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Official 38 CFR VA Disability Guidance

Official 38 CFR VA Disability Guidance

Regulation-backed answers for filing your claim, calculating combined ratings, and understanding VA disability criteria.

Free to use. No account or record upload required. Grounded strictly in published Title 38 federal regulations.

Pillar 1 // Filing Roadmap

Start Your Claim

New to VA claims? Step-by-step guidance from Intent to File through evidence and accredited help.

Explore Claim Roadmap
Pillar 2 // Portfolio & Math

My Claim

Already have ratings or a pending claim? Combine percentages, check timelines, or prepare an appeal.

Open Claim Portfolio
Pillar 3 // 38 CFR Library

Conditions & Guides

Looking up a condition? Explore published 38 CFR diagnostic codes, symptoms, and rating percentages.

Browse 113 Conditions

Research Title 38 Diagnostic Codes

Search 113 Conditions & Rating Criteria

Find diagnostic codes, percentage ladders, and evidence requirements directly from 38 CFR Part 4.

Advanced Tools

RatingScope pulls directly from official VA regulations, translating complex legal criteria into clear step-by-step rules. Check additional benefit rules, prepare for C&P exams, and analyze rating gaps.

Educational Knowledge Base

184+ CFR-Backed Disability Guides

Step-by-step educational breakdowns explaining published 38 CFR rating schedules, diagnostic code criteria, C&P exam requirements, and evidence rules.

Rating Logic

Core Statutory Rules

Painful Motion Rule (38 CFR 4.59), Functional Loss (DeLuca), VA Math, Bilateral Factor, and Pyramiding principles.

Read Rating Rules →
Evidence & DBQs

Medical Proof & Exams

Mental Health DBQ Sections III & IV, General C&P Exam Prep, Nexus Letters, and Buddy Statements.

Explore Evidence Guides →
Condition Guides

CFR Diagnostic Codes

PTSD, Sleep Apnea, Back & Spine ROM, Migraines, Tinnitus, Neuropathy, and 40+ specific condition breakdowns.

Browse Condition Guides →
Special Benefits

TDIU, SMC & Presumptions

Total Disability Individual Unemployability (38 CFR 4.16), SMC-K pay rates, and PACT Act presumptive toxic exposure rules.

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Why Trust RatingScope

Published 38 CFR Criteria

Strict regulatory rating schedules

Deterministic Math

Zero AI guesses or predictions

Private & Secure

Your records are protected per our Privacy Policy

184+ Disability Guides

CFR-backed educational library

[ COMPARE YOUR RECORDS // 38 CFR ASSESSMENT ENGINE ]

Evaluate Your Medical Evidence Against Published VA Criteria

Select a condition below to compare your exam findings, Range of Motion measurements, and symptom frequencies against official diagnostic codes in 1–2 minutes. Private & secure in this browser.

Start Assessment
Combined ratings calculatorAlready have separate percentages? Combine them here.See VA's whole-person combined-rating math instantly. Stays separate from matching any single condition's criteria.

Combined-rating guidance tool

Add condition percentages

Enter individual rating percentages to see combined-rating guidance math. VA explains that combined ratings use the whole person method instead of simple addition. Guidance previews added here are saved in this browser only.

This is percentage-only VA math, not a condition-checked result.

1 row is not eligible for complete condition-specific checking. Percentage-only rows have no imported regulatory identity. RatingScope can still show bounded 38 CFR 4.25 percentage math, but typed labels are never used to infer missing identity and the value below must not be read as a fully checked combined rating.

Percentage-only row

Bounded §4.25 guidance

Condition-specific interaction checks are incomplete because this list includes percentage-only or incomplete imported rows.

§4.25 math value

0%

§4.25 rounded value

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Order used

No compensable percentages entered

How the math works

Add at least one compensable percentage to see each step.

Guidance estimate only. Supported imported RatingScope bilateral results carry verified §4.26 components and are compared under §4.26(d). Manually entered ratings and other bilateral situations are not evaluated for bilateral-factor eligibility. This does not include dependents, special monthly compensation, severance or retirement offsets, effective dates, or VA adjudication decisions.

Informational guidance based on published criteria. Not a VA decision or prediction.