The VA rates allergic and vasomotor rhinitis under Diagnostic Code 6522 at two levels only: 10 percent and 30 percent. The 10 percent requires greater than 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides, or complete obstruction on one side, with no polyps. The 30 percent requires nasal polyps, and that is the ceiling. Bacterial rhinitis sits under a separate code, DC 6523, which pays 10 percent for permanent turbinate hypertrophy with the same obstruction threshold, and 50 percent for rhinoscleroma. In 2026, a 10 percent rating pays $180.42 per month and a 30 percent rating pays $552.47 for a veteran with no dependents.
Two things decide most rhinitis claims, and neither is how miserable your allergies are. The first is whether an examiner wrote down a percentage of obstruction. The second is whether polyps appear in your records, and whether what your imaging shows is actually a polyp. Both are covered below, along with the PACT Act pathway that lets many Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans skip the hardest part of the claim entirely.
DC 6522 Rating Criteria (Allergic or Vasomotor Rhinitis)
The full text of DC 6522 in 38 C.F.R. Section 4.97 is three lines.
| Diagnostic Code | Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 6522, Allergic or vasomotor rhinitis | With polyps | 30% |
| 6522 | Without polyps, but with greater than 50-percent obstruction of nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side | 10% |
| 6522 | Diagnosed and service connected, but criteria for a compensable rating not met | 0% |
The 0 percent line does not appear in the code itself. It comes from 38 C.F.R. Section 4.31, which assigns a 0 percent evaluation whenever a diagnostic code has no zero-percent tier and the requirements for a compensable rating are not met. A 0 percent rating pays nothing, but it puts service connection on your record permanently, which matters more than most veterans realize. It locks your effective date and it becomes the anchor for secondary claims.
The Word "Greater" Is Doing Real Work
Read the 10 percent criteria one more time: greater than 50-percent obstruction on both sides.
An examiner who records exactly 50 percent obstruction bilaterally has documented a 0 percent rating, not a 10 percent rating. Fifty-one percent qualifies. Fifty does not. This is not a technicality invented by rating specialists; it is what the regulation says, and it is why a rating decision can look arbitrary when you compare it to a friend's.
Compare that to DC 6502, the deviated septum code, which says "with 50-percent obstruction" and has no "greater than." The two codes look almost identical and are not quite. Our deviated septum rating guide breaks down 6502 in full.
The practical takeaway: when you go to your exam, the single most valuable thing in your file is an ENT note recording obstruction as a number on each side. A primary care note that says "nasal congestion, allergic rhinitis" gives the examiner nothing to work with.
Polyps: The Difference Between $180 and $552
Polyps are the only route to 30 percent under 6522, and the Board of Veterans' Appeals has denied a lot of increases because the record showed something polyp-adjacent rather than a polyp.
The recurring problem is that CT and MRI reports often describe a finding as "a polyp or retention cyst." A retention cyst is a fluid-filled sac in the sinus lining. A nasal polyp is a soft tissue growth in the nasal passage. Radiologists frequently cannot distinguish them on imaging alone and hedge in writing. A hedged report is not affirmative evidence of polyps, and rating specialists read it that way.
What settles it is direct visualization. Nasal endoscopy performed by an ENT, with the findings written down explicitly, is the strongest evidence available. If a doctor removed polyps surgically, the pathology report is even stronger.
Polyps also do not have to be present continuously. If polyps were documented during part of the appeal period and absent later, the VA can assign a staged rating, meaning 30 percent for the period the polyps were shown and 10 percent afterward.
DC 6523 and 6524: The Other Rhinitis Codes
Rhinitis is not one code. If your diagnosis is bacterial or granulomatous rather than allergic, the criteria and the ceilings change completely.
| Diagnostic Code | Criteria | Rating |
|---|
| 6523, Bacterial rhinitis | Rhinoscleroma | 50% |
| 6523 | With permanent hypertrophy of turbinates and with greater than 50-percent obstruction of nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side | 10% |
| 6524, Granulomatous rhinitis | Wegener's granulomatosis, lethal midline granuloma | 100% |
| 6524 | Other types of granulomatous infection | 20% |
DC 6523 adds a requirement that 6522 does not have: permanent hypertrophy of the turbinates. Obstruction alone is not enough under the bacterial code. Rhinoscleroma is a chronic bacterial infection caused by Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis that is rare in the United States and much more common in parts of Africa, Central America, and South and Central Asia, which is why it appears in a rating schedule at all.
DC 6524 covers granulomatous disease of the nose. Wegener's granulomatosis is now more commonly called granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and lethal midline granuloma is now understood as a peripheral T-cell lymphoma. If either is your diagnosis, the 100 percent evaluation under 6524 is not the only avenue worth exploring, because the systemic disease may rate higher under other codes.
