Diagnostic Code 9411 · 38 CFR §4.130
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that develops after exposure to a traumatic event. It is one of the most commonly rated VA disability conditions. For veterans, PTSD often results from combat exposure, military sexual trauma (MST), training accidents, or witnessing injury or death during service. Symptoms fall into four clusters: intrusive re-experiencing (flashbacks, nightmares), avoidance of reminders, negative changes in thoughts and mood, and hyperarousal (hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, sleep difficulty). The VA rates all mental health conditions — including PTSD — using the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders under 38 CFR 4.130.
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 0% | A mental condition has been formally diagnosed but symptoms are not severe enough to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication. |
| 10% | Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. |
| 30% | Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal). Examples include depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, chronic sleep impairment, and mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, or recent events). |
| 50% | Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect, circumstantial or stereotyped speech, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty understanding complex commands, impairment of short-term and long-term memory (retention of only highly learned material), impaired judgment, impaired abstract thinking, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. |
| 70% | Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood. Examples include suicidal ideation, obsessive rituals which interfere with routine activities, intermittently illogical or obscured speech, near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, impaired impulse control (unprovoked irritability with periods of violence), spatial disorientation, neglect of personal appearance and hygiene, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, and inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. |
| 100% | Total occupational and social impairment. Examples include gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, persistent danger of hurting self or others, intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene), disorientation to time or place, and memory loss for names of close relatives or own name. |
PTSD claims require three elements: (1) a current diagnosis of PTSD by a qualified mental health professional, (2) a stressor event during military service, and (3) a nexus linking the current PTSD to the in-service stressor. For combat veterans, the stressor is often conceded if consistent with the circumstances of service. For MST claims, the VA applies relaxed evidence standards and may accept behavioral changes noted in service records as corroborating evidence. Treatment records from VA or private mental health providers documenting ongoing symptoms and treatment are essential. Lay statements from family members or friends describing observed behavioral changes since service provide valuable corroborating evidence.
No. While combat decorations make stressor verification automatic, they are not required. The VA can verify your stressor through unit records, military records research, or your own detailed statement. For combat veterans who served in a designated combat zone, the VA often concedes the stressor based on service dates and locations alone.
The VA uses the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders for all mental health conditions, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The rating criteria and percentages are identical. If a veteran has multiple diagnosed mental health conditions, the VA typically assigns a single combined rating because the symptoms overlap substantially.
Yes. The VA applies relaxed evidence standards for MST-related PTSD. You do not need a police report or formal complaint from service. The VA will consider behavioral changes documented in service records, personal statements, buddy statements, and other circumstantial evidence to corroborate the stressor event.
Generally, no. The VA rates all mental health conditions together under the General Rating Formula because the symptoms substantially overlap. You will receive one combined mental health rating that accounts for all diagnosed mental health conditions. This is sometimes called the "pyramiding" rule — the VA cannot rate the same symptoms twice.