DISABILITYVA program

Rating Increase Claim (Worsened Service-Connected Condition)

Veterans whose service-connected condition has worsened since their last rating may file for a rating increase at any time. VA orders a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam when the records are not enough to rate the condition as it is now.

View on VA.gov

Step-by-step guide

What VA looks for

A condition VA already service connectedVA has already decided the condition is service connected and assigned it a rating. A condition VA has not service connected needs a first claim instead.
Evidence it has gotten worseMedical or lay evidence that the condition is worse now, and how the worsening affects your ability to work.
Enough evidence to rate it as it is nowRecords that show how severe the condition is today. When they are not enough, VA orders an exam. VA does not order one for every claim for increase.

Source: M21-1 II.iii.2.C (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); VA.gov: evidence needed for your disability claim (opens in new tab); M21-1 IV.i.1.B (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.159(c)(4) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VA claim exam (opens in new tab)

What to gather, and what it shows VA

Documents for this benefit: what each is, what it shows VA, and how VA gets it
Document	What it shows	How VA gets it	Have it?
Your current rating decision The VA decision letter that lists the condition and its current rating.	What VA rates now	VA mails it after each decision and already holds it in your file. You can download decision letters on VA.gov.	Yes
VA medical records Records of your care at VA medical centers and clinics.	How severe the condition is now	VA will request these for you once you file. You can review your own VA records on VA.gov.
Private medical records Recent records from doctors, hospitals, and therapists outside VA.	How severe the condition is now, and when it got worse	Send copies to VA yourself, or complete VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a so VA can request them from each provider. The provider names and dates go on the VA forms, not into BeneVets.
DBQ from your own provider A Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ): VA's form for a condition, filled out by your own provider.	How severe the condition is now	Optional. Your provider completes it and submits it to VA. VA lists public DBQs for many conditions, but not all; hearing loss and tinnitus, for one, are not public. VA does not pay for it, and when a DBQ is adequate for rating, VA does not routinely order its own exam.
Statements about how it affects you Your own account, and statements from people who see the effects, such as a spouse, a friend, or an employer, about your symptoms, time lost from work, and daily life.	How the worsening affects work and daily life	Your own statement can go on VA Form 21-4138, and others can use VA Form 21-10210. They go to VA with your claim.
VA claim exam An exam VA orders when the records are not enough to rate the condition as it is now.	How severe the condition is now	VA schedules it if it needs one. On a claim for increase, missing it without good cause leads VA to deny the claim.

Records and statements go to VA. BeneVets never asks you to upload or type them here.

Steps, in order

Get free help from a VSO
Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab)
Set your start date
Submit an intent to file on VA Form 21-0966, by phone, or by starting the online claim. A complete claim filed within 1 year counts as filed on the intent to file date.
Source: 38 CFR 3.155(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: your intent to file (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-0966 (opens in new tab)
Gather records that show how it is now
VA will request your VA medical records for you once you file. For private care, send copies or complete VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a. If your provider completes a DBQ, it goes to VA too.
Source: 38 CFR 3.159(c)(1) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.159(c)(2) (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4142 (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4142a (opens in new tab); VA public Disability Benefits Questionnaires (opens in new tab)
File VA Form 21-526EZ
In the claim section, list the rated condition and the approximate date it got worse. Statements from you and others can go with the form.
Source: VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); M21-1 II.iii.2.C (opens in new tab)
Go to any exam VA schedules
VA asks for a claim exam only when it needs more information. To change the time, call the number on your appointment letter at least 48 hours ahead. On a claim for increase, missing a scheduled exam without good cause, such as illness, a hospital stay, or a death in your immediate family, leads VA to deny the claim.
Source: VA.gov: VA claim exam (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.655(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.655(b) (opens in new tab)
Read the decision
The decision rates the condition on how it is now. If you disagree, a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, or a Board Appeal filed within 1 year of the decision keeps your effective date.
Source: 38 CFR 3.2500(h) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab)

Good to know

The compensation card has the full increase track

The VA Disability Compensation card covers the claim for increase in full, next to first claims and secondary claims. This card is the short version for one rated condition that has gotten worse.

Source: M21-1 II.iii.2.C (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)

When an increase can start

If your records show the date the condition got worse, and VA receives your claim or an intent to file within 1 year of that date, the higher rating can start on that date. If not, it starts on the date VA receives your claim, or on the later date the evidence first shows it got worse.

Source: 38 CFR 3.400(o)(2) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.155(b) (opens in new tab)

A new look can also lower a rating

VA rates the condition on how it is now. A claim can end with a higher rating, the same rating, or, if a thorough exam shows an improvement that holds up in everyday life and work, a proposal to lower it. If the lower rating would cut what VA pays you now, VA first sends its reasons and gives you 60 days to send evidence. A hearing you ask for within 30 days of that notice keeps your payments the same until VA makes its final decision. A rating held at the same level for 5 years or more has added protection, and one held at a level for 20 years or more cannot drop below that level unless it was based on fraud.

Source: M21-1 IV.i.1.B (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.ii.4.A (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.105(e) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.105(i) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.344(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.344(c) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.951(b) (opens in new tab)

Worse now, or wrong before?

A claim for increase is for a condition that has gotten worse. If you think VA got the rating wrong in its last decision, that calls for a decision review instead: a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, or a Board Appeal. VA says a condition that has gotten worse needs a claim for increase, not a Supplemental Claim.

Source: VA.gov: Supplemental Claims (opens in new tab); VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab); M21-1 II.iii.2.C (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.2500(a) (opens in new tab)

BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you