The VA uses one unified rating formula — the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders under 38 CFR 4.130 — to evaluate virtually all mental health conditions. Whether you have PTSD, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or another diagnosed mental health condition, the same criteria apply.
The formula rates based on the overall level of occupational and social impairment, not on specific symptoms or diagnoses. The symptom examples listed at each rating level are illustrative, not exhaustive — a veteran does not need to demonstrate every listed symptom to qualify for a particular rating. The key question at each level is the degree of impairment in work, social functioning, and daily life.
At 0%, a condition is diagnosed but does not impair functioning. At 10%, impairment is mild or transient, appearing mainly during significant stress, or symptoms are managed by medication. At 30%, there is occasional decrease in work efficiency with intermittent inability to perform tasks, though the veteran is generally functioning satisfactorily. At 50%, reliability and productivity are reduced, with symptoms like panic attacks, memory impairment, and difficulty maintaining relationships. At 70%, there are deficiencies in most areas of life. At 100%, there is total occupational and social impairment.
The VA assigns a single rating that encompasses all mental health diagnoses because the symptoms of different conditions overlap significantly. This is called the "pyramiding" prohibition — the same symptoms cannot be rated twice under different codes.
A critical point from case law (Mauerhan v. Principi, 2002) is that the symptom lists are examples only. A veteran who demonstrates the level of impairment described at a particular rating but through different symptoms than those listed can still qualify for that rating. The Board and courts focus on the overall functional impairment picture, not a checklist of specific symptoms.