A deviated septum is worth exactly one rating in the VA schedule: a flat 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 6502. There is no 20, 30, or 50 percent tier. To get that 10 percent you need two things at once. The deviation has to be traumatic in origin, and it has to cause either 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side. Miss either half and the rating is 0 percent, which pays nothing. In 2026 a standalone 10 percent rating pays $180.42 per month.
That is the whole answer, and most veterans searching this topic are surprised by how small it is. The real value of a service-connected deviated septum is almost never the $180.42. It is what the septum unlocks: secondary service connection for sleep apnea, rhinitis, or sinusitis, where the money actually lives.
DC 6502: The Full Criteria
Diagnostic Code 6502 sits in 38 C.F.R. Section 4.97, the schedule of ratings for the respiratory system. The entire code is two lines long.
| Diagnostic Code | Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 6502, Septum, nasal, deviation of | Traumatic only, with 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side | 10% |
| 6502 | Deviation present but obstruction below the threshold, or non-traumatic origin | 0% |
Three words in that criteria line do all the work.
"Traumatic only." The regulation says it outright. A septum you were born crooked with does not qualify under 6502 on its own.
"Or." You do not need both bilateral and complete obstruction. Fifty percent on both sides is enough. Complete blockage of one side is enough. Many veterans read the criteria as an "and" and talk themselves out of filing.
"50 percent." This is a clinical measurement the examiner records, not a description of how stuffy you feel. Forty percent obstruction on both sides is a 0 percent rating, even if it genuinely disrupts your sleep and your breathing during exercise.
A 0 percent rating is still worth having. It establishes service connection on the record, which is the foundation for every secondary claim you file later, and it keeps your effective date locked in if the condition worsens and you file for an increase.
Traumatic vs. Congenital: The Reason Most of These Claims Get Denied
If your claim was denied and you are not sure why, this is the most likely reason.
Under 38 C.F.R. Section 3.303(c), congenital or developmental defects are not diseases or injuries for VA compensation purposes. VA's General Counsel drew the operative line in VAOPGCPREC 82-90: a congenital defect is more or less stationary in nature and cannot be service connected, while a congenital disease is capable of improving or deteriorating and can be. A septum you were born with sits on the defect side of that line. It does not progress on its own. It just sits there.
So a veteran who has had a crooked septum since childhood, files a claim after 20 years of service, and gets an exam showing 60 percent bilateral obstruction will typically be denied, because 6502 covers traumatic deviation only.
There is one route around this, and it is a real one. A congenital defect can support a claim if a superimposed disease or injury during service created additional disability on top of the defect. In plain terms: you were born with a mild deviation, you took a rifle butt or an elbow or a fall to the face in service, and the septum got measurably worse. That is not a claim for the congenital defect. It is a claim for the in-service injury and the added disability it caused. The evidence burden is higher, and a medical opinion that specifically addresses the before-and-after is usually what decides it.
What "Traumatic" Evidence Looks Like
The VA is looking for a documented in-service event that could break or displace a septum. Strong evidence includes:
- Service treatment records showing a nasal fracture, facial trauma, or a broken nose
- Sick call notes after a fight, a fall, a training accident, a vehicle accident, or contact sports
- Combat or line-of-duty documentation of a facial injury
- Buddy statements from people who witnessed the injury, especially if you never went to sick call
- Photos before and after service showing a visible change in the nose
The single most common gap: the injury happened, you walked it off, and nothing was written down. Lay statements matter here. Under VA rules you are competent to describe an event you personally experienced, and so is a fellow service member who saw it. A denial for "no in-service event" when three buddy statements describe the same broken nose is worth appealing.
