Ear
VA rating for vertigo, diagnostic code 6204
Two very short criteria decide diagnostic code 6204, and a note decides whether either one is available at all. Vertigo is rated as a peripheral vestibular disorder at 10 percent for occasional dizziness and 30 percent for dizziness with occasional staggering, and nothing else.
Published 2026-08-21. Last updated 2026-08-24. Written and reviewed under Veteran Health Network's institutional review process.
What each level requires
vertigo is rated under diagnostic code 6204, which the schedule calls "Peripheral vestibular disorders", at 38 CFR 4.87.
30 percent requires
In plain English
Dizziness together with occasional staggering. Both are named, and staggering is what separates this level from the one below it.
As written in 38 CFR 4.87
Dizziness and occasional staggering
10 percent requires
In plain English
Occasional dizziness, with no staggering required.
As written in 38 CFR 4.87
Occasional dizziness
Notes the schedule attaches to this code
These are part of the regulation and they change how the criteria above are applied. They are reproduced word for word.
- Note: Objective findings supporting the diagnosis of vestibular disequilibrium are required before a compensable evaluation can be assigned under this code. Hearing impairment or suppuration shall be separately rated and combined.
Regulation text reproduced from 38 CFR 4.87, read on 2026-08-21. Read the section at the eCFR. Part 4 is amended on a rolling schedule, so the date above is the date this text was checked and not the date it was written.
Two short criteria and one long condition on them
Derived from the regulation
The whole of the 30 percent criterion is "Dizziness and occasional staggering". The whole of the 10 percent criterion is "Occasional dizziness". Staggering is the only difference between them.
The note then adds something neither criterion says. Objective findings supporting a diagnosis of vestibular disequilibrium are required before a compensable evaluation can be assigned under this code. Reported symptoms are not enough on their own; the note asks for findings.
The same note directs that hearing impairment or suppuration be rated separately and combined, which is the opposite of the rule attached to the neighboring Meniere's code.
What objective findings means here
Derived from the regulation
The regulation does not list the tests that satisfy the note, so the honest reading is narrow: it requires something an examiner observed or measured, as distinct from something the person reported.
That distinction is the whole practical content of the code. A record that describes the frequency and severity of dizziness in detail answers the criteria. A record that also documents examination findings answers the note.
This describes what the regulation asks for. It is not an assessment of any reader's record and does not say what any particular examination would show.
This code changed sections in 1999
Derived from the regulation
Older decision letters cite this code under a section number that no longer exists.
The Appendix A row for 6204 records the move and nothing else: "Moved to § 4.87 June 10, 1999."
Underneath, the eCFR prints the Federal Register line for 4.87 as a whole: 64 FR 25210, May 11, 1999, as amended at 68 FR 25823, May 14, 2003. Read 2026-08-21.
See every level beside the regulation it comes from
The rating threshold cheatsheet shows all of the levels for vertigo in one view, plain English on the left and the regulation itself on the right, in a layout built to print.
It is free and it never says which level anyone meets. It describes what each one requires and leaves the reading to the person whose record it is.
Sources
- 38 CFR 4.87, Schedule of ratings, ear (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
- Appendix A to Part 4, Table of Amendments and Effective Dates Since 1946 (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
Accuracy owner Brayden Marley. Part 4 is amended on a rolling schedule, so the retrieval date above is what this page is accurate as of.