Reviewed by Jonathan Teplitsky · Updated June 2026
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How does the VA rate PTSD?
The VA rates post-traumatic stress disorder under 38 CFR § 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411, using the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. There are six possible levels — 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%. Every service-connected mental-health condition rated under § 4.130 (PTSD, depression, anxiety, and others) uses this same formula. The level you receive reflects how much PTSD impairs your occupational and social functioning.
VA PTSD rating chart (DC 9411)
| Rating | Level of impairment | Representative symptoms and criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | Diagnosed, no functional impairment | A mental condition has been diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication. |
| 10% | Mild or transient symptoms | Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms that decrease work efficiency only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. |
| 30% | Occasional decrease in work efficiency | Occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent inability to perform tasks, with generally satisfactory functioning. Depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, weekly (or less) panic attacks, chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss. |
| 50% | Reduced reliability and productivity | Flattened affect; circumstantial speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty understanding complex commands; impaired judgment and abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships. |
| 70% | Deficiencies in most areas | Deficiencies in work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, and mood. Suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals; intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant speech; near-continuous panic or depression; impaired impulse control; spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance; difficulty adapting to stress; inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. |
| 100% | Total occupational and social impairment | 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; disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. |
You can read the full schedule of ratings for mental disorders at the 38 CFR Part 4 source.
How the VA actually picks your level
Here is the single most misunderstood point about PTSD ratings: the VA does not rate you by counting symptoms. The symptoms listed in the chart above are examples, not a checklist. The controlling question at every level is your overall occupational and social impairment — how much PTSD disrupts your ability to work and to maintain relationships.
That means you can be rated at a given level even if you do not have every symptom listed for it, and having a symptom from a higher tier does not automatically push you up if your overall functioning does not match. Federal courts have repeatedly confirmed that the symptoms are illustrative and that the degree of impairment governs. When you describe your condition to a clinician or examiner, focus on function: missed workdays, lost jobs, isolation, conflict with family, and the tasks you can no longer do.
The 70% rating and TDIU — getting paid at 100%
The 70% level is a turning point. It describes deficiencies in most areas of life and is the threshold where many veterans become eligible for TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability). This is the second point most veterans miss: you can be paid at the 100% rate without a 100% schedular rating.
If your PTSD prevents you from holding down substantially gainful employment, TDIU pays at the full 100% compensation rate even though your schedular rating is 70%. Generally you qualify for schedular TDIU with one disability rated at least 60%, or a combined rating of 70% with at least one disability at 40%. PTSD at 70% on its own meets the single-disability path. Learn how it works in our TDIU explained guide.
Secondary conditions linked to PTSD
PTSD rarely travels alone. Several conditions are commonly granted secondary to service-connected PTSD, and each can be separately rated to raise your combined percentage:
- Sleep apnea — frequently linked to PTSD and the medications used to treat it. See our sleep apnea VA rating guide, or how to claim it secondary to PTSD.
- Depression — often co-occurs with PTSD; note that mental-health conditions are rated together under one § 4.130 evaluation to avoid pyramiding. See depression VA rating.
- Hypertension — chronic stress and sleep disruption are recognized contributors.
A medical nexus letter connecting the secondary condition to your service-connected PTSD is the key piece of evidence for these claims.
More secondary conditions to PTSD: GERD, migraines, and IBS
Beyond sleep apnea, depression, and hypertension, several additional conditions are commonly service-connected as secondary to PTSD once the chronic stress response and disrupted sleep patterns of the condition begin affecting other body systems.
- GERD (acid reflux) — chronic hyperarousal and disrupted sleep from PTSD are recognized contributors to gastroesophageal reflux; see our GERD VA rating guide.
- Migraines — the chronic stress, tension, and sleep disruption associated with PTSD are recognized migraine triggers, and migraines are frequently granted secondary to PTSD; see our migraines VA rating guide.
- IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) — the gut-brain connection means the chronic hyperarousal of PTSD commonly manifests as IBS symptoms, another well-documented secondary pathway; see our IBS VA rating guide.
As with any secondary claim, a medical nexus letter connecting the specific condition to your service-connected PTSD carries the most weight.
