When a service-connected condition gets worse, a veteran asks VA for a disability increase by filing VA Form 21-526EZ with records that show the worsening. An increase claim asks VA to look at how severe the condition is now, and VA's reexamination rule lets it request an exam whenever it needs to verify a disability's current severity. A rating held for years also carries protections: VA's regulations limit what it can change after 5 years at the same level, 10 years of service connection, or 20 years at or above a rating. Both halves of that picture are laid out below, regulation by regulation, so you can weigh the decision with the rules in front of you.

In This Guide

How to Ask for a VA Disability Increase When a Condition Gets Worse

A veteran whose service-connected disability has gotten worse files for increased VA disability compensation on VA Form 21-526EZ, the Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. VA's online 21-526EZ is the one to use for increased compensation, and it's also the form for a claim for a new or secondary condition, so a veteran who has both a worsening rated condition and a new one uses the same application. The evidence VA lists for an increase includes VA and private medical and hospital records that show the rated disability has gotten worse.

If you need time to gather those records, an intent to file can hold your place. VA's Form 21-0966 page says an intent to file can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments, and under 38 CFR 3.155 VA treats a complete claim received within 1 year of the intent to file as filed on the date the intent to file was received. VA recognizes only one intent to file at a time for the same benefit, and the rule doesn't apply to supplemental claims. Our guide to VA intent to file walks through how to submit one and what happens if the year runs out.

When the Higher Rate Starts: The One-Year Look-Back

For an increase, the date the higher rating starts depends on when the worsening first shows up in the evidence, not only on when VA receives your claim. Under 38 CFR 3.400(o)(2), the effective date is the earliest date as of which it is factually ascertainable, based on all the evidence of record, that the increase in disability happened, if a complete claim or intent to file is received within 1 year from that date. Under 38 CFR 3.400(o)(2), if neither a complete claim nor an intent to file for the increase reaches VA within 1 year of the date the worsening became factually ascertainable, the higher rating starts on the date VA receives the claim. In practice, the earlier effective date can reach back no more than 1 year before VA receives the claim or intent to file.

Medical records have their own limit under the same rule. Receipt of records showing the increase can set a retroactive effective date only if a complete claim or intent to file for the increase is received within 1 year of the date of that examination, hospitalization or treatment report, and only for a disability VA has already service-connected.

Can VA Lower My Rating If I Ask for an Increase?

VA's rules let it propose a reduction whenever it considers one warranted, and request a reexamination at any time to make sure a disability is accurately rated., An increase claim puts the condition's current severity in front of VA. So the honest answer has two parts: the steps VA must take before any reduction, and the protections a long-held rating carries.

The notice and hearing VA owes you first

Under 38 CFR 3.105(e), when VA considers a reduction warranted and it would lower or stop payments you're receiving, VA must first prepare a rating proposing the reduction, send you notice with its detailed reasons, and give you 60 days to send evidence that payments should continue at their present level. Under 3.105(i), that notice must tell you that you can have a predetermination hearing if VA receives your request within 30 days of the notice. VA personnel who didn't take part in the proposed action conduct the hearing, and if you ask in time, payments continue at the previously established level until VA makes a final decision. If VA does finalize a reduction, it takes effect on the last day of the month in which a 60-day period from the date of notice of the final rating action expires.

Even for a rating with none of the long-period protections below, VA's adjudication manual, M21-1, tells claims processors that in all reduction cases the improvement must be shown by a thorough examination adequate for rating purposes and must reflect an improvement in the veteran's ability to function under the ordinary conditions of life, including employment.

What a long-held rating protects

VA regulations protect long-standing ratings and service connection in three tiers, and each has its own trigger and its own way of counting the years. A rating held less than 5 years at its level, including one for a disability that hasn't stabilized and is likely to improve, gets fewer safeguards. VA's M21-1 manual adds that a rating held 5 years or more still gets the 3.344(a) and (b) safeguards even when it is subject to reexamination because improvement is likely.

Protection What triggers it What VA can still do Regulation
5 years at the same level A rating continued at the same level for 5 years or more, including, under VA's M21-1 manual, one subject to reexamination because improvement is likely Reduce only on an exam as full as the one the rating rests on; for diseases with temporary or episodic improvement, not on any one exam unless all the evidence clearly shows sustained improvement; weigh whether improvement will last under the ordinary conditions of life; if doubt remains, keep the rating and reexamine in 18, 24 or 30 months 38 CFR 3.344
10 years of service connection Service connection in effect 10 or more years, counted from the effective date of VA's service-connection finding to the effective date of a severing decision Sever service connection only for fraud, or when military records clearly show the person didn't have the required service or character of discharge 38 CFR 3.957
20 years at or above a level A disability continuously rated at or above an evaluation for 20 or more years, counted from the evaluation's effective date to the reduction's effective date Reduce below that evaluation only on a showing that the rating was based on fraud 38 CFR 3.951(b)
Under 5 years at the same level A rating held less than 5 years at its level, including one for a disability that hasn't stabilized and is likely to improve Reduce without the 5-year safeguards; for a disability that hasn't stabilized, a reexamination showing improvement warrants reduction. Any reduction still needs a thorough exam showing better function under ordinary conditions of life 38 CFR 3.344(c) and VA's M21-1 manual

Source: 38 CFR 3.344, 3.951(b) and 3.957, with VA's M21-1 instructions on reductions.

