Rating criteria · 38 CFR §4.130
PTSD & Mental Health: VA Rating Criteria
The exact rating criteria below are quoted from the Code of Federal Regulations as currently in force, not paraphrased. Compensation amounts come from the current VA rate tables.
By Mario Bailey, U.S. Air Force veteran · current Air National Guard member. Data updated 2026-08-14.
Plain-language guide
What this rating actually turns on
PTSD, depression, and every other service-connected mental disorder run through the exact same rating table, so which diagnostic label lands on your paperwork rarely changes the percentage by itself. Every one of them, PTSD (DC 9411) included, is rated under a single instrument, the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR 4.130, and it has one axis, occupational and social impairment: how much the condition degrades your ability to work and function, at the 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, or 100 percent level.
Two rules in 38 CFR 4.126 shape every decision. First, the rater must consider the frequency, severity, and duration of symptoms, and base the rating on all the evidence of record, not solely on how you presented during one examination. Second, social impairment alone cannot carry a rating; the occupational side has to be in the record too.
Before any percentage is assigned, service connection for PTSD requires three elements under 38 CFR 3.304(f): a diagnosis conforming to § 4.125(a) (DSM-5), a medical link between current symptoms and an in-service stressor, and credible supporting evidence the stressor occurred. The stressor burden is relaxed for combat, fear of hostile military or terrorist activity (when a VA psychiatrist or psychologist confirms it supports the diagnosis), former POWs, and in-service personal assault, where “marker” evidence like behavior changes, counseling records, or police reports can substitute for direct documentation.
If you are in crisis at any point, before, during, or after a claim, the Veterans Crisis Line is free and confidential: dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255 (va.gov).
A worked example
Take an Army veteran, call him R., service-connected for PTSD after a convoy IED. He still works, as a warehouse lead, but was pulled off a team-facing role after two blowups with a supervisor and has used up his last written warning. His marriage ended two years ago and he has not kept a friendship since; he takes lunch alone in his truck to avoid people. On the Review PTSD DBQ the examiner documents near-continuous depression affecting his ability to function independently, passive suicidal ideation without a plan, unprovoked irritability with occasional verbal aggression, and an inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.
No single symptom on that list sets the rating; the rater matches the overall picture to a tier. R. is not totally impaired, he holds a job, manages his own hygiene, and gets through daily tasks, so the 100 percent tier is off the table. But the record shows deficiencies in most areas, work, family relations, mood, and judgment, driven by symptoms the 70 percent tier names almost verbatim (suicidal ideation, impaired impulse control, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, inability to maintain effective relationships). The examiner checks the box for occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, and that is a 70 percent evaluation. Trade the near-continuous depression and passive ideation for weekly panic attacks and merely reduced reliability at work and the same veteran falls to the 50 percent tier; the number tracks the pattern the evidence proves, not the PTSD label itself.
What the C&P exam measures
Initial PTSD exams may only be performed by VHA staff or contract psychiatrists and psychologists; the Initial PTSD DBQ is not available for public use. On the Review PTSD DBQ, the examiner documents the DSM-5 diagnosis, checks a symptom list that mirrors the rating formula, and, critically, checks one box summarizing your level of occupational and social impairment, worded almost verbatim from the § 4.130 tiers. That single checkbox is heavily weighted in the decision, which is why your treatment records need to tell the same story the exam does.
What to have in your file
- A DSM-5-conforming diagnosis. Under § 4.125, a report that doesn’t conform or isn’t supported by findings gets returned to the examiner, not rated.
- VA Form 21-0781, the stressor statement, with dates, units, and locations as specific as you can make them.
- Ongoing mental health treatment records showing symptom frequency, severity, and duration over time, the § 4.126(a) evidence the rater must weigh beyond exam day.
- Lay statements from family, coworkers, or supervisors describing concrete changes in work performance and relationships.
- For personal-assault claims, marker evidence under § 3.304(f)(5): counseling visits, law-enforcement records, performance decline, transfer requests.
