Disability compensation

When to ask VA for a rating increase

Your condition can change. Your rating can change with it. Here is when to file, what it costs you if you wait, and the one appointment that can sink the whole thing.

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What this is. If you already have a service-connected rating and the condition has gotten worse, you can ask VA to raise it. VA calls this a claim for increased disability compensation. You file it on VA Form 21-526EZ, the same application used for a disability claim. It is free to file, and free help exists. I wrote this page because the short version — "file if you got worse" — leaves out the parts that cost people money.
Veterans Crisis Line — dial 988, then press 1. Text 838255. Chat at veteranscrisisline.net. TTY 711 then 988, or 1-800-799-4889. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You do not have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to connect.
Five steps

How to file an increase claim, at a glance

  1. Gather evidence. Medical records (VA and private), results of tests such as X-rays or MRI, any DBQ your doctor completes, your own statement (VA Form 21-4138), and buddy or spouse statements (VA Form 21-10210). VA needs only one type, so do not wait on all of it.
  2. File VA Form 21-526EZ. Online at VA.gov, by mail to the Claims Intake Center in Janesville, WI, in person at a VA regional office, or with an accredited representative. A VSO is free.
  3. Go to your exam. Describe your symptoms, how often they flare up and what they stop you from doing. Be honest. On a claim for increase, a missed exam without good cause means the claim is denied. See the C&P exam cheat sheet.
  4. Track it. Check claim status on VA.gov, answer anything VA asks for, and send new evidence while the claim is still pending. VA benefits line: 800-827-1000.
  5. Read the decision. Check the rating, the pay and the effective date. The rating can go up, stay the same or go down. If you disagree, see appealing a VA decision.

Each step is explained further down this page. Details for the exam, the effective date and the risk of a reduction are in the panels below.

★ Evidence, form, exam, track, decision.
Start here

Signs it is time to file

  • Your condition has worsened since VA last rated it
  • You have new evidence that it has gotten worse
  • The symptoms affect your work or your daily life more than they used to
  • Your doctor has documented the change
You do not need a doctor to file. VA asks for at least one of these: medical records or a medical opinion, or lay evidence — a statement from somebody who has seen the change in you, on VA Form 21-10210. VA's own words: "We require only one of these types of documents." If you have not been to an appointment in years, that does not shut the door. A buddy statement, a spouse's statement, a supervisor's statement — any of those can carry a claim.

Where to go: va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/evidence-needed

★ One kind of evidence is enough.
Do not miss this

The exam. Go to it.

This is the part almost nobody tells you, and it is the expensive one.

Filing for an increase will usually mean VA schedules you for a claim exam. The regulation that requires it, 38 CFR 3.326(a), names claims for increase specifically.

If you fail to report without good cause, a claim for increase is DENIED. That is 38 CFR 3.655(b). It is not the same rule as an original claim, which still gets rated on the evidence already in your file. On an increase, missing the exam ends it.
If you cannot make the appointment: contact VA before the date and ask to reschedule. VA reschedules for good cause — hospitalization, a death in the Family, homelessness are the kinds of reasons that count. And if a claim was already denied for a missed exam, that is not the end of the road: a Supplemental Claim reopens it. Call 800-827-1000.
How rescheduling works, in VA's words: you can reschedule once per exam, the new appointment must be within 5 days of the original, and VA asks you to notify the exam contractor at least 48 hours ahead. Rescheduling may delay your claim decision. Good-cause examples on VA's page: a death in the family, homelessness, hospitalization, terminal illness.

Straight talk: VA's own exam page says only that missing it "will delay your claim" and that VA "may also decide your claim based on the existing evidence." The regulation is harsher than the webpage. Follow the regulation. va.gov/disability/va-claim-exam

★ Show up, or call and move it.
Money

The one-year window on your back pay

Filing late does not just delay the money. It can erase months of it.

38 CFR 3.400(o)(2) sets the effective date for an increase at the earliest date it can be shown your disability got worse — but only if VA receives a complete claim or an intent to file within 1 year of that date. Miss the year, and the effective date becomes the date VA receives your claim. Everything before that is gone.

The cheapest thing you can do today: file an intent to file. That is VA Form 21-0966. It locks in a potential effective date and gives you 1 year to finish the claim while you gather evidence. Starting a disability compensation application online at va.gov also creates an intent to file automatically.

VA's own words: va.gov/disability/effective-date · va.gov/resources/your-intent-to-file-a-va-claim

★ Protect the date first. Build the claim after.
Straight talk

The risk: it can go down

Anybody telling you an increase claim is all upside is not telling you everything.

The claim exam happens no matter your age or how long you have held the rating, and what that exam finds can support a reduction.