The 10-year rule protects service connection itself from being severed. The rules that speak to the rating percentage are the 5-year and 20-year rules. One more detail matters for an increase: when a rating has been in place for 5 years or more and is later raised, M21-1 says VA applies 3.344 before reducing it below the level that was in place for 5 years or more, even though the higher level is newer.

Change one detail and the picture shifts. If the same veteran had held 20% for 8 years instead of 25, the 20-year floor wouldn't apply yet, but 3.344 would still apply before VA could reduce him below the 20% he'd held for 5 years or more.

Reexaminations After 55: A Guideline, Not a Bar

VA's reexamination regulation, 38 CFR 3.327, lists cases in which VA won't schedule periodic reexaminations in compensation cases. One of them is veterans "over 55 years of age, except under unusual circumstances." The others include a disability established as static, findings that have persisted without material improvement for 5 years or more, a permanent disease-based disability with no likelihood of improvement, a prescribed scheduled minimum rating, and a case where the combined rating wouldn't change even if a future exam reduced one or more conditions.

None of these is an absolute bar. The same regulation says the guidelines "shall not be construed as limiting VA's authority to request reexaminations, or periods of hospital observation, at any time in order to ensure that a disability is accurately rated," and a veteran whose reexamination has been authorized and scheduled is required to report for it. VA's M21-1 manual says that "with only rare exceptions, Veterans over the age of 55 must not be routinely recalled for reexamination," tells claims processors to consider the age the veteran will have reached when the exam is actually conducted, and treats whether unusual circumstances exist as an individual, fact-specific call. So being over 55 changes how often VA schedules routine exams. It doesn't block an exam VA decides it needs.

Getting Older vs. the Condition Getting Worse

Under 38 CFR 4.19, VA may not consider age as a factor when it evaluates a service-connected disability. Age, as such, counts only for disability not resulting from service, which is the pension side of VA. For an increase, that means VA rates how bad the service-connected condition is, and the records that matter are the ones showing the rated disability has gotten worse.

The same rule reaches unemployability. Unemployability associated with advancing age or with a condition that isn't service-connected can't be the basis for a total rating, and for a total rating based on unemployability (TDIU), VA must find that the service-connected disabilities alone are enough to cause it, without regard to advancing age. Our VA disability compensation guide covers when VA pays at the total disability rate.

Temporary 100% Ratings After a Long Hospital Stay or Surgery

Two rules assign a temporary 100% rating while treatment for a service-connected condition keeps a veteran in the hospital or recovering. 38 CFR 4.29 covers a hospital stay of more than 21 days, and it applies without regard to the rest of the rating schedule. 38 CFR 4.30 covers convalescence after surgery or after a major joint is immobilized in a cast.

Hospitalization (38 CFR 4.29) Convalescence (38 CFR 4.30)
What qualifies Treatment of a service-connected disability in a VA or VA-approved hospital for more than 21 days, or hospital observation at VA expense for more than 21 days Treatment of a service-connected disability that led to surgery needing at least one month of convalescence; surgery with severe postoperative residuals; or immobilization by cast, without surgery, of one or more major joints
When it starts The first day of continuous hospitalization The date of hospital admission or outpatient treatment
When it ends The last day of the month of hospital discharge, or of the month treatment or observation ends 1, 2 or 3 months from the first day of the month after hospital discharge or outpatient release
Extensions If convalescence is needed, 1, 2 or 3 more months; then further 1-, 2- or 3-month periods beyond the first 3 months with Veterans Service Center Manager approval 1, 2 or 3 months beyond the first 3 months on any ground; on the severe-residuals or cast grounds only, with Veterans Service Center Manager approval, 1 or more months up to 6 months beyond the first 6 months

Source: 38 CFR 4.29 and 4.30.,

Under 4.30, severe postoperative residuals include incompletely healed surgical wounds, stumps of recent amputations, therapeutic immobilization of one or more major joints, a body cast, house confinement, or continued use of a wheelchair or crutches with regular weight-bearing prohibited.

