YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Pancreatitis, Chronic VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Pancreatitis, Chronic under diagnostic code 7347, in 38 CFR § 4.114 (digestive system), and the schedule provides three evaluation levels for it: 100%, 60% and 30%.
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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 Pancreatitis, Chronic
Chronic pancreatitis is long-standing inflammation of the pancreas that causes recurring abdominal or mid-back pain and, as the gland fails, difficulty digesting and absorbing food. DC 7347 provides three evaluations — 30, 60 and 100 percent — and each is written around counted episodes of that pain, hospitalizations, and whether maldigestion and malabsorption require dietary restriction and pancreatic enzyme supplementation. Note (1) requires appropriate diagnostic studies to confirm that the abdominal pain results from pancreatitis.
DC 7347 provides three evaluations and nothing below 30 percent. Thirty percent is at least one episode per year of abdominal or mid-back pain that requires ongoing outpatient medical treatment for pain, digestive problems, or management of related complications including but not limited to cyst, pseudocyst, intestinal obstruction, or ascites. Sixty percent is three or more episodes of abdominal or mid-back pain per year with at least one episode per year requiring hospitalization, either for complications related to the abdominal pain or for complications of tube enteral feeding. One hundred percent is daily episodes of abdominal or mid-back pain that require three or more hospitalizations per year, together with pain management by a physician and with maldigestion and malabsorption requiring dietary restriction and pancreatic enzyme supplementation. The criteria are counted, not graded by general severity. Two notes sit alongside the table. Note (1): "Appropriate diagnostic studies must confirm that abdominal pain in this condition results from pancreatitis." Note (2): "Separately rate endocrine dysfunction resulting in diabetes due to pancreatic insufficiency under DC 7913 (Diabetes mellitus)."
- Diagnostic code
- 7347
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.114
- Schedule levels
- 100%, 60% and 30%
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.
This code prints no 0% row. Under 38 CFR § 4.31, a 0% evaluation is assigned where the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met.
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Pancreatitis, Chronic VA rating criteria (DC 7347)
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 Pancreatitis, Chronic
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): Appropriate diagnostic studies must confirm that abdominal pain in this condition results from pancreatitis.”DC 7347
- “Note (2): Separately rate endocrine dysfunction resulting in diabetes due to pancreatic insufficiency under DC 7913 (Diabetes mellitus).”DC 7347
BUILD YOUR EVIDENCE, ONE PIECE AT A TIME
Evidence for your Pancreatitis, Chronic 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 Pancreatitis, Chronic?
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 Pancreatitis, Chronic 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 claim4 tips
- 01
Count and date every episode of abdominal or mid-back pain, and make sure each one appears in the record. The 60 percent row requires three or more episodes per year, and the 100 percent row requires daily episodes, so an uncounted episode cannot support either.
- 02
Keep every hospitalization record. Hospitalization is a named element at both 60 and 100 percent — at least one per year at 60 percent, three or more per year at 100 percent.
- 03
Get pancreatic enzyme supplementation and dietary restriction documented if you need them, since maldigestion and malabsorption requiring both is a required element of the 100 percent evaluation.
- 04
Claim diabetes arising from pancreatic insufficiency separately under DC 7913 — Note (2) directs a separate evaluation rather than folding it in.
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind3 tips
- 01
Hospital stays that appear in the record but are never tied to the pancreatitis diagnosis, leaving the counted hospitalizations at 60 and 100 percent unsupported.
- 02
Abdominal pain documented without the diagnostic studies Note (1) requires to confirm that the pain results from pancreatitis.
- 03
Episodes managed at home or elsewhere and never entered in the file, so the yearly count the criteria depend on is incomplete.
Common filing mistakes3 tips
- 01
Describing pain in general terms rather than as counted, dated episodes, which is the form the current criteria require.
- 02
No diagnostic studies tying the abdominal pain to pancreatitis, which Note (1) makes a precondition.