  • Under 5 years at the same level: a rating that has not been held at the same level for 5 years or more does not get the stabilization protections of 38 CFR 3.344.
  • What "not protected" really means: the stabilization rules of 38 CFR 3.344(a) and (b) apply to ratings that have continued for long periods at the same level (5 years or more). They do not apply to disabilities that have not become stabilized and are likely to improve. For those, a reexam that shows improvement, physical or mental, will warrant a reduction (3.344(c)). Nobody can be cut on a whim: it takes an exam or evidence showing improvement, and you get the notice and hearing rights in the next section. For example, a 50% rating could be proposed for a lower level if an exam in year 3 shows you have improved.
  • 20 years: a disability continuously rated at or above a level for 20 years or more will not be reduced below it except on a showing of fraud (38 CFR 3.951).
  • 10 years: service connection in effect 10 years or more will not be severed except for fraud or clearly shown lack of required service or character of discharge (38 CFR 3.957).
Missing an exam can cost a rating you already have, too. When VA is reviewing a rating you already hold and you fail to report without good cause, the rule is 38 CFR 3.655(c): VA sends a pretermination notice saying payment will be discontinued or reduced. You then have 60 days to say you will report (the exam is rescheduled) or to send evidence you are still entitled. No response, or not enough evidence, and payment is discontinued or reduced. Ask for a hearing within 30 days of that notice and the change is put on hold. A missed exam on a claim for increase is handled differently: that claim is denied (3.655(b), above).
A separate thing — future periodic reexaminations. 38 CFR 3.327(b)(2) bars VA from scheduling those where the disability is established as static; where it is permanent with no likelihood of improvement; where symptoms have persisted without improvement for five years or more; where the rating is a prescribed scheduled minimum; where the combined evaluation would not change either way; and, except in unusual circumstances, for veterans over 55 years of age. Those limits do not protect you from the claim exam on your own increase claim. Two different exams, two different rules.
★ Know your exposure before you file.
Quick chart

5, 10 and 20 years at a glance

The 5, 10 and 20 year rules, and which one covers your rating, are laid out on our page Protected ratings: the 5, 10 and 20 year rules.

Two things stay true at every stage: fraud can end protection, and if you file a claim for increase the claim exam still happens and its findings count. Be honest and consistent in every claim and exam.

★ Know which rule covers your rating.
Your rights

VA cannot cut you without notice

If VA proposes to reduce a rating, you get process. Use it.

  • VA must send you an advance written notice of the proposed reduction
  • You get 60 days to submit additional evidence
  • Request a predetermination hearing within 30 days of that notice and your payments continue at the old level until a final decision

38 CFR 3.105(e) and (i). Do not let that 30-day hearing window pass — it is the part that keeps the money coming while you fight.

★ 60 days for evidence. 30 days for the hearing.

VA cannot cut you without notice

Page reviewed September 2026.additional evidence60 dayspredetermination hearing30 days
You get 60 days to submit additional evidence Request a predetermination hearing within 30 days of that notice and your payments continue at the old level until a final decision38 CFR 3.105(e) and (i)
Worth more

An increase may not be the biggest claim you have

If the symptoms are hitting your work, look at this before you file a plain increase.

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) is for veterans whose service-connected conditions keep them from holding substantially gainful employment. The rating thresholds and the forms are in our glossary entry at Confusing VA terms.

Two other doors worth asking about, because either can be worth more than raising an existing rating: a claim for a secondary service-connected condition — a new condition caused or aggravated by the one you are already rated for — and Special Monthly Compensation. Ask an accredited representative which one fits your file.

va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/unemployability

★ File the right claim, not just the obvious one.
Money

If the increase puts you at 30%, claim your Family

Most people never hear this one, and it is money sitting on the table.

If the increase brings your combined rating to at least 30%, you can receive additional compensation for a spouse, a child, or a dependent parent.

  • Spouse and children under 18 — VA Form 21-686c
  • A child 18 to 23 in school full time — also VA Form 21-674
  • A dependent parent — VA Form 21P-509, not 21-686c
One year again. File within 1 year of the marriage, birth, or adoption — and respond within 1 year to any VA request for more information — to get back pay to that event. After a year, the retroactive payment may be limited or denied.

va.gov/disability/add-remove-dependent

★ Add your Family the day the rating lands.
If VA says no

Three options, and one of them has a trap

The three review lanes, their forms and their clocks are on our page Appeal a VA decision. The Supplemental Claim effective-date trap is explained on Help your own claim. File inside the year.

va.gov/decision-reviews/higher-level-review · va.gov/decision-reviews/supplemental-claim

★ A denial is a step, not the end.
Get help

What help costs — and what it does not

VSO representatives are always free. Attorneys and claims agents may charge only after VA's initial decision, and the fee is capped by a presumption of reasonableness. The fee rules are on our page Help your own claim.

Where to start, free: find an accredited representative at va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative. File or check a claim at va.gov/disability. VA benefits line: 800-827-1000.
★ Free help exists. Use it first.
Where to call

Where to call and where to go

  • VA benefits (claims, exam questions, effective dates): 800-827-1000, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET
  • VA health care questions: 877-222-8387, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
  • Veterans Crisis Line: 988, then press 1, 24 hours a day
  • Missed or need to move an exam: call the exam contractor number on your appointment letter, at least 48 hours before, and call 800-827-1000 if you need help
VA phone numbers · VA claim exam page · File a claim · Free accredited representative · 38 CFR 3.655 · 38 CFR 3.344
★ Call before the date, not after.

Sources

My honest read. Do not let the reduction risk scare you out of a claim you have earned — most people who file because they genuinely got worse are filing the right claim. But go in with your eyes open: protect the date, know which exam is which, show up for the appointment, and get a free accredited representative to look at your file before you sign anything.
Next step: Plan Your VA Claim walks you through a claim in six steps. Prepare Your VA Claim is a printable checklist.