2026 Compensation
VA disability rates rose 2.8 percent effective December 1, 2025, matching the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. Veterans saw the increase in the payment that arrived in January 2026.
| Rating | Veteran Alone | With Spouse | With Spouse and 1 Child |
|---|
| 0% | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 10% | $180.42 | $180.42 | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 | $356.66 | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 | $617.47 | $666.47 |
Dependents do not increase payment at 10 or 20 percent. Additional compensation for a spouse, children, or dependent parents begins at 30 percent, which is one more reason polyp documentation is worth chasing. Moving from 10 percent to 30 percent with a spouse and one child is a difference of $486.05 per month, or $5,832.60 a year.
If rhinitis is not your only rating, the percentage folds into VA combined-ratings math under 38 C.F.R. Section 4.25, which is not simple addition. Ten percent added to an existing 60 percent produces 64 percent, which rounds back to 60 and changes nothing. Thirty percent added to that same 60 percent produces 72 percent, which rounds to 70. Where your existing rating already sits determines whether a rhinitis claim moves your check at all.
The PACT Act and Particulate Matter Presumptions
Chronic rhinitis is presumptive for veterans with qualifying toxic exposure service. There are two separate legal pathways, they have different location lists, and a veteran can qualify under either one.
Pathway one: the PACT Act. Chronic rhinitis is listed at 38 U.S.C. Section 1120(b)(13) as a burn pit presumptive. You qualify as a covered veteran if you served on active duty on or after August 2, 1990 in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates, or on or after September 11, 2001 in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, or Uzbekistan. Airspace above those countries counts.
Pathway two: the fine particulate matter rule. 38 C.F.R. Section 3.320 lists rhinitis as a chronic disease associated with exposure to fine particulate matter. Under that rule, rhinitis is service connected if it manifested to any degree, including non-compensable, at any time after a qualifying period of service. Qualifying service means the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War, or Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan on or after September 19, 2001.
What a presumption does and does not do matters. It removes the nexus requirement, meaning you no longer have to prove that service caused the condition. It does not hand you a percentage. You still need a current diagnosis, and you still have to meet the obstruction or polyp criteria to be paid anything above 0 percent. Veterans who assume a presumptive condition means an automatic compensable rating are routinely surprised by a 0 percent grant.
Chronic bronchitis, COPD, chronic sinusitis, and asthma diagnosed after service are on the same list. If you are filing for rhinitis under a presumption, look hard at whether you also have a diagnosis for one of those. Our bronchitis rating guide covers the pulmonary function test thresholds, and the sinusitis guide covers the episode-frequency scale, which is often the higher-paying claim.
Pyramiding: Why You Probably Cannot Stack Rhinitis and a Deviated Septum
Under 38 C.F.R. Section 4.14, the VA cannot pay you twice for the same manifestation of a disability under different diagnostic codes. Rhinitis and a deviated septum both produce nasal obstruction, and their compensable criteria are written in nearly the same words. The Board has repeatedly treated that overlap as impermissible pyramiding when the only symptom in play is blockage.
In plain terms: if a septum and rhinitis together give you one blocked nose, expect one 10 percent rating, not two.
Separate ratings become possible when the findings genuinely diverge:
- Polyps. A 30 percent rating under 6522 rests on polyps, which a deviated septum does not produce. That is a distinct pathology, not shared symptomatology.
- Sinusitis episodes. Sinusitis under DC 6510 through 6514 rates on frequency of incapacitating and non-incapacitating episodes, not obstruction. Documented episodes with headaches, facial pain, and purulent discharge are a different manifestation.
- Turbinate hypertrophy. DC 6523 requires permanent hypertrophy of the turbinates, an anatomic finding separate from septal deviation.
Document the symptoms that differ. Repeating "my nose is blocked" across three claimed conditions gets you one rating.
Secondary Claims Worth Filing
A service-connected rhinitis rating is frequently more valuable as a foundation than as a payment.
Obstructive sleep apnea (DC 6847). Chronic nasal obstruction increases upper airway resistance and is a recognized contributor to obstructive sleep apnea. Under the criteria in effect in 2026, a prescribed breathing assistance device such as CPAP supports a 50 percent rating, which pays roughly six times what 10 percent pays. A secondary claim needs a sleep study confirming the diagnosis, established service connection for the rhinitis, and a nexus opinion stating it is at least as likely as not that the nasal obstruction caused or aggravated the apnea. Generic nexus letters get little weight. An opinion citing your specific obstruction findings and your AHI gets read.
Chronic sinusitis. Persistent nasal inflammation impairs sinus drainage and drives recurrent infections. Sinusitis rates up to 50 percent on its own scale.
