PTSD VA disability rating levels from 0 to 100 percent
Your PTSD VA disability rating depends on how much your symptoms affect your work and your relationships, not on the trauma itself. VA rates PTSD, like other mental health conditions, with the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR 4.130. The formula has six levels: 0, 10, 30, 50, 70 and 100 percent. This guide explains each level in plain words, what a 100 percent PTSD rating means, and what evidence helps VA see the real picture.
Important note
This guide is general information about 38 CFR 4.130 and is not medical or legal advice. MilitaryMedicine is an independent service and is not affiliated with the VA or the Department of Defense. If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.
How VA decides a PTSD rating
VA looks at the frequency, severity and duration of your symptoms and at how they affect your job and your social life. The examples in the rating formula are not a checklist you must match word for word. VA looks at the whole picture, and a rating fits the level that best describes your overall impairment. The evidence usually comes from your C&P exam, your treatment records and statements from you and people who know you.
- Your diagnosis of PTSD from a qualified provider
- A link between your PTSD and a stressor in service
- Records that show how often symptoms happen and how severe they are
- Your own statement and statements from family, friends or coworkers
The 0 and 10 percent levels
A 0 percent rating means you have a formal diagnosis, but your symptoms are not severe enough to affect work and social life in a way that needs continuous medication, or they do not affect them at all. A 0 percent rating still matters, because it confirms service connection and can go up later if your symptoms get worse. A 10 percent rating fits mild or passing symptoms that lower work efficiency only during times of high stress, or symptoms that are controlled by continuous medication.
The 30 percent level
At 30 percent, symptoms cause an occasional drop in work efficiency and periods where you cannot do your tasks, even though you generally function well with normal routine and conversation. Typical signs listed in the formula include a depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks once a week or less often, chronic sleep problems and mild memory loss, such as forgetting names or recent events.
The 50 and 70 percent levels
At 50 percent, symptoms cause reduced reliability and productivity at work and in social life. Examples include panic attacks more than once a week, trouble understanding complex commands, impaired judgment, disturbed motivation and mood, and difficulty building and keeping effective work and social relationships.
At 70 percent, symptoms cause deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood. Examples include suicidal ideation, near-continuous panic or depression that affects your ability to function, impaired impulse control such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence, neglect of personal appearance and hygiene, difficulty adapting to stressful situations, and an inability to build and keep effective relationships.
- 30 percent: occasional decrease in work efficiency
- 50 percent: reduced reliability and productivity
- 70 percent: deficiencies in most areas of life
- 100 percent: total occupational and social impairment
What a 100 percent PTSD rating means
The 100 ptsd rating fits total occupational and social impairment. That means symptoms leave you unable to work and unable to keep up social relationships. The formula lists examples such as gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, a persistent danger of hurting yourself or others, an intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living, disorientation to time or place, and memory loss for names of close relatives, your own occupation or your own name. Not every example has to be present. VA asks whether your overall impairment is total.
A separate path exists for veterans who cannot keep substantially gainful work because of service-connected conditions. It is called total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU). TDIU pays at the 100 percent rate even when your schedular rating is lower, and it has its own rules and its own form. Ask an accredited representative or a VSO whether it fits your situation.
What moves a PTSD rating up
A rating moves up when the evidence shows that your symptoms are more frequent or more severe than your current level describes. Clear records help VA see that.
- Keep regular treatment and ask your provider to note how often symptoms happen and how they affect you
- Write down missed work, lost jobs, conflicts and changes in family life
- Ask people close to you for written statements about what they see
- Be honest and complete at your C&P exam, including your worst days
- File for an increase when your symptoms get worse, not only at review time
Read more about the exam in our va c&p exam guide and about the full rating formula in our va rating for ptsd guide.
How your PTSD rating fits into your combined rating
If you have other service-connected conditions, VA combines all ratings with the whole person method in 38 CFR 4.25. Ratings are not added. For example, 50 and 30 give 65, which rounds to 70. Our va math guide shows each step, and the va combined rating calculator does the math for you.
Getting help with a PTSD claim
Accredited Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) help with claims at no cost. Accredited attorneys and claims agents generally may not charge you before VA issues an initial decision on a claim (38 CFR 14.636). After that, a fee of 20 percent or less of past-due benefits is presumed reasonable. If you want help with an increase or an appeal, a va disability claim attorney can review your file.