2026 Compensation for a 10% Rating
VA disability rates rose 2.8 percent effective December 1, 2025, matching the Social Security COLA. That increase shows up in the payment veterans received in January 2026.
| Rating | 2026 Monthly Payment |
|---|
| 0% | $0, non-compensable |
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
Two things to be clear about. First, 10 percent is the ceiling under 6502. There is no path to a higher schedular rating for the septum itself, no matter how severe the obstruction. Second, at the 10 percent and 20 percent levels, dependents do not increase your payment. A veteran with a spouse and three children rated 10 percent receives the same $180.42 as a single veteran. Dependent compensation starts at 30 percent.
If 10 percent is your only rating, that is what you get. If you already carry other service-connected conditions, the 10 percent gets folded in with VA combined-ratings math, which is not addition. Ten percent added to an existing 50 percent produces 55 percent, which rounds to 60 percent. Added to an existing 70 percent it produces 73 percent, which rounds back down to 70 percent and changes nothing. Where your existing rating sits determines whether a septum claim moves your check at all.
The Real Reason to File: Secondary Service Connection
A service-connected deviated septum is more useful as a nexus than as a payday. Once 6502 is on your rating decision, even at 0 percent, it becomes the anchor condition for secondary claims under 38 C.F.R. Section 3.310.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (DC 6847)
This is the big one. Chronic nasal obstruction is a recognized contributor to obstructive sleep apnea, and sleep apnea is rated under DC 6847 at 0, 30, 50, or 100 percent. Under the criteria in effect in 2026, a prescribed breathing assistance device such as CPAP or BiPAP supports a 50 percent rating, which pays $1,132.90 per month for a veteran alone. That is roughly six times the septum rating.
A secondary sleep apnea claim needs three pieces:
- A sleep study confirming the diagnosis, ideally an in-lab polysomnogram
- An established service connection for the septum
- A medical nexus opinion stating it is at least as likely as not that the nasal obstruction caused or aggravated the sleep apnea
The nexus opinion is where these claims are won or lost. A generic letter saying "the two are related" gets little weight. An opinion that cites the veteran's specific obstruction measurements, the AHI from the sleep study, and the medical literature on nasal resistance and upper airway collapse gets read seriously.
Note that the VA has a pending proposed rulemaking that would revise the respiratory and ENT rating schedules, including how CPAP use maps to a rating. It has not been finalized, so the current criteria govern any claim decided in 2026. If you have a CPAP prescription and a service-connected septum, there is no reason to wait.
Rhinitis (DC 6522) and the Pyramiding Trap
Allergic or vasomotor rhinitis under DC 6522 rates 10 percent without polyps and 30 percent with polyps. Read the 10 percent criteria closely and you will see the problem: it requires greater than 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side. That is nearly identical language to 6502.
Under 38 C.F.R. Section 4.14, the VA cannot pay you twice for the same manifestation. The Board of Veterans' Appeals has repeatedly held that nasal obstruction from a deviated septum and nasal obstruction from rhinitis are overlapping symptomatology, and that separate compensable ratings for both would be impermissible pyramiding. If your only symptom from both conditions is blockage, expect one 10 percent rating, not two.
Separate ratings become possible when the symptom sets genuinely diverge. Rhinitis with polyps rates 30 percent based on the polyps, which is a distinct finding the septum does not produce. Sneezing, itching, and drainage from allergic rhinitis are separate from mechanical deviation. Document the distinct symptoms, not the shared one.
Sinusitis
Chronic sinusitis is rated separately under DC 6510 through 6514, on a frequency-of-episodes scale that runs from 0 to 50 percent. Nasal obstruction from a deviated septum can impair sinus drainage and contribute to recurrent infections, which makes sinusitis a plausible secondary claim. The criteria and the PACT Act presumptive rules are covered in detail in our VA sinusitis rating guide.
Post-Surgical Scarring or Deformity
If you had a septoplasty or rhinoplasty for a service-connected septum and were left with visible disfigurement, DC 6504 rates loss of part of one ala or other obvious disfigurement at 10 percent, and exposure of both nasal passages at 30 percent. Scars elsewhere on the face are rated under the skin codes. Surgery does not remove your rating on its own, but if the surgery fixed the obstruction, the VA can reduce the 10 percent to 0 percent at a future review.