MST claims and the C&P exam
For PTSD stemming from Military Sexual Trauma (MST), the rules for proving the in-service stressor are liberalized under 38 CFR § 3.304(f). Because assaults often go unreported, the VA accepts markers — records of behavior changes, requests for transfer, sudden performance drops, relationship problems, or counseling visits — along with lay statements to establish that the stressor occurred. You do not need a formal report filed at the time.
Your C&P exam documents your symptoms and functioning against the General Rating Formula. Walk in prepared to describe specific, concrete examples of how PTSD affects your work and relationships — not just a list of symptoms, but how often they occur and what they cost you. Buddy statements from family or fellow service members can corroborate changes the examiner cannot see in a single appointment.
Does the Number of Deployments Affect Your PTSD Claim?
Multiple deployments raise your risk of PTSD beyond what one deployment alone creates. The VA's own National Center for PTSD names "longer deployment time or multiple deployments" as a specific factor that increases the likelihood of developing the condition, and describes a dose-response pattern: more combat stressors track with more mental health problems. Troops who saw the heaviest exposure, measured by things like direct contact with the dead and wounded, showed the highest PTSD rates among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, at an estimated 10% to 18% of that population overall.
That research matters for your rating in one specific way. The VA still rates PTSD by your current occupational and social impairment, not by how many tours you served, so a longer deployment history does not raise your percentage on its own. It does strengthen your case at the evidence stage. A documented record of two, three, or more combat deployments supports the stressor element of your claim and helps a C&P examiner understand why your symptoms accumulated rather than resolved between tours. If your service record shows multiple deployments, make sure your buddy statements and personal statement describe how symptoms built across each one, not just the most recent.
A note on the 2026 proposed changes
In 2026 the VA proposed revising how mental-health conditions are rated, moving toward a domain-based system that evaluates functioning across defined areas rather than the current symptom-illustrated tiers. These changes are proposed and may evolve. For now, the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders shown in the chart above is the current standard the VA applies to PTSD claims.
Estimate your combined rating
PTSD is rarely your only rated condition. If you also carry ratings for sleep apnea, hypertension, or other conditions, use our VA disability rating calculator to see how they combine — VA math is not simple addition.
Frequently asked questions about VA PTSD ratings
What are the PTSD rating levels? 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100% under 38 CFR § 4.130, DC 9411.
How does the VA decide my level? By overall occupational and social impairment — not by counting symptoms. The listed symptoms are examples.
Can I get paid at 100% with a 70% rating? Yes — through TDIU, if PTSD prevents substantially gainful employment.
What is the difference between 50% and 70%? 50% is reduced reliability and productivity; 70% is deficiencies in most areas of life, often including suicidal ideation and near-continuous panic or depression.
How do MST claims prove the stressor? Under § 3.304(f), markers and lay evidence can establish the in-service stressor when no formal report exists.
How to File a VA Claim for PTSD
A PTSD claim needs three things to succeed: a current diagnosis, an in-service stressor, and a medical nexus connecting the two. Start with a diagnosis from a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other qualified mental health provider using the current diagnostic criteria; VA's own Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam can establish this if you don't already have one from a private or VA treating provider.
The stressor is the event that caused your PTSD, and how much corroboration you need depends on what kind of stressor it was. If your stressor is related to combat, a prisoner-of-war experience, or "fear of hostile military or terrorist activity" while deployed, a relaxed evidentiary rule (38 CFR § 3.304(f)(3), in effect since 2010) lets your own statement stand as sufficient proof as long as it's consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of your service, with no separate corroborating evidence required. Non-combat stressors, including military sexual trauma, generally still need supporting evidence: buddy statements, personnel or medical records, or other documentation. This site's VA Form 21-0781 stressor statement guide covers how to write that statement so it holds up under review.
The nexus is the medical link between your stressor and your current diagnosis. A treating provider's opinion, or a private nexus letter, can establish it; this site's PTSD nexus letter template walks through what a strong one includes. Once you have all three pieces, file the claim through VA.gov, a VA regional office, or with help from an accredited Veterans Service Officer, who can review your evidence before submission at no cost.