“If you file for an increase, VA will use it as an excuse to reduce your rating.”
VA does review your current level when you ask for an increase, and a reduction is legally possible. But VA cannot reduce a rating just because an examiner had a good day with you. Specific regulations require real evidence of sustained improvement, and long held ratings carry escalating protections.
What the regulation actually says
Filing for an increase reopens the question of how disabling your condition is, so an examination can, in principle, produce evidence VA uses to propose a reduction. That part of the fear is grounded in reality.
The protections are what the myth leaves out. Under 38 CFR 3.344, a rating that has been in place for five years or more may not be reduced on a single examination; VA must find sustained material improvement under the ordinary conditions of life and work, based on the full history. For ratings in place less than five years, reduction still requires evidence of actual improvement, not just a different examiner's opinion.
Time adds more armor. Under 38 CFR 3.951(b), a rating in place for 20 years or more may not be reduced below its lowest level held during those 20 years except for fraud. Under 38 CFR 3.957, service connection itself cannot be severed after 10 years except for fraud or lack of qualifying service. And any reduction that lowers your payment requires advance notice and 60 days to respond under 38 CFR 3.105(e).
The exceptions
- Ratings held less than five years can be reduced on evidence of improvement from a single adequate examination
- Fraud voids every protection listed above
- Temporary total ratings, such as post surgery convalescence under 38 CFR 4.30, expire by design and are not reductions