The Playbook › Step 7 of 7: Raise and protect your rating
A VA rating is a snapshot of how disabling your condition was when VA last looked. Conditions change. If one of your service-connected disabilities has become worse, you can file a claim for an increased rating at any time. There is no waiting period and no limit on how often you can ask.
The short version
- Use the same form as any claim: VA Form 21-526EZ, and select the condition as an increase.
- You must show the condition now meets the criteria for the next higher percentage.
- File an Intent to File first to protect your date.
- VA will usually order a new C&P exam.
- VA reviews the condition fresh. A rating can go up, stay the same, or occasionally be proposed for reduction.
On this page
Step 1: Find out what the next level requires
Every condition is rated under a diagnostic code with specific criteria at each percentage. Your last decision letter usually states what is needed for the next level. Look in the Reasons for Decision. See reading your decision letter.
Our condition guides set out the criteria for common conditions, and ratings by condition maps the whole schedule by body system:
- PTSD and depression and anxiety
- Back conditions and knees
- Migraines
- Sleep apnea
- Hearing loss
- GERD and IBS
- Hypertension, radiculopathy, shoulders, plantar fasciitis and flat feet, and sinusitis and rhinitis
If your symptoms do not yet meet the next level, an increase claim is unlikely to succeed.
Step 2: Gather evidence that it has worsened
- Recent treatment records. If you have not seen a doctor about the condition in a year or two, do that first. An increase with no recent treatment is hard to support.
- A private DBQ from your own provider, if you can get one.
- Your statement describing what has changed since the last rating, with frequency and examples. See your personal statement.
- Statements from others who see the effects.
- Work evidence: missed days, reduced hours, accommodations.
Step 3: File
File VA Form 21-526EZ at VA.gov and choose the existing condition as worsened. Upload your evidence. If the worsening has also caused new problems, add them on the same form as secondary conditions.
Step 4: Attend the exam
VA will almost always order a new exam. Everything in the C&P exam guide applies. The examiner is measuring where you are today.
Effective dates for increases
An increase is generally effective from the date VA receives your claim. There is one useful exception: if the evidence shows the condition worsened within the year before you filed, the effective date can go back to the date the worsening can be shown, up to one year. Dated medical records from that period are what make this work.
The risk: VA looks at everything again
When you file for an increase, VA re-examines the condition. If the exam shows you have improved, VA can propose to reduce the rating. This does not happen often, and VA cannot cut a rating without notice and a chance to respond. But you should think it through first.
Ask yourself:
| Question | If yes |
|---|---|
| Do my current symptoms clearly meet the next level’s criteria? | An increase claim is reasonable |
| Has the condition actually improved since my last exam? | Filing invites a closer look. Think twice. |
| Has my rating been in place 5 years or more? | It has extra protection against reduction |
| Has it been in place 20 years or more? | It cannot be reduced below its current level except for fraud |
| Am I rated 100% or receiving TDIU? | Get advice before filing anything |
See rating reductions and protections for the rules.
Filing for an increase on one condition does not automatically reopen your other ratings, but VA may review related conditions examined at the same time.
If you are already at a high combined rating
Because of VA math, an increase on a single condition may not move your combined rating. Use the calculator to check before you file. If you are at 70% or higher and cannot work because of your disabilities, TDIU may be the better claim.
Temporary 100% ratings
Separate from a regular increase, VA can pay at the 100% rate for a limited time when:
- You are hospitalized more than 21 days for a service-connected condition
- You have surgery on a service-connected condition that needs at least one month of recovery, or you are immobilized by a cast
Claim these with hospital or surgical records showing the dates. The rating returns to its previous level when the period ends.
If the increase is denied
You have the same review options as any other decision, and one year to use them. Compare the exam findings to the criteria VA quoted. If the exam understated your symptoms, a private DBQ with a Supplemental Claim is the usual answer. See what to do after a denial.
Free printable checklist. Everything to gather before you file, what to bring to your C&P exam, and what to check in your decision, on two pages.
Last reviewed October 2026. This guide is general educational information, not legal or medical advice, and this site is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Rules and rates change. Confirm details on VA.gov or with an accredited representative. See our disclaimer and editorial policy.