Medication side effects. If a prescribed rhinitis medication causes a separate ratable disability, that can be claimed as secondary. Documentation from the prescribing provider is what carries this.
Pending Changes to DC 6522
The VA published a proposed rule in February 2022 that would rewrite the ear, nose, and throat portion of the rating schedule. For rhinitis, the proposal would rename DC 6522 "Rhinitis, allergic or nonallergic (vasomotor)," redesignate it as DC 6240 under Section 4.87, and replace the 10 percent obstruction criteria with a requirement of continuous therapy to control symptoms. The 30 percent for polyps would be preserved.
If finalized as written, that would be a significant loosening. A veteran on daily antihistamines or a nasal steroid could reach 10 percent without ever meeting an obstruction threshold. The rule has not been finalized. A supplemental notice was published in September 2024 addressing constrictive bronchiolitis, and as of August 2026 no final rule has been issued. The current criteria govern every claim decided today, and existing ratings would be protected from reduction based solely on a criteria change.
There is no advantage to waiting. File under the current rules.
How to File a Rhinitis Claim
Step 1: Submit an intent to file. 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: Get a current diagnosis with numbers. Ask your ENT to document percentage of obstruction on each side and to note explicitly whether polyps are present or absent. Nasal endoscopy carries more weight than a penlight exam.
Step 3: Establish the service connection route. If you served in a qualifying location, note the presumption and provide your deployment records. If not, you need evidence of in-service symptoms or treatment, or a nexus opinion linking current rhinitis to service.
Step 4: Pull allergy testing and treatment history. A record of continuous medication use will not get you 10 percent under the current criteria, but it establishes chronicity and it matters if the proposed rule is ever finalized.
Step 5: File VA Form 21-526EZ. Name the condition specifically, such as "chronic allergic rhinitis," and cite diagnostic code 6522. If you are also claiming sinusitis or sleep apnea, file them in the same submission.
Step 6: 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 specific fields for percentage of obstruction on each side and for the presence of polyps. Bring your ENT records so those fields get filled in from measurements rather than from a quick look. Describe your worst days, not an average day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest VA rating for rhinitis?
Thirty percent under DC 6522, which requires nasal polyps. Bacterial rhinitis under DC 6523 goes to 50 percent, but only for rhinoscleroma. Granulomatous rhinitis under DC 6524 reaches 100 percent for granulomatosis with polyangiitis or lethal midline granuloma.
How much does a 10% rhinitis rating pay in 2026?
$180.42 per month, effective December 1, 2025. Dependents do not increase payment at 10 percent. A 30 percent rating pays $552.47 for a veteran alone and $617.47 with a spouse.
Can I get rated for rhinitis and a deviated septum at the same time?
Usually not, if nasal obstruction is the only symptom for both. Rating the same manifestation under two codes is pyramiding under 38 C.F.R. Section 4.14. Separate ratings are possible when the findings genuinely differ, most clearly when polyps support a 30 percent rating under 6522.
Is chronic rhinitis covered by the PACT Act?
Yes. Chronic rhinitis is listed at 38 U.S.C. Section 1120(b)(13) as a burn pit presumptive condition for covered veterans. Rhinitis is also presumptive under 38 C.F.R. Section 3.320 for veterans with qualifying particulate matter exposure service. Presumption removes the need to prove causation. It does not guarantee a compensable percentage.
Why did I get 0% for rhinitis?
Almost always because the exam did not document greater than 50 percent obstruction on both sides or complete obstruction on one side, and did not document polyps. A 0 percent rating still establishes service connection. Get an ENT evaluation that records obstruction in percentages and file a supplemental claim.
Do allergy medications count toward my rating?
Not under the criteria in effect in 2026. DC 6522 rates on obstruction and polyps only. A proposed rule would change the 10 percent standard to continuous therapy, but it has not been finalized and does not apply to claims decided now.
Does a retention cyst count as a polyp?
No. A retention cyst is a fluid-filled sac in the sinus lining and does not meet the 30 percent criteria. Imaging reports often describe a finding as "polyp or retention cyst," and that ambiguity has cost veterans the higher rating. Nasal endoscopy by an ENT, or a pathology report after removal, is what resolves it.
What if my rhinitis claim was denied?
Read the decision for the stated reason. Denied for no current diagnosis: get evaluated and file a supplemental claim. Denied for no service connection when you served in a qualifying location: point to the presumption and submit deployment records. Rated 0 percent when you believe you meet the criteria: get documented obstruction percentages or endoscopic confirmation of polyps. You have one year from the decision to file a higher-level review or Board appeal, and you can file a supplemental claim at any time with new and relevant evidence.
