Pro VA Claim Tip: Review VA's Schedule For Rating Disabilities Before Filing VA Claims For Increased Ratings In Order To Secure Higher Rating Levels
The VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD), 38 C.F.R. Part 4, contains all of the actual rating criteria that decide what percentage level you get for a service-connected condition. Most veterans have never actually reviewed the VASRD. They file increase claims on instinct, and the result is predictable: some get nothing because they were already at the maximum for the code, some get nothing because their combined rating could not move, and a few invite a re-examination that costs them a rating they had held for years. Twenty minutes with the schedule prevents all three.
How VA's schedule for rating disabilities actually works
Every service-connected condition is assigned a four-digit diagnostic code (DC) that appears on the rating code sheet at the end of your rating decision. Each diagnostic code on the VASRD lists the percentages available and the criteria for each. Four rules govern how those criteria are applied:
• The higher of two evaluations. When your disability picture more nearly approximates the higher criteria, VA must assign the higher rating. 38 C.F.R. § 4.7.
• Reasonable doubt. A tie goes to you. 38 C.F.R. § 4.3.
• No pyramiding. The same symptom cannot be rated twice under different codes. 38 C.F.R. § 4.14.
• Analogous ratings. A condition with no code is rated under the closest one, with a hyphenated code. 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.20, 4.27.
The schedule for rating disabilities changes at times. VA has revised the musculoskeletal, mental health, respiratory, and other body systems in recent years, so always read the current eCFR text, not a screenshot from a forum.
Step one: find your diagnostic code(dc) on the VASRD and then the next higher rung
Pull your most recent rating decision and locate the rating code sheet. For each condition, note the DC and the current percentage. Then open 38 C.F.R. Part 4, find the code, and read the criteria for the next percentage up. Write them down in plain language. That list is now your evidence checklist.
Step two: check whether the diagnostic code even goes higher
Some codes top out. Filing for an increase on a maxed code produces nothing but an exam.
Condition | Diagnostic code | Maximum schedular rating |
Tinnitus | 6260 | 10 percent, single rating regardless of ears |
Hypertension | 7101 | 60 percent |
Migraine | 8100 | 50 percent |
Lumbosacral strain (general formula, no incapacitating episodes) | 5237 | 100 percent, but 40 percent requires forward flexion of 30 degrees or less, or favorable ankylosis |
Knee, limited flexion | 5260 | 30 percent |
Knee, limited extension | 5261 | 50 percent |
Sleep apnea | 6847 | 100 percent |
PTSD and other mental disorders | 9411 and the general formula | 100 percent |
If you are at the maximum, the path to more compensation is not an increase. It is a separate rating for a distinct manifestation, a secondary condition, extraschedular referral under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)(1), or TDIU.
Step three: run the combined-rating math before you file
VA does not add ratings. Under 38 C.F.R. § 4.25, each rating is applied to the remaining non-disabled portion, and the result is rounded to the nearest 10. The practical effect is that small increases often do not change your check.
Example. A veteran is rated 50 percent for PTSD, 20 percent for a back condition, 10 percent for tinnitus, and 10 percent for a knee.
Step | Calculation | Running total |
PTSD 50 | 50 | 50 |
Back 20 | 20 percent of the remaining 50 = 10 | 60 |
Tinnitus 10 | 10 percent of the remaining 40 = 4 | 64 |
Knee 10 | 10 percent of the remaining 36 = 3.6 | 67.6, rounds to 70 |
Now suppose the knee improves to 20 percent: the total becomes 71.2, which still rounds to 70. Zero change in pay. But if the back moves from 20 to 40: 50, then 70, then 73, then 75.7, which rounds to 80. That is the increase worth filing. The schedule and a calculator tell you which one before VA does.
Step four: weigh the re-examination and reduction risk
An increase claim is a request for a new exam on that condition. If the exam shows improvement, VA can propose a reduction. Your protection depends on time and evidence:
• A rating in effect for 5 or more years cannot be reduced on a single exam; VA must show sustained improvement under the ordinary conditions of life. 38 C.F.R. § 3.344; Brown v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 413 (1993).
• A rating in effect for 20 or more years cannot be reduced below that level except for fraud. 38 C.F.R. § 3.951(b).
• Any reduction that lowers your pay requires a proposed decision, 60 days to respond, and the right to a predetermination hearing. 38 C.F.R. § 3.105(e), (i).
The risk is real but manageable. The veterans who get reduced after an increase claim are usually the ones whose treatment records already showed improvement before they filed. Read your own records first.
When filing for an increase may be a BAD idea
1. You are at the maximum rating for the code.
2. Your current treatment records do not describe the criteria for the next level. File after the evidence exists, not before.
3. The increase would not change your combined rating.
4. Your condition fluctuates, your rating is under five years old, and your recent records show a good stretch.
5. The real problem is a different condition that has never been claimed.
When filing a VA claim for a rating increase may be a GOOD idea
1. Your medical records already document the next level's criteria (and you can ask for the § 3.400(o)(2) look-back date).
2. The increase changes your combined rating or crosses a threshold that matters: 30 percent for dependents' pay, 60 or 70 percent for TDIU eligibility under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a), 100 percent.
3. The condition has worsened in a way the current rating cannot describe, such as new radiculopathy from a rated back, which is a separate rating rather than an increase.
4. Your rating is protected by time and the worsening is well documented.
Case scenario: two increase claims, one rating decision
A veteran rated 10 percent for tinnitus and 30 percent for migraines wanted to "file for an increase on everything." The schedule said tinnitus was maxed. Her headache log and neurology notes described prostrating attacks averaging once a week over the prior year, which matched the 50 percent criteria under DC 8100 (very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability, with employer letters documenting missed work). She filed on migraines only, attached the log and the neurology note, and was granted 50 percent effective from the date of the first qualifying note under § 3.400(o)(2). Her combined rating went from 40 to 60, and the tinnitus rating was never touched.
Hot take: "file an increase for everything" is generally bad advice from people who have not actually read the rating schedule and are not adept at winning VA claims. No two cases are the same. Precision and strategic claim filing, aimed at the one or two conditions where the evidence already meets the next rung and the combined math moves, wins more often and risks less than blinding claiming increases for everything you have a rating for without awareness of if an increased rating is even possible for that condition or evan a realistic possibility for the current severity of the symptoms you are experiencing.
Pro tips for VA claims to secure VA rating increases
• Share the criteria for the next level with your treating provider. If they agree that you meet the criteria for a higher rating then kindly request that they document, in their own words the current severity of your condition so you have new and relevant evidence to support your claim.
• Begin and maintain a symptom log for fluctuating conditions (migraines, mental health, GI). The log is credible lay evidence that VA must consider. There are many mobile apps that allow you to track health conditions available these days.
• Consider the bilateral factor. Under 38 C.F.R. § 4.26, paired extremities add 10 percent of their combined value before the rest of the math. It can be the difference between 68 and 70.
• If a condition has worsened but still would not change your combined rating, consider whether it supports TDIU or a secondary claim instead.
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