How to File
Step 1: File an intent to file. Submit VA Form 21-0966 or start the claim on VA.gov. This locks your effective date for up to a year while you gather evidence, and back pay runs from that date.
Step 2: Pull your service treatment records. You are looking for anything documenting facial or nasal trauma. Request them through the National Archives or milConnect if you do not have copies.
Step 3: Get a current diagnosis with obstruction documented in percentages. A primary care note saying "deviated septum" is not enough. You want an ENT evaluation that records the degree of obstruction on each side. Nasal endoscopy or a CT of the sinuses carries more weight than a visual exam.
Step 4: Collect lay statements. If the injury is not in your records, written statements from you and from witnesses fill the gap. Be specific about date, place, and what happened.
Step 5: Get a nexus opinion if the connection is not obvious. Required for congenital-aggravation claims and for every secondary claim. Not usually needed if your records show a nasal fracture in service.
Step 6: File VA Form 21-526EZ. List the condition as "deviated nasal septum, traumatic" and include diagnostic code 6502. If you are also claiming sleep apnea or rhinitis, list them as secondary to the septum in the same submission.
Step 7: Attend the C&P exam. The examiner uses the Sinusitis, Rhinitis and Other Conditions of the Nose, Throat, Larynx and Pharynx DBQ, VA Form 21-0960N-4. That form has a specific field for percentage of obstruction on each side. Bring your ENT records so the examiner has the measurements in front of them, and describe your worst days, not an average day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest VA rating for a deviated septum?
Ten percent. DC 6502 has no higher tier. Any rating above 10 percent connected to your nose comes from a separate condition such as sleep apnea, rhinitis with polyps, or sinusitis, each rated under its own diagnostic code.
Can I get VA disability for a deviated septum I was born with?
Not under 6502 by itself, because the code covers traumatic deviation only, and 38 C.F.R. Section 3.303(c) excludes congenital defects. You can pursue compensation if an in-service injury was superimposed on the pre-existing deviation and made it measurably worse. That requires a medical opinion addressing the worsening, not just a current diagnosis.
How much does a deviated septum pay per month in 2026?
A 10 percent rating pays $180.42 per month, effective December 1, 2025. Dependents do not increase payment at 10 percent. A 0 percent rating pays nothing but still establishes service connection.
Do I need a nexus letter for a deviated septum claim?
Not if your service treatment records document a nasal fracture or facial trauma and you have a current diagnosis. The connection is direct. You do need a nexus opinion for a congenital-aggravation claim and for any secondary claim such as sleep apnea.
Will septoplasty surgery end my rating?
Possibly. If surgery resolves the obstruction below the 50 percent threshold, the VA can reduce a 10 percent rating to 0 percent at a routine future examination. Service connection itself stays intact, so secondary claims remain available. If symptoms return after surgery, you can file for an increase.
Can I get rated for both a deviated septum and rhinitis?
Usually not, if the only symptom for both is nasal obstruction. That is pyramiding under 38 C.F.R. Section 4.14. Separate ratings are possible when the conditions produce genuinely distinct findings, such as nasal polyps rated at 30 percent under DC 6522.
Does a deviated septum qualify under the PACT Act?
No. The PACT Act presumptions cover conditions linked to burn pits and airborne hazards, including chronic sinusitis and chronic rhinitis. A traumatic septal deviation is a mechanical injury, so it has to be service connected directly through evidence of in-service trauma.
What if my claim was denied?
Read the decision letter for the specific reason. If it was denied for lack of an in-service event, gather buddy statements and file a supplemental claim with the new evidence. If it was denied because obstruction measured below the threshold, get an ENT evaluation with documented percentages and file a supplemental claim. If it was denied as congenital, the appeal has to be built around superimposed in-service injury. You have one year from the decision date to file a higher-level review or a Board appeal, or you can submit a supplemental claim at any time with new and relevant evidence.
