YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) under diagnostic code 7525, in 38 CFR § 4.115b (genitourinary system), and the schedule provides seven evaluation levels for it: 100%, 80%, 60%, 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 Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic)
This code covers the chronic forms of prostatitis, urethritis, epididymitis, and orchitis — long-running inflammation or infection of the prostate, urethra, epididymis, or testicle, on one side or both. The schedule gives the code no criteria of its own; it directs that the condition be rated as a urinary tract infection. That means the percentage comes from how the recurring infection has had to be managed — hospitalizations in a year, how long suppressive drug therapy has run, and whether drainage or continuous intensive management is needed — or, where kidney function is poor, from kidney function, rather than from how much pain or discomfort the condition causes.
DC 7525 carries no rating rows of its own. The schedule directs that it be rated as urinary tract infection under § 4.115a, and that formula has three levels: 30 percent for recurrent symptomatic infection requiring drainage by stent or nephrostomy tube, or requiring greater than 2 hospitalizations per year, or requiring continuous intensive management; 10 percent for recurrent symptomatic infection requiring 1 to 2 hospitalizations per year or suppressive drug therapy lasting six months or longer; and 0 percent for recurrent symptomatic infection not requiring hospitalization but requiring suppressive drug therapy for less than six months. The same formula directs that poor renal function be rated as renal dysfunction instead, which is graded by glomerular filtration rate held for at least 3 consecutive months during the past 12 months: 30 percent for GFR from 45 to 59, 60 percent for 30 to 44, 80 percent for 15 to 29, and 100 percent for GFR less than 15, regular routine dialysis, or eligibility for a kidney transplant. Where the infection is tubercular, the code directs rating in accordance with §§ 4.88b or 4.89, whichever is appropriate.
- Diagnostic code
- 7525
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.115b
- Schedule levels
- 100%, 80%, 60%, 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.
This guide describes six of those levels in detail; for 50%, read the criteria in 38 CFR § 4.115b.
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) VA rating criteria (DC 7525)
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 Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (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: GFR, estimated GFR (eGFR), and creatinine-based approximations of GFR will be accepted for evaluation purposes under this section when determined to be appropriate and calculated by a medical professional.”Renal dysfunction
BUILD YOUR EVIDENCE, ONE PIECE AT A TIME
Evidence for your Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (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 Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (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 Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (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
Make sure the record identifies which condition is present — prostatitis, urethritis, epididymitis, or orchitis — and documents it as chronic, since the schedule entry reaches the chronic forms only.
- 02
Keep hospital admissions and the start and stop dates of suppressive drug therapy complete in the file, since the tiers turn on how many hospitalizations occurred in a year and on whether suppressive therapy ran six months or longer.
- 03
If drainage by stent or nephrostomy tube has been performed, or care has amounted to continuous intensive management, make sure those procedure records and orders are in the file, since those are the terms the 30 percent level is written in.
- 04
Include kidney function results, since the urinary tract infection formula sends poor renal function to be rated as renal dysfunction rather than under the infection tiers.
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind4 tips
- 01
A file that documents only an acute episode, when this schedule entry covers the chronic forms of these conditions.
- 02
Hospitalizations that occurred outside VA and were never added to the record, leaving the 12-month admission count incomplete.
- 03
No documentation of how long suppressive drug therapy ran, which is the specific measure the 10 percent level uses.
- 04
Kidney function never checked, so there is nothing in the record to show whether the renal dysfunction criteria apply instead.
Common filing mistakes4 tips
- 01
Filing on pain or urinary symptoms alone without the infection and treatment history, since this code is evaluated as a urinary tract infection rather than on symptom severity.
- 02
Leaving prescription and procedure records out of the claim, so the hospitalization, suppressive-therapy, and drainage facts the tiers are written around never reach the file.
- 03
Confusing this code with DC 7527, which covers prostate gland injuries, infections, hypertrophy, postoperative residuals, and bladder outlet obstruction and is rated as voiding dysfunction or urinary tract infection, whichever is predominant.
- 04
Not identifying a tubercular infection as such, when the code directs those to be rated in accordance with §§ 4.88b or 4.89.
When symptoms may first appear2 tips
- 01
The schedule reaches only the chronic forms of these infections, so what matters in the record is a recurrent, symptomatic pattern over time rather than a single acute episode that cleared.
- 02
Because the evaluation is made as a urinary tract infection, the history that carries the claim is the treatment history — recurrences, admissions, and suppressive therapy — not the date of first onset alone.
THE BROADER PICTURE
Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) by the numbers
- Veterans service-connected
- ~3,200 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 Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic)
Is Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) under VASRD diagnostic code 7525 (Genitourinary System). This code covers the chronic forms of prostatitis, urethritis, epididymitis, and orchitis — long-running inflammation or infection of the prostate, urethra, epididymis, or testicle, on one side or both. The schedule gives the code no criteria of its own; it directs that the condition be rated as a urinary tract infection. That means the percentage comes from how the recurring infection has had to be managed — hospitalizations in a year, how long suppressive drug therapy has run, and whether drainage or continuous intensive management is needed — or, where kidney function is poor, from kidney function, rather than from how much pain or discomfort the condition causes.
What VA disability rating can I get for Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic)?
Possible VA ratings for Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) are 100%, 80%, 60%, 50%, 30%, 10%, 0%. Examples: 100%: Rated as urinary tract infection with poor renal function, which the formula rates as renal dysfunction: chronic kidney disease with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) less than 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 for at least 3 consecutive months during the past 12 months; or requiring regular routine dialysis; or eligible kidney transplant recipient; 80%: Rated as urinary tract infection with poor renal function, which the formula rates as renal dysfunction: chronic kidney disease with GFR from 15 to 29 mL/min/1.73 m2 for at least 3 consecutive months during the past 12 months; 60%: Rated as urinary tract infection with poor renal function, which the formula rates as renal dysfunction: chronic kidney disease with GFR from 30 to 44 mL/min/1.73 m2 for at least 3 consecutive months during the past 12 months.
What evidence helps prove Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) for VA disability?
Strong evidence for a Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic) claim includes: Urology or infectious disease records naming the specific condition and documenting it as chronic; Hospital admission records for each admission for symptomatic infection, since the number of admissions in a 12-month period separates the tiers; Pharmacy or prescribing records showing when suppressive drug therapy started and stopped; Procedure records for any drainage by stent or nephrostomy tube, or documentation of continuous intensive management.
Which DBQ is used for Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic)?
VA's Male Reproductive Organ Conditions (Including Prostate Cancer) 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 Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic)?
Common pitfalls when filing for Prostatitis, Urethritis, Epididymitis, and Orchitis (Chronic): Filing on pain or urinary symptoms alone without the infection and treatment history, since this code is evaluated as a urinary tract infection rather than on symptom severity; Leaving prescription and procedure records out of the claim, so the hospitalization, suppressive-therapy, and drainage facts the tiers are written around never reach the file; Confusing this code with DC 7527, which covers prostate gland injuries, infections, hypertrophy, postoperative residuals, and bladder outlet obstruction and is rated as voiding dysfunction or urinary tract infection, whichever is predominant; Not identifying a tubercular infection as such, when the code directs those to be rated in accordance with §§ 4.88b or 4.89.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.115b, Schedule of ratings, genitourinary system (Diagnostic Code 7525)
- 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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