A total joint replacement adds a 100% period of its own. Under 38 CFR 4.71a, a service-connected total knee or total hip replacement is rated 100% for 4 months, starting after the initial 1-month total rating VA assigns under 38 CFR 4.30 following hospital discharge, and then carries a minimum rating of 30%. A shoulder replacement follows a different schedule: 100% for 1 year after the 1-month 4.30 rating, then a minimum of 30% for the major extremity or 20% for the minor extremity. VA cut the hip and knee period from 12 months to 4 in a rule effective February 7, 2021.

What a Higher Rating Pays

VA doesn't add ratings together. Under 38 CFR 4.25, it orders them from most to least severe and combines them by the "whole person" method: each lower rating applies only to the efficiency the higher ones left. VA rounds the combined value to the nearest 10 once, after combining everything, and a value ending in 5 rounds up. Because of that math, a rise in one condition's rating doesn't always move the combined rating.

Where the combined rating does move, the difference shows up in the monthly payment: VA's 2026 rates for a veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025, are $1,435.02 a month at 60% and $1,808.45 at 70%. The full 2026 rate table, including amounts with a spouse, is in our VA disability compensation guide. Military retirees, see CRDP vs. CRSC.

Weighing Whether to File for an Increase When a Condition Gets Worse

Whether to file is your call, and the right answer depends on your rating history and your evidence. These are the questions the regulations above turn on:

  • How long has the rating been at its current level? Five years or more at the same level brings the 3.344 safeguards, and 20 years at or above a level sets a floor VA can go below only for fraud.
  • Has the condition stabilized? A rating held under 5 years for a disability that hasn't stabilized and is likely to improve can be reduced when a reexamination shows improvement, without the 3.344(a) and (b) safeguards. VA's M21-1 manual says a rating held 5 years or more keeps those safeguards even when it is subject to reexamination because improvement is likely.
  • What do your records show? VA's listed evidence is VA and private medical and hospital records showing the rated disability has gotten worse.
  • When did the worsening first appear in a record? The look-back reaches that date only if a complete claim or intent to file arrives within 1 year of it.
  • Would a higher rating change your combined rating? Run the whole-person math before counting on a bigger payment.
  • Was there a hospital stay over 21 days or a surgery with a long recovery? A temporary 100% rating may apply for that period.,

You don't have to work through this alone. An accredited attorney, claims agent or Veterans Service Organization representative can help file a claim, and VA's accredited representative search tool finds one. Our guide to free VA claims help versus pension poaching explains how to tell accredited help from a paid pitch.

If VA Says No or Rates It Lower Than You Expected

If VA denies the increase or decides it for less than you expected, you can choose one of three decision reviews: a Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence, a Higher-Level Review by a more senior reviewer with no new evidence, or a Board Appeal to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The deadline for a Higher-Level Review or a Board Appeal is one year from the date on the decision letter, and a Supplemental Claim received more than one year after the decision notice takes an effective date no earlier than the date VA receives it. Our guide to appealing a VA claim denial compares the three options and their deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a higher rating add money for my spouse?

It can if the higher rating takes your combined rating to 30% or more. VA states that a veteran rated 10% to 20% won't receive a higher rate even with a dependent spouse, child or parent, and under 38 U.S.C. 1115 a veteran rated not less than 30 percent is entitled to additional compensation for dependents. The spouse also has to be on your award; our VA disability compensation guide covers adding one.

Does an intent to file have to name the condition that got worse?

No. Under 38 CFR 3.155(b)(2), an intent to file must identify the general benefit, such as compensation, but it doesn't have to identify the specific benefit claimed or any medical condition the claim is based on. VA recognizes only one intent to file at a time for the same benefit.

Can I ask for a Higher-Level Review and a Board Appeal on an increase decision at the same time?

No. Under 38 CFR 3.2500(b), while one decision review is pending on a claim or issue, you can't file for a different review option on it. You choose one, and after a Higher-Level Review decision you can still file a Supplemental Claim or appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

What if the Board of Veterans' Appeals also turns down the increase?

After a Board decision, you can file a Supplemental Claim or appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Under 38 U.S.C. 7266(a), the notice of appeal goes to the Court, not to VA, within 120 days after the date notice of the Board's decision is issued.

Learn More

VA BenefitsVA Disability Compensation for Older Veterans: Rates and RulesVA disability compensation for older veterans is tax-free and not income-tested. See 2026 rates with a spouse, how ratings combine, and the back-pay rule. VA BenefitsVA Intent to File: How to Protect Your Effective DateFile a VA intent to file today and you have 1 year to finish your pension, Aid and Attendance, disability or DIC claim. Every way to submit, and what to avoid. VA BenefitsHow to Appeal a VA Claim Denial: Your Three Options and DeadlinesVA denied your claim? You have three ways to ask for another look, and for two of them the clock is 1 year. Which option fits, the forms, and free help. VA BenefitsFree VA Claims Help vs. Pension Poaching: How to Tell the DifferenceVA pension poