YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Esophageal Stricture VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Esophageal Stricture under diagnostic code 7203, in 38 CFR § 4.114 (digestive system), and the schedule provides five evaluation levels for it: 80%, 50%, 30%, 10% and 0%.
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A CLEARER PATH FORWARD
Make sense of your next step.
01Understand the rating02Know what to gather03Plan your preparationTHE ESSENTIALS
How the VA rates Esophageal Stricture
An esophageal stricture is a narrowing of the esophagus that causes dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. What drives the rating is not the diagnosis but what it takes to control — daily medication, how often the esophagus has to be dilated, whether a stent is placed, and at the top of the scale aspiration, undernutrition, or substantial weight loss treated with surgical correction or a PEG tube. Note (3) also rates several forms of esophagitis under this code.
Evaluation turns on treatment burden and documented recurrence rather than on how symptoms are described. The tiers step up from a documented history with no daily symptoms, to daily medication that controls dysphagia in an otherwise asymptomatic stricture, to dilatation no more than twice a year, to dilatation three or more times a year (or steroid dilatation at least annually, or stent placement), and at the top to a stricture causing aspiration, undernutrition, or substantial weight loss as defined by § 4.112(a) that has been treated with surgical correction or a percutaneous esophago-gastrointestinal (PEG) tube. The schedule supplies its own definitions: Note (4) calls a stricture recurrent when the target esophageal diameter cannot be maintained beyond four weeks after it is reached, and Note (5) calls it refractory when that diameter cannot be achieved despite no fewer than five dilatation sessions at two-week intervals. Note (1) requires the findings to be documented by barium swallow, computerized tomography, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
- Diagnostic code
- 7203
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.114
- Schedule levels
- 80%, 50%, 30%, 10% and 0%
How does the VA choose a rating level?
Which level applies is set by the criteria the evidence meets, not by the diagnosis. Where there is a question as to which of two evaluations applies, 38 CFR § 4.7 assigns the higher one if the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating.
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Esophageal Stricture VA rating criteria (DC 7203)
Choose a percentage to see what that level means. Open the full comparison to read all the criteria in one place.
These are published rating criteria. Selecting a level does not predict your VA decision.
IN THE REGULATION’S OWN WORDS
What 38 CFR also says about Esophageal Stricture
The notes 38 CFR Part 4 prints with these criteria, quoted. They govern how the evaluation is made without being a rating level themselves.
- “Note (1): Findings must be documented by barium swallow, computerized tomography, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy.”DC 7203
- “Note (2): Non-gastrointestinal complications of procedures should be rated under the appropriate system.”DC 7203
- “Note (3): This diagnostic code applies, but is not limited to, esophagitis, mechanical or chemical; Mallory Weiss syndrome (bleeding at junction of esophagus and stomach due to tears) due to caustic ingestion of alkali or acid; drug-induced or infectious esophagitis due to Candida, virus, or other organism; idiopathic eosinophilic, or lymphocytic esophagitis; esophagitis due to radiation therapy; esophagitis due to peptic stricture; and any esophageal condition that requires treatment with sclerotherapy.”DC 7203
- “Note (4): Recurrent esophageal stricture is defined as the inability to maintain target esophageal diameter beyond 4 weeks after the target diameter has been achieved.”DC 7203
- “Note (5): Refractory esophageal stricture is defined as the inability to achieve target esophageal diameter despite receiving no fewer than 5 dilatation sessions performed at 2-week intervals.”DC 7203
BUILD YOUR EVIDENCE, ONE PIECE AT A TIME
Evidence for your Esophageal Stricture claim
A long list feels easier when you have a place to start. Use this checklist to see what you have and what still needs gathering.
Check off what you’ve gathered. Progress stays on this page until you leave or refresh.
THE EXAM FORM
Which DBQ is used for Esophageal Stricture?
VA's page says: “You can use these forms to submit medical evidence from your health care providers.”
Source: VA: Public Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs), read September 18, 2026.
SMALL DETAILS. BETTER PREPARATION.
Preparing your Esophageal Stricture claim
Start with the practical tips, then explore the common oversights. You don’t need to work through everything at once.
Practical tips for your claim3 tips
- 01
Assemble the dilatation history as a dated list drawn from the procedure notes, since the 30 and 50 percent tiers are separated by how many dilatations occur in a year, whether steroids were used, and whether a stent was placed.
- 02
Esophageal motility disorder (DC 7204), acquired esophageal diverticulum (DC 7205), Barrett's esophagus with stricture (DC 7207), and hiatal or paraesophageal hernia (DC 7346) are all rated as esophageal stricture under this code, so these are the criteria that apply to them as well.
