How VA actually ratesyour condition.

Every PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, and other mental disorder claim uses the same six-rung ladder: 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, 100. Here is what each tier of 38 CFR 4.130 actually says, what examples mean (and why the list is not a checklist), and the Mauerhan rule that protects veterans whose symptoms do not match the regulation word for word.

PTSD is rated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, from 0 to 100 percent based on occupational and social impairment. Here is each level, why the symptom lists are examples rather than checklists, and 38 CFR 4.129, the rule that forces an automatic minimum 50 percent rating when the condition ended a military career.

Depression is rated under DC 9434 using the general rating formula for mental disorders in 38 CFR 4.130, from 0 to 100 percent based on occupational and social impairment. Here is each level in everyday language, what separates 30 from 50 from 70, and the details that decide the rating.

Generalized anxiety disorder is rated under DC 9400 using the general rating formula for mental disorders in 38 CFR 4.130. Here is the 0 to 100 percent scale, how panic attack frequency separates 30 from 50 percent, and why all your mental health diagnoses share one rating.

Bipolar disorder is rated under DC 9432 using the general rating formula for mental disorders in 38 CFR 4.130, from 0 to 100 percent based on occupational and social impairment. Here is the scale, why episode documentation drives the rating, and the hospitalization rule most veterans never hear about.

A 70 percent mental health rating opens two roads to the 100 percent rate: proving total occupational and social impairment, or proving you cannot hold substantially gainful work through TDIU. This is the decision framework: what each path requires, the evidence that carries each one, and how to choose.

Most spine conditions use one formula based on range of motion, ankylosis, or disc-disease episodes. Here are the thoracolumbar and cervical numbers, the incapacitating-episodes path, why nerve damage is rated separately, and the nuances that decide your back rating.

Cervical strain is rated under DC 5237 using the general rating formula for the spine: 10 to 40 percent based on how far you can bend your neck forward, measured in degrees, with radiculopathy rated separately on top. Here are the exact degree thresholds and the exam details that decide them.

A knee can carry more than one rating: instability under DC 5257 and limitation of motion under 5260 or 5261 are different functions and combine. Here are the numbers, the General Counsel separate-ratings rule, painful-motion arthritis, and the nuances most veterans miss.

A knee replacement is rated under DC 5055: 100 percent for four months after surgery, on top of the one month convalescence rating that comes first, then 60 percent for severe residuals or a 30 percent lifetime floor for total replacements. Here is the timeline, the partial replacement trap, and the notes most veterans never read.

Hip disabilities are rated under DC 5250 through 5255 in 38 CFR 4.71a, mostly on limitation of motion measured in degrees: flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and rotation. Here is every code, the degree thresholds, and why one hip can carry several separate ratings.

Degenerative arthritis is rated under DC 5003 based on limitation of motion of each affected joint, with a 10 percent floor for painful motion and X-ray based ratings when motion is not limited. Here is how the per-joint math works and why arthritis ratings combine instead of add.

The shoulder is rated under DC 5201 (limitation of arm motion) and DC 5202 (humerus impairment), and the dominant arm rates higher. Here are the degree thresholds, the dislocation and humerus levels, functional loss, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Flat feet are rated under DC 5276 on deformity and symptoms, not range of motion, with higher built-in percentages for both feet. Here is the mild-to-pronounced scale, why the bilateral factor does not stack, the aggravation path, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Plantar fasciitis under DC 5269 is rated on treatment history, not symptom severity. The 20 and 30 percent levels require no relief from both non-surgical and surgical care, and a rarely read note opens them to veterans who cannot have surgery.

Fibromyalgia is rated under DC 5025 from 10 to 40 percent, with the top level reserved for constant symptoms refractory to therapy. Here is the scale, why the symptom cluster is rated together, the Gulf War presumptive route under 3.317, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Since the 2021 rewrite, gout under DC 5017 is rated on limitation of motion of each affected joint, with a painful motion floor under 38 CFR 4.59. Here is the joint-by-joint math, how to beat the flare problem, and the thiazide diuretic secondary claim most veterans never file.

Since 2021 the ankle limited motion criteria use exact degree cutoffs: 20 percent for marked, 10 for moderate, and one bad direction is enough. The painful motion rule adds a 10 percent floor most veterans never invoke.