Common mistakes
- Treating the diagnosis as the rating. A confirmed PTSD diagnosis with mild functional impact rates low; the percentage follows impairment, not the label.
- Skipping the stressor element, or not invoking the relaxed paths in § 3.304(f) that fit your situation.
- A thin record. If nothing between exams documents your symptoms, the rater has little besides the exam snapshot. Describe your symptoms to your providers fully and honestly, including your worst stretches, so the record reflects reality.
- Relying on social withdrawal alone. § 4.126(b) bars ratings based solely on social impairment.
Worth knowing
The symptom lists in the formula are prefaced “due to such symptoms as”, they are examples, not checklists, in the regulation’s own wording. Also note the 10 percent tier explicitly covers symptoms “controlled by continuous medication”, being stabilized on medication does not zero out a rating.
Rating criteria from the CFR
General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders
| Rating criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. | |
| Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. | |
| Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. | |
| Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events). | |
| Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. | |
| A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication. |
Diagnostic Code 9411, Posttraumatic stress disorder. Rated under the formula above.
Diagnostic Code 9400, Generalized anxiety disorder. Rated under the formula above.
Diagnostic Code 9410, Other specified anxiety disorder. Rated under the formula above.
Diagnostic Code 9412, Panic disorder and/or agoraphobia. Rated under the formula above.
Diagnostic Code 9413, Unspecified anxiety disorder. Rated under the formula above.
Diagnostic Code 9434, Major depressive disorder. Rated under the formula above.
Diagnostic Code 9435, Unspecified depressive disorder. Rated under the formula above.
Diagnostic Code 9440, Chronic adjustment disorder. Rated under the formula above.
SOURCE: eCFR, 38 CFR Part 4 (issue date 2026-08-10, current through 2026-08-14) · retrieved 2026-08-18
Monthly compensation at each rating level
Veteran-alone amounts, effective 2025-12-01. Dependents increase these amounts at 30% and above, use the combined rating calculator for your exact situation, especially if this isn't your only rated condition.
| Rating | Monthly (veteran alone) |
|---|---|
| $3,938.58 | |
| $1,808.45 | |
| $1,132.90 | |
| $552.47 | |
| $180.42 |
SOURCE: VA compensation rate tables, va.gov · retrieved 2026-08-18 · effective 2025-12-01
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest VA rating for PTSD & mental health, and what does it pay?
The top schedular level in this group is 100%. PTSD & Mental Health is not scored from a menu of separate diagnostic codes: VA measures your overall impairment against the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders and settles on the single percentage that fits. At 100%, the current rate tables pay $3,938.58 a month for a veteran with no dependents (effective 2025-12-01).
What rating levels can PTSD & mental health receive?
VA can assign 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% or 100%. Each level describes a whole picture of impairment rather than one isolated finding, so your rating turns on the total effect on work and daily life, measured against the formula criteria quoted from 38 CFR §4.130 on this page.
If your rating came back lower than this
A decision that ignores the criteria above is a frequent reason veterans are underpaid. Line your decision up against the levels on this page. If the evidence supports a higher level than VA assigned, you have three ways to challenge it, and the right one depends on why it went wrong:
- Something was missing from the record (an exam finding, a prescription, a flare-up statement, a nexus letter): add it with a Supplemental Claim.
- The evidence was already there and VA misread it: ask for a Higher-Level Review by a more senior rater, with no new evidence needed.
- A legal or judgment error: take it to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
Line your decision up against the criteria on this page. Which review lane fits depends on why the rating is wrong: new evidence that was missing, a misread of evidence already in the file, or a legal error. All three are laid out in the decision reviews and appeals guide.
Before you file, recombine this rating with your others (VA math does not add ratings), check how long each lane is taking right now, and remember a VA-accredited representative or VSO will help you for free. You can also browse every other condition's criteria to make sure you are claiming everything you are owed.