- 03
Note (2) sends non-gastrointestinal complications of a procedure to the appropriate body system, so keep those records identified separately rather than folded into this claim.
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind2 tips
- 01
Going to the examination with no barium swallow, CT, or endoscopy report in the file, since Note (1) makes one of those studies the required basis for the findings.
- 02
A record showing that dilatations were performed but not when, or that never states whether the target esophageal diameter was achieved and how long it held, leaving the yearly counts and the Note (4) and Note (5) definitions with nothing to apply to.
Common filing mistakes2 tips
- 01
Filing on the diagnosis alone, when the tiers are built on medication, dilatation, stent, surgery, and tube-feeding history.
- 02
Leaving out non-VA gastroenterology records that hold the dilatation history, and omitting weight, nutrition, or aspiration findings that the 80 percent tier names when they already exist in the treatment record.
When symptoms may first appear2 tips
- 01
Note (3) lists the routes into this code: mechanical or chemical esophagitis, Mallory Weiss syndrome from caustic ingestion of alkali or acid, drug-induced or infectious esophagitis, idiopathic eosinophilic or lymphocytic esophagitis, esophagitis due to radiation therapy, esophagitis due to peptic stricture, and any esophageal condition requiring treatment with sclerotherapy.
- 02
Because Notes (4) and (5) define recurrence and refractoriness by what happens after dilatation, the course that matters here is how the esophagus behaves after each treatment, not only when swallowing trouble first appeared.
THE BROADER PICTURE
Esophageal Stricture by the numbers
- Veterans service-connected
- ~2,100 veterans
Vetrify editorial estimates informed by VA published claims data (VBA Annual Benefits Report) and the VA rating schedule, not official VA statistics.
LET’S CLEAR A FEW THINGS UP
Common questions about Esophageal Stricture
Is Esophageal Stricture a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Esophageal Stricture under VASRD diagnostic code 7203 (Digestive System). An esophageal stricture is a narrowing of the esophagus that causes dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. What drives the rating is not the diagnosis but what it takes to control — daily medication, how often the esophagus has to be dilated, whether a stent is placed, and at the top of the scale aspiration, undernutrition, or substantial weight loss treated with surgical correction or a PEG tube. Note (3) also rates several forms of esophagitis under this code.
What VA disability rating can I get for Esophageal Stricture?
Possible VA ratings for Esophageal Stricture are 80%, 50%, 30%, 10%, 0%. Examples: 80%: Documented history of recurrent or refractory esophageal stricture(s) causing dysphagia with at least one of the symptoms present: (1) aspiration, (2) undernutrition, and/or (3) substantial weight loss as defined by § 4.112(a) and treatment with either surgical correction or percutaneous esophago-gastrointestinal tube (PEG tube); 50%: Documented history of recurrent or refractory esophageal stricture(s) causing dysphagia which requires at least one of the following (1) dilatation 3 or more times per year, (2) dilatation using steroids at least one time per year, or (3) esophageal stent placement; 30%: Documented history of recurrent esophageal stricture(s) causing dysphagia which requires dilatation no more than 2 times per year.
What evidence helps prove Esophageal Stricture for VA disability?
Strong evidence for a Esophageal Stricture claim includes: A barium swallow, computerized tomography scan, or esophagogastroduodenoscopy report — Note (1) requires the findings to be documented by one of these three; Procedure notes for every dilatation, showing the date, whether steroids were used, whether the target esophageal diameter was reached, and how long it held; Operative records for any esophageal stent placement, surgical correction, or PEG tube, along with prescription records for medication taken daily to control dysphagia.
Which DBQ is used for Esophageal Stricture?
VA's Esophageal Disorders Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) is on its public list of DBQs. VA's page says: "You can use these forms to submit medical evidence from your health care providers."
What mistakes should veterans avoid when claiming Esophageal Stricture?
Common pitfalls when filing for Esophageal Stricture: Filing on the diagnosis alone, when the tiers are built on medication, dilatation, stent, surgery, and tube-feeding history; Leaving out non-VA gastroenterology records that hold the dilatation history, and omitting weight, nutrition, or aspiration findings that the 80 percent tier names when they already exist in the treatment record.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.114, Schedule of ratings, digestive system (Diagnostic Code 7203)
- 38 CFR § 4.7, higher of two evaluations
Criteria in quotation marks are the regulation’s own words; everything else on this page is Vetrify’s summary of it. The eCFR text is authoritative. See how Vetrify derives its numbers.
How these figures are checked: our methodology and the open dataset.
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