Shin splints rate on a twelve month treatment clock under DC 5262: 10 percent when conservative care fails, 20 or 30 only after surgery fails too. The documentation, not the pain level, decides the percentage.

A good range of motion reading does not always mean a low level of disability. The rating schedule measures functional loss: pain, weakness, fatigue, and incoordination, including during flare-ups. Here is how 38 CFR 4.10, 4.40, 4.45, and 4.59, plus DeLuca v. Brown, shape a musculoskeletal rating.

Most veterans assume VA can assign only one rating per joint. The schedule does not work that way: a single joint can carry separate ratings when the evidence shows distinct disabilities that are not being compensated twice - motion loss, instability, meniscus damage, scars, nerve and muscle impairment, and even the mental health toll of chronic pain.

TBI residuals are rated under DC 8045 through ten facets, with the single highest facet setting the rating from 0 to 100 percent. Here is the facet table, the testing that separates 10 from 40 percent, and SMC-T, the aid and attendance benefit worth over 11,000 dollars a month that most TBI families never hear about.

Migraines are rated under DC 8100 on how often you get prostrating attacks. Here is what prostrating really means, why 50 percent does not require being unemployed, common secondary paths, the headache-diary evidence that wins, and the nuances most veterans miss.

All epilepsy is rated under one frequency formula: from 10 percent for a confirmed diagnosis to 100 percent for monthly major seizures. Here is the exact table, the 10 percent medication floor, and the 38 CFR 4.121 secret that lets a spouse's seizure log establish the frequency the whole rating runs on.

Radiculopathy down the leg is rated under the sciatic nerve code 8520, separately from your back, and the two combine. Here is the 10 to 80 percent scale, the wholly-sensory cap, the bilateral factor for both legs, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Sciatica is the everyday word; radiculopathy is the diagnosis VA actually rates, under the nerve schedule at DC 8520 (38 CFR 4.124a). Here is how the nerve is rated, why each leg counts separately, why it is usually secondary to the back, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Peripheral neuropathy is rated by the specific nerve affected under 38 CFR 4.124a, commonly the sciatic nerve (DC 8520). Here is the mild to complete scale, why wholly sensory neuropathy is capped at moderate, how each limb combines with the bilateral factor, and the diabetes connection.

Most carpal tunnel claims stall at 10 percent because of one rule: wholly sensory symptoms cap the rating at moderate. This playbook covers the objective evidence that moves a rating past the ceiling, claiming both hands with the bilateral factor, and getting the dominant hand documented.

Tinnitus is rated under DC 6260 at a single 10 percent maximum, whether you hear it in one ear, both, or your head. Here is the cap rule, how noise exposure and your own statement establish it, how it pairs with hearing loss, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Hearing loss is rated by a table from two measurements: the puretone threshold average and the Maryland CNC speech test. Here is how Tables VI and VII produce your percentage, why 0 percent is common, the 4.86 exceptional patterns, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Meniere's disease is rated under DC 6205 at 30, 60, or 100 percent based on how often vertigo attacks with cerebellar gait occur. Here is the frequency scale, the alternative of rating vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus separately, and why you can use whichever path pays more.

Vertigo and balance disorders are rated under DC 6204 at 10 or 30 percent, and the code hides three traps: a rating requires objective vestibular testing, the word staggering is worth 20 points, and a Meniere's diagnosis opens a separate path to 100 percent.

Sleep apnea is rated under DC 6847, and a required CPAP generally means 50 percent. Here is the rating breakdown, how to get it service connected directly or secondary to PTSD or weight gain, the proposed rule changes, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Asthma is rated under DC 6602 (38 CFR 4.97) on the higher of your pulmonary function numbers or your daily medication needs, so daily inhaled medication alone can reach 30 percent. Here is the full scale, why the test must be post-bronchodilator, the PACT Act route, and the nuances.

COPD is rated under DC 6604 almost entirely on pulmonary function test numbers: FEV-1, FEV-1/FVC, and DLCO. Here is the 10 to 100 percent scale, why post-bronchodilator results control, and the oxygen therapy rule that pays 100 percent regardless of the numbers.

The PACT Act presumes burn pit exposure and service connection for asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, COPD, constrictive bronchiolitis, and more, manifesting to any degree at any time. Here is who qualifies, how each condition is rated under 38 CFR 4.97, and the analogous rating trap in the signature burn pit disease.