- 03
Leaving hospital admissions unlinked to the pancreatitis diagnosis in the record.
When symptoms may first appear1 tips
- 01
Chronic pancreatitis is commonly linked to alcohol use, gallstone-related complications, a prior infection, or an underlying autoimmune condition.
THE BROADER PICTURE
Pancreatitis, Chronic by the numbers
- Approval outlook
- Low–Moderate, improves with ER visits or imaging.
- Veterans service-connected
- ~1,100 veterans
- Typical rating awarded
- ~60%
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 Pancreatitis, Chronic
Is Pancreatitis, Chronic a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Pancreatitis, Chronic under VASRD diagnostic code 7347 (Digestive System). Chronic pancreatitis is long-standing inflammation of the pancreas that causes recurring abdominal or mid-back pain and, as the gland fails, difficulty digesting and absorbing food. DC 7347 provides three evaluations — 30, 60 and 100 percent — and each is written around counted episodes of that pain, hospitalizations, and whether maldigestion and malabsorption require dietary restriction and pancreatic enzyme supplementation. Note (1) requires appropriate diagnostic studies to confirm that the abdominal pain results from pancreatitis.
What VA disability rating can I get for Pancreatitis, Chronic?
Possible VA ratings for Pancreatitis, Chronic are 100%, 60%, 30%, 0%. The 0% level comes from 38 CFR 4.31, which assigns it wherever no compensable level is met. Examples: 100%: Daily episodes of abdominal or mid-back pain that require three or more hospitalizations per year; and pain management by a physician; and maldigestion and malabsorption requiring dietary restriction and pancreatic enzyme supplementation; 60%: Three or more episodes of abdominal or mid-back pain per year and at least one episode per year requiring hospitalization for management either of complications related to abdominal pain or complications of tube enteral feeding; 30%: At least one episode per year of abdominal or mid-back pain that requires ongoing outpatient medical treatment for pain, digestive problems, or management of related complications including but not limited to cyst, pseudocyst, intestinal obstruction, or ascites.
What's the typical VA rating awarded for Pancreatitis, Chronic?
Vetrify estimates the typical rating awarded for Pancreatitis, Chronic at around 60%, based on VA claims data and the rating schedule. An estimated 1,100 veterans are service-connected for Pancreatitis, Chronic. Estimated approval outlook: Low–Moderate, improves with ER visits or imaging.
What evidence helps prove Pancreatitis, Chronic for VA disability?
Strong evidence for a Pancreatitis, Chronic claim includes: Imaging of the pancreas together with whatever diagnostic studies confirm that the abdominal pain results from pancreatitis — Note (1) makes that confirmation a precondition and does not name a particular study; Dated hospital admission records for every pancreatitis-related stay, since hospitalization is a named element at both 60 and 100 percent; Outpatient treatment notes covering pain, digestive problems, or management of complications such as cyst, pseudocyst, intestinal obstruction or ascites, which is what the 30 percent row names; Records of pancreatic enzyme supplementation and prescribed dietary restriction, both of which the 100 percent evaluation requires alongside maldigestion and malabsorption.
Which DBQ is used for Pancreatitis, Chronic?
VA's Pancreas 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 Pancreatitis, Chronic?
Common pitfalls when filing for Pancreatitis, Chronic: Describing pain in general terms rather than as counted, dated episodes, which is the form the current criteria require; No diagnostic studies tying the abdominal pain to pancreatitis, which Note (1) makes a precondition; Leaving hospital admissions unlinked to the pancreatitis diagnosis in the record.
What conditions can be secondary to Pancreatitis, Chronic?
Conditions that can be service-connected as secondary to Pancreatitis, Chronic, when a medical opinion links them, include: Diabetes. A secondary condition gets its own rating, which VA combines with the veteran's other ratings under 38 CFR 4.25.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.114, Schedule of ratings, digestive system (Diagnostic Code 7347)
- 38 CFR § 4.7, higher of two evaluations
- 38 CFR § 4.31, zero percent 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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