Psoriasis and Military Service: How Article 62 Decides the Category
Reviewed by the LabReadAI medical team
The short answer: psoriasis usually does prevent conscription — not because the diagnosis is in your chart, but because article 62 of the Schedule of Diseases places nearly all of its active forms in clauses that yield category V ("limited fitness") in column I. There is one exception: stable remission lasting more than three years. And there is a hard condition most people overlook — the relapses must be confirmed by an inpatient work-up, otherwise the article does not apply at all.
Which fitness category psoriasis yields
Article 62 is titled "Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue" and covers psoriasis together with eczema, atopic dermatitis, neurodermatitis and lichen planus. Categories are distributed across three columns: I — registration and conscription, II — serving conscripts, III — contract servicemen and officers.
| What the records show | Clause | Column I (conscription) |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment-resistant extensive forms | «a» | D — unfit |
| Extensive and frequently relapsing forms | «b» | V — limited fitness |
| Extensive rarely relapsing OR limited frequently relapsing | «v» | V — limited fitness |
| Limited and rarely relapsing forms | «g» | V — limited fitness |
| Forms in stable remission | «d» | B-3 — fit with restrictions |
Note the key point: three different clauses give the same category V in column I. So the argument "is my form extensive or limited" rarely changes a conscript's outcome — it matters for column III, where «b» gives "B (V - IND)", «v» gives B, and «g» already gives A.
What article 62 says about psoriasis, verbatim
The wording of the regulation, clause by clause:
b) chronic urticaria and (or) recurrent angioedema, extensive and frequently relapsing forms of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, eczema and lichen planus…
v) extensive and rarely relapsing forms of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, eczema and lichen planus, limited and frequently relapsing forms of psoriasis…
g) limited and rarely relapsing forms of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, eczema and lichen planus, extensive and total forms of alopecia areata and vitiligo
d) xeroderma, follicular keratosis, limited or extensive forms of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, eczema and lichen planus in stable remission…
Clause «a» is the most severe: "treatment-resistant extensive forms of eczema, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis with extensive lichenification or pronounced exudation".
Extensive or limited psoriasis: the threshold in percent
This is a measurable criterion, not a judgement by eye, and the regulation states it directly:
An extensive form of psoriasis, eczema, atopic dermatitis, neurodermatitis or lichen planus means skin involvement of more than 10 percent of the entire body surface, except for lesions of the face and neck, genitals, hands and feet, where more than 2 percent is sufficient. All other involvement is considered limited.
The practical consequence: lesions on the face, neck, hands and feet count five times as heavily. Two percent of the surface is roughly two palms. This is why psoriasis of the scalp, hands or nails often reaches the extensive form where the same area on the back would remain limited. The dermatologist must describe the location of each site in words — "lesions on the body" without naming areas tells the board nothing.
Frequently and rarely relapsing: also numbers
Frequently relapsing forms… are cases of exacerbation at least twice a year over the past three years.
Rarely relapsing forms… are cases of exacerbation at least once during the past three years.
Stable remission of a chronic dermatosis is diagnosed when there have been no exacerbations for more than 3 years.
What counts is not complaints but recorded visits. A flare you managed at home with an over-the-counter ointment does not exist for the board — it is not in the chart. That is why regularity of dermatologist visits ends up mattering more than the severity of any single episode.
Why the article does not apply without inpatient care
This condition dismantles the most expectations:
Assessment of persons with chronic dermatoses is carried out only where the relapsing course is confirmed during an examination in inpatient conditions in medical organisations providing care in the field of "dermatovenereology".
An outpatient chart, however detailed, is not enough: the relapsing course is confirmed in hospital. For clause «a» the requirements are stricter still — repeated inpatient treatment at least once every six months for no less than three consecutive years, plus the failure of systemic immunosuppressive and biologic therapy.
A separate proviso applies to those already serving: a single relapse of a limited form is not grounds for applying clause «g» to conscript servicemen.
What your records must contain
The board reads paperwork, not skin. Under article 62 it looks for:
- a discharge summary from a dermatovenereology inpatient unit confirming the relapsing course;
- a description of the area and location of lesions in percent or anatomical regions, noting the face, neck, hands and feet separately;
- a dated history of flares over the past three years: how many, when, treated how;
- a dermatologist's conclusion using the regulation's own terms — "extensive", "frequently relapsing", "stable remission";
- where systemic therapy was used — the prescriptions and the outcome, especially if it failed.
The diagnosis code in the chart is L40; on its own it confirms only the fact of the disease, neither the area nor the frequency of flares.
What is usually missing
- Flares were treated at home and never reached the chart — formally they did not happen.
- The description gives neither percentages nor anatomical regions, only the word "lesions".
- There has been no hospital admission at all, without which the article is not applied.
- Scalp psoriasis is recorded as "dandruff" — a different condition entirely, and the confusion is worth resolving in advance: how seborrhoeic scaling differs from other causes.
- Co-occurring conditions are not separated: itching without a rash and dryness with flaking have their own causes and do not substitute for a description of psoriatic plaques.
Questions for your doctor
- What percentage of the body surface is affected now, and which anatomical regions?
- How many documented flares do I have over the past three years?
- Is my form extensive or limited under the criteria of article 62?
- Has there been an inpatient dermatovenereology work-up, and is there a discharge summary?
- Which wording appears in my conclusion — "frequently relapsing", "rarely relapsing" or "remission"?
Departmental boards
All of the above concerns assessment under Government Decree No. 565. The boards of the Interior Ministry, the National Guard, the Federal Security Service and the Emergencies Ministry use their own schedules of diseases, and their requirements for skin conditions differ. A review under article 62 will show the state of your records, but it is not the regulation those departments apply.
The short version
Psoriasis in almost any active form yields category V in column I — only the clause differs, while the outcome for a conscript is the same. The single route to B-3 is stable remission lasting more than three years. But all of this works only with a documented relapsing course confirmed by an inpatient work-up: without it article 62 does not apply, however obvious the diagnosis may seem. Only the military medical board decides the fitness category.
For informational purposes only
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a healthcare professional for medical guidance.