There is no asbestos presumption: these claims are won by proving exposure and connecting a lung disease that surfaces decades later. Here is the development VA's own M21-1 manual requires, the ships and jobs at highest risk, the DLCO test that quietly drives the rating, and the exact DC 6833 criteria.

Insomnia has no diagnostic code of its own: VA rates it under the general rating formula for mental disorders in 38 CFR 4.130, where chronic sleep impairment is a named 30 percent level symptom. Here is how insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea each get rated, and why most insomnia claims are secondary claims.

Chronic sinusitis and rhinitis are rated separately under 38 CFR 4.97. Sinusitis turns on incapacitating and non-incapacitating episodes; rhinitis turns on obstruction and whether polyps are present. Here is each scale, the PACT Act presumption, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Hypertension is rated under DC 7101 by your blood pressure numbers. Here is the rating scale, the medication rule that keeps a 10 percent rating even when controlled, how VA confirms the diagnosis, the Agent Orange presumptive route, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Coronary artery disease is rated under DC 7005 (38 CFR 4.104) on the General Rating Formula for the heart, driven by the METs workload at which heart failure symptoms appear. Here is the full scale, why continuous medication alone reaches 10 percent, the post-event windows, and the Agent Orange route.

Valvular heart disease is rated under DC 7000 using the general rating formula for heart diseases: 10 to 100 percent based on the workload in METs that brings on symptoms. Here is the METs math, the 100 percent windows for active infection and valve replacement, and the exam details that decide the level.

Atrial fibrillation is rated as supraventricular tachycardia under DC 7010 (38 CFR 4.104), and the level turns on how many treatment interventions you need in a year. Here is the 10 and 30 percent scale, what counts as an intervention, the ECG requirement, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Varicose veins are rated under DC 7121 (38 CFR 4.104) on the post-phlebitic scale, where persistent swelling versus intermittent swelling is the line between 20 and 10 percent. Here is the full 0 to 100 percent scale, the per-leg bilateral factor, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Raynaud's syndrome is rated under DC 7117 from 10 to 100 percent based on attack frequency, and no examiner will ever witness one, so your attack diary is the rating evidence. Here is the exact table, the primary versus secondary diagnosis fork that caps claims at 10 percent, and four service connection pathways.

GERD under DC 7206 is rated on objective esophageal damage: documented strictures and dysphagia, proven by scope or imaging. Daily heartburn alone rates 0 percent under the current rule, so the evidence strategy matters more than the symptoms.

Peptic ulcer disease is rated under DC 7304 using the 2024 criteria: 0 to 60 percent based on counted episodes of abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting lasting three or more days, plus a 100 percent post-operative level. Here is the episode math, the daily medication requirement, and the NSAID secondary path.

IBS is rated under the 2024 criteria for DC 7319: 10, 20, or 30 percent based on counted days of abdominal pain plus two of six signs. Here is the episode math, and the secret that IBS is a Gulf War presumptive under 38 CFR 3.317, so qualifying veterans need no nexus letter at all.

On May 19, 2024 VA revised the digestive rating schedule. GERD got its own code (7206) and IBS (7319) gained a 20 percent tier. Here is the new criteria, what it means for existing, pending, and new claims, and the nuances most veterans miss.

IBS is functional and caps at 30 percent under DC 7319; IBD (Crohn's and ulcerative colitis) is structural and can reach 100 percent under DC 7323. Here is how VA tells them apart, why the diagnosis label matters, the Gulf War route for IBS, and the nuances most veterans miss.

GERD often flows from a service connected mental health condition or the medications used to treat it, so it can be claimed as secondary under 38 CFR 3.310. Here is how the 2024 digestive schedule rates GERD under its own code 7206 on esophageal stricture and dysphagia, the two secondary paths, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Hemorrhoids are rated under DC 7336 (38 CFR 4.114), rebuilt in 2024 around thrombosis episodes and bleeding with anemia. Here is the current 10 and 20 percent scale, why the complete blood count is the quiet key to 20 percent, the complications rated separately, and the nuances.

Since the 2024 digestive revision, one diagnostic code covers nearly every hernia: DC 7338 rates inguinal, femoral, umbilical, ventral, and incisional hernias from 0 to 100 percent based on size, duration, and pain during everyday activities. Here is the exact criteria math and the unusual add-10 rule for two inguinal hernias.

