About disability ratings | veterans affairs

HOW WE ASSIGN VA DISABILITY RATINGS WHAT’S A DISABILITY RATING? We assign you a disability rating based on the severity of your disability. We express this rating as a percentage,

representing how much your disability decreases your overall health and ability to function. We then use your disability rating to determine your disability compensation rate, so we can

calculate how much money you’ll receive from us each month. We also use your disability rating to help determine your eligibility for other benefits, like VA health care. WHAT DOES VA USE TO

DECIDE MY DISABILITY RATING? WE BASE YOUR RATING ON: * The evidence you give us (like a doctor’s report or medical test results), AND * The results of your VA claim exam (also called a

compensation and pension, or C&P, exam), if we determine you need this exam, AND * Other information we may get from other sources (like federal agencies) WHAT IF I HAVE MORE THAN ONE

DISABILITY? We use a method called the “whole person theory” to determine what we call your combined disability rating. We do this to make sure that your total VA disability rating doesn’t

add up to more than 100%. That’s because a person can’t be more than 100% able-bodied. Read below to find out more about how we calculate your combined disability rating.  HOW DO RATINGS

WORK FOR A DISABILITY I HAD BEFORE ENTERING THE SERVICE THAT GOT WORSE BECAUSE OF MY SERVICE? If you get disability benefits for a preservice disability, we base your monthly compensation

amount on the level of aggravation. Level of aggravation means how much worse your preservice disability got because of your military service. FOR EXAMPLE: If you had an illness or injury

(also known as a condition) that was rated as 10% disabling when you entered the military, and it became 20% disabling due to the effects of your service, then the level of aggravation would

be 10%. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, OTHER THAN MY DISABILITY RATING, THAT MAY AFFECT THE AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION I RECEIVE? Yes. We may increase or decrease your compensation amount in certain

situations.  Learn more about compensation rates WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I GET MY DISABILITY RATING? Find out what to expect after you get your rating HOW WE DETERMINE COMBINED VA DISABILITY

RATINGS If you have multiple disability ratings, we use the table below to calculate your combined VA disability rating. Calculating your combined disability rating involves more than adding

up your individual ratings. That’s why your combined rating may be different from the sum of your individual ratings. To make this table easier to use online, we’ve separated it into

smaller tables, based on the percentage of the most severe, or highest rated, disability. NOTE: If you have 2 disabilities, each rated at 10% disabling, your combined disability rating is

19%. COMBINED RATINGS TABLE (NOT ROUNDED)