329)."
Pay attention to the anti-pyramiding rule at the top of 38 CFR 4.114. It says do not combine ratings under DC 7301 through 7329, 7331, 7342, 7345 through 7350, 7352, and 7355 through 7357 with each other. When more than one applies, VA assigns a single evaluation under the code reflecting the predominant disability and elevates it one level if the overall severity warrants. DC 7326 and DC 7329 are both in that list, so you get one, not both. DC 7332 and DC 7333 are not in that list, which is why sphincter impairment and anal stricture are sometimes evaluated alongside the bowel disease, subject to the general anti-pyramiding rule at 38 CFR 4.14.
Service Connection Routes for Ulcerative Colitis
There is no presumptive list that includes ulcerative colitis. Not the PACT Act burn pit list, not the Camp Lejeune list. Claims are built one of two ways.
Direct service connection. You need a current diagnosis confirmed by endoscopy or imaging, an in-service event, injury, or symptom onset, and a medical nexus opinion tying the two together. Many veterans first present with bloody diarrhea, urgency, and weight loss during service and are treated for a presumed infection. Service treatment records showing that episode, paired with a later confirmed diagnosis, are the backbone of most successful claims.
Secondary service connection. Ulcerative colitis is frequently claimed as secondary to a service-connected mental health condition, or aggravated by long-term medication for another service-connected disability. A secondary claim requires the same nexus opinion structure, linking the UC to the already-service-connected condition rather than to service itself.
One route that does not apply: the Gulf War undiagnosed illness presumption at 38 CFR 3.317. That regulation covers medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses, and its list of qualifying functional gastrointestinal disorders expressly excludes structural gastrointestinal diseases. The note to 38 CFR 3.317(a)(2)(i)(B)(3) defines functional GI disorders as conditions "unexplained by any structural, endoscopic, laboratory, or other objective signs of injury or disease." Ulcerative colitis is the opposite of that by definition, since DC 7326 Note (2) requires endoscopic or radiologic confirmation. Gulf War veterans with IBS may use that presumption. Gulf War veterans with UC generally cannot.
Can VA Reduce a Rating Assigned Under the Old Criteria?
Generally no, not for that reason alone. Two provisions cover this.
38 CFR 3.951(a) states that "a readjustment to the Schedule for Rating Disabilities shall not be grounds for reduction of a disability rating in effect on the date of the readjustment unless medical evidence establishes that the disability to be evaluated has actually improved."
VA said the same thing in the final rule preamble. Responding to commenters who worried the revision would strip benefits, VA wrote that "there are no provisions in this rule that seek to remove any entitlement to benefits, and this rule would not disturb ratings currently in effect."
Separately, 38 CFR 3.951(b) provides that a disability continuously rated at or above a given evaluation for 20 or more years cannot be reduced below that level except on a showing of fraud.
The practical caveat: if you file for an increase, VA reevaluates the condition, and a reexamination that shows actual medical improvement can still support a reduction under the normal rules in 38 CFR 3.105(e) and 3.344. Filing an increase on a stable, well documented rating is a decision worth thinking through. Our rating increase guide walks through the tradeoffs.
2026 VA Disability Compensation Rates
These rates took effect December 1, 2025 with the 2.8 percent cost of living adjustment and appeared in the payment issued January 2026. Amounts are monthly, for a veteran with no dependents.
| Combined rating | Monthly payment |
|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
Dependents are added at 30 percent and above. A veteran rated 100 percent with a spouse receives $4,158.17 per month, and $4,318.99 with a spouse and one child. Check VA.gov for the full dependent tables.
How to File a Ulcerative Colitis Claim
- Get the diagnosis documented. Obtain the colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy report, the pathology from any biopsy, and any CT or MR enterography. DC 7326 Note (2) makes this mandatory.
- Pull your treatment records. List every medication by name with start dates, and flag whether each is an aminosalicylate, a corticosteroid, an immunosuppressant, or a biologic. That classification decides the 30 versus 60 line.
- Document flares and hospitalizations. Discharge summaries and emergency department records for the past 12 months matter enormously at the 60 and 100 levels.
- Keep a symptom log. Daily diarrhea episodes, rectal bleeding episodes, incontinence events, and abdominal distension, dated. The criteria are counted in episodes per day, so an undated narrative does not translate cleanly into a rating.
- Get a nexus opinion if service connection is not already established, from a physician who reviews your service treatment records and states an opinion with rationale.
- File VA Form 21-526EZ online at VA.gov, by mail, or through an accredited representative. A VSO representative costs nothing and files thousands of these.
- Attend the C&P exam. The examiner works from a disability benefits questionnaire built around the DC 7326 criteria. Answer in the units the criteria use: episodes per day, hospitalizations per year, current medication class.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the VA rating for ulcerative colitis in 2026?
Ulcerative colitis is rated under DC 7323, which directs VA to rate it as Crohn's disease or undifferentiated inflammatory bowel disease under DC 7326. The available levels are 10, 30, 60, and 100 percent. There is no 20, 40, 50, 70, 80, or 90 percent evaluation under that code.
Is ulcerative colitis a 100 percent VA disability?
It can be, but the criteria are strict and cumulative. You need severe disease unresponsive to treatment, plus at least one hospitalization per year, plus either an inability to work or recurrent abdominal pain with at least two of these four findings: six or more daily diarrhea episodes, six or more daily rectal bleeding episodes, recurrent rectal incontinence, or recurrent abdominal distension. Veterans well controlled on a biologic will not meet the "unresponsive to treatment" element.
Does being on a biologic like Humira or Remicade guarantee 60 percent?
No, but it satisfies one of the three elements of the 60 percent criterion. You also need recurrent abdominal pain with four to five daily episodes of diarrhea and intermittent signs of toxicity such as fever, tachycardia, or anemia. All three elements have to appear in the record.
Can I get separate ratings for ulcerative colitis and IBS?
Not combined with each other. Both DC 7319 (IBS) and DC 7326 fall inside the 7301 through 7329 range that 38 CFR 4.114 says cannot be combined. VA assigns a single evaluation under the code reflecting the predominant disability and elevates it one level if overall severity warrants.
What happens to my rating after a total colectomy?
Note (1) under DC 7326 says that following colectomy or colostomy with persistent or recurrent symptoms, VA rates under DC 7326 or DC 7329, whichever gives the higher result. Under DC 7329, total colectomy with or without a permanent ostomy and without high-output syndrome is 60 percent, and total colectomy with an ileostomy plus high-output syndrome plus more than two dehydration episodes requiring IV hydration in the past 12 months is 100 percent.
Will my old rating be reduced because the criteria changed?
38 CFR 3.951(a) says a readjustment to the rating schedule is not grounds for reduction unless medical evidence establishes actual improvement, and VA stated in the final rule that it "would not disturb ratings currently in effect." A rating continuously in effect for 20 or more years is additionally protected under 38 CFR 3.951(b) absent fraud.
Does the Gulf War presumption cover ulcerative colitis?
Generally no. 38 CFR 3.317 covers functional gastrointestinal disorders and expressly excludes structural gastrointestinal diseases. Ulcerative colitis is a structural disease confirmed by endoscopy, so it falls outside that presumption. Gulf War veterans with UC use direct or secondary service connection instead.
How much does a 60 percent VA rating pay in 2026?
$1,435.02 per month for a veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025. Additional amounts apply for a spouse, children, and dependent parents.
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