Diabetes is rated under DC 7913 by how much treatment and restriction it demands. Here is the 10 to 100 percent scale, why doctor-prescribed regulation of activities is the gate to 40 percent, separately rated complications, the Agent Orange presumptive, and the nuances.

A step by step playbook for building a hypothyroidism claim under DC 7903: proving service connection (including the medication pathway), using the automatic six month rating window to document residuals, claiming each residual by name so the ratings stack, and protecting the rating at the follow-up exam.

Kidney disease is rated on the renal dysfunction scale in 38 CFR 4.115a, which now runs almost entirely on your glomerular filtration rate: 30 to 100 percent tied to GFR bands held for 3 consecutive months. Here is the lab-based scale, the dialysis and transplant rules, and the secondary claims most veterans miss.

Prostate conditions are rated under DC 7527 as voiding dysfunction or urinary tract infection, whichever is predominant, while active prostate cancer rates 100 percent under DC 7528. Here is the full voiding dysfunction scale, the six month cancer re-exam rule, and the Agent Orange presumption.

Most urinary conditions rate through three lanes in 38 CFR 4.115a: leakage (20 to 60 percent), frequency (10 to 40), and obstruction (0 to 30). The pad count written in your record is the rating.

Kidney stones rate as hydronephrosis unless recurrent stones need procedures more than twice a year, which pays 30 percent. The claim is arithmetic: procedure reports, colic visits, and eGFR trends.

Erectile dysfunction is rated 0 percent under DC 7522 (with or without penile deformity), but a service connected grant triggers special monthly compensation (SMC-K) for loss of use of a creative organ. Here is how 7522 works, why SMC-K is the real benefit, the common secondary paths, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Skin cancer is rated under DC 7818 (and melanoma under DC 7833) based on what it leaves behind: disfigurement, scars, or lost function. A 100 percent rating applies only when treatment goes beyond the skin. Here is how the rating works, the six month exam rule, and the sun exposure service connection path.

Scars are rated under 38 CFR 4.118 by location, size, and whether they are painful or unstable, and several codes can apply to one scar. Here are codes 7800 to 7805, the painful-scar rule, when stacking is allowed, and the nuances most veterans miss.

Eczema and dermatitis are rated under DC 7806 (38 CFR 4.118) on the higher of body surface area affected or the weeks of systemic therapy. Here is the 0 to 60 percent scale, what counts as systemic therapy, why the 12-month lookback and flare photos matter, and the nuances.

Eye conditions are rated two ways, and VA must use whichever pays more: measured visual impairment, or a count of treatment visits the condition forced in the past year. Here is the general rating formula for the eye, how the acuity tables pair both eyes, and the details that decide cataract, glaucoma, and retinopathy claims.

Most dental problems earn VA treatment, not compensation. The compensable exceptions live in 38 CFR 4.150: tooth loss from jawbone trauma or disease under DC 9913, jaw fractures and bone loss, and temporomandibular disorder rated on how far you can open your mouth under DC 9905.

Active cancer rates 100 percent through treatment plus six months, then VA rates the residuals. The mandatory exam, the 3.105(e) reduction rules, and documented residuals decide what the rating becomes.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is rated under DC 6354 at 10 to 100 percent through two pathways: how much the fatigue restricts routine daily activities, or how many weeks of physician-prescribed incapacitation pile up per year. Here is the scale and the Gulf War presumption that covers CFS.

38 CFR 3.317 pays compensation for undiagnosed illnesses and medically unexplained multisymptom conditions in Persian Gulf veterans, with no nexus letter required. Here is who qualifies, the December 31, 2026 manifestation deadline, and the counterintuitive rule that a diagnosis can sink the claim.

If you had a cold injury in service, the residuals are rated under 38 CFR 4.104, DC 7122. Each affected body part is rated separately and the ratings combine. Here is the exact 30 / 20 / 10 percent ladder, what the C&P examiner is looking for, and how veterans who served in Korea, the Aleutians, the Bulge, or modern cold weather operations document the in service event.

VA has quietly rewritten several parts of the 38 CFR rating schedule in the last two years, and a few of the biggest proposed changes are still pending. This is the current state of play through 2026: what took effect, what got added under the PACT Act, and what is still just a proposal so you can time a claim wisely.