Education · 38 CFR § 4.88b · Infectious diseases, immune disorders, and nutritional deficiencies · not your rating · we do not file
HIV-related illness VA rating (DC 6351)
VA rates HIV-related illness under diagnostic code 6351 in 38 CFR § 4.88b. The rule book lists 0%, 10%, 30%, 60%, and 100%. Below: each level in plain English, then the exact words.
Rule-book name: HIV-related illness. Last checked against eCFR on 2026-10-10 (eCFR issue 2026-08-27). Official text: 38 CFR § 4.88b on eCFR.
Each rating level in plain English
- 100%: The published words look at: food or liquid going into the lungs, or losing weight.
- 60%: The published words look at: food or liquid going into the lungs, or losing weight; and bowel problems like diarrhea, constipation, or accidents.
- 30%: The published words look at: bowel problems like diarrhea, constipation, or accidents; and medicine you take for it.
- 10%: The published words look at: how the condition affects work or school; feeling down or depressed; memory problems; and medicine you take for it.
- 0%: Read the exact words below. We have not mapped this line to plain words, so we quote it rather than guess.
Plain words come from our reading aid for the published words. They never add a symptom. The quotes below are the rule.
Exact words in 38 CFR § 4.88b
100% · “AIDS with recurrent opportunistic infections (see Note 3) or with secondary diseases afflicting multiple body systems; HIV-related illness with debility and progressive weight loss”
60% · “Refractory constitutional symptoms, diarrhea, and pathological weight loss; or minimum rating following development of AIDS-related opportunistic infection or neoplasm”
30% · “Recurrent constitutional symptoms, intermittent diarrhea, and use of approved medication(s); or minimum rating with T4 cell count less than 200”
10% · “Following development of HIV-related constitutional symptoms; T4 cell count between 200 and 500; use of approved medication(s); or with evidence of depression or memory loss with employment limitations”
0% · “Asymptomatic, following initial diagnosis of HIV infection, with or without lymphadenopathy or decreased T4 cell count”
Source: § 4.88b Schedule of ratings—infectious diseases, immune disorders and nutritional deficiencies.
Notes printed with this code
“Note 1: In addition to standard therapies and regimens, the term “approved medication(s)” includes treatment regimens and medications prescribed as part of a research protocol at an accredited medical institution.”
“Note 2: Diagnosed psychiatric illness, central nervous system manifestations, opportunistic infections, and neoplasms may be rated separately under the appropriate diagnostic codes if a higher overall evaluation results, provided the disability symptoms do not overlap with evaluations otherwise assignable above.”
“Note 3: The following list of opportunistic infections are considered AIDS-defining conditions, that is, a diagnosis of AIDS follows if a person has HIV and one more of these infections, regardless of the CD4 count—candidiasis of the bronchi, trachea, esophagus, or lungs; invasive cervical cancer; coccidioidomycosis; cryptococcosis; cryptosporidiosis; cytomegalovirus (particularly CMV retinitis); HIV-related encephalopathy; herpes simplex-chronic ulcers for greater than one month, or bronchitis, pneumonia, or esophagitis; histoplasmosis; isosporiasis (chronic intestinal); Kaposi's sarcoma; lymphoma; mycobacterium avium complex; tuberculosis; pneumocystis jirovecii (carinii) pneumonia; pneumonia, recurrent; progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy; salmonella septicemia, recurrent; toxoplasmosis of the brain; and wasting syndrome due to HIV.”
What records usually show this
VA reads these things from your records: service treatment records, VA and private treatment records, and the VA claim exam (C&P exam). The published words on this page talk about:
- Food or liquid going into the lungs, or losing weight: usually found in treatment notes or the VA claim exam (C&P exam) report that describe it, when those exist.
- Bowel problems like diarrhea, constipation, or accidents: usually found in treatment notes, prescriptions, or a log you kept that show how often, when those records exist.
- Medicine you take for it: usually found in treatment notes or the VA claim exam (C&P exam) report that describe it, when those exist.
- How the condition affects work or school: usually found in treatment notes or the VA claim exam (C&P exam) report that describe it, when those exist.
- Feeling down or depressed: usually found in treatment notes, prescriptions, or a log you kept that show how often, when those records exist.
- Memory problems: usually found in treatment notes or the VA claim exam (C&P exam) report that describe it, when those exist.
Education only. This does not say you have any of these, and a record that mentions them does not decide a rating. Only write what is true for you. Evidence needed for your disability claim · VA claim exam (C&P exam)
Put your records next to these lines
Statement review checks your own statement against the published words for this code and points out what it does not cover yet. It does not write it for you. Ask My Records finds where your uploaded records mention these topics and shows the page number.
Save this and organize your records - start free
14-day free trial, then $9.99/month or $107.99/year. No success fees, never a cut of your VA pay.
Prefer free, hands-on help? Accredited Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) can file a claim with you at no cost. Find accredited help on VA.gov.
Common questions
What percentages does the VA rating schedule list for HIV-related illness (DC 6351)?
38 CFR § 4.88b lists 0%, 10%, 30%, 60%, and 100% for diagnostic code 6351. VA decides which line fits from the evidence. This page is not your rating.
Where do these words come from?
They are quoted from the public eCFR copy of 38 CFR § 4.88b, last checked 2026-10-10. The official page is linked on this page so you can check every word.
Does this page tell me what my rating will be?
No. It shows what the published rule book says. It does not predict a rating, a decision, or a dollar amount, and it does not say you have this condition.
Who can file a VA claim for me for free?
Accredited Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) can prepare and file a claim with you at no cost. VA lists accredited representatives on VA.gov. We do not file.
This page quotes the public VA rule book. It is not your rating and not your pay. We do not say you have this condition. We do not file. You, or a free accredited representative, file with VA.
Veterans Benefits AI · veteransbenefitsai.com · MAOMA Enterprises LLC. Veterans Benefits AI (veteransbenefitsai.com) is not affiliated with similarly named sites such as veteransbenefits.ai, with any VA GPT or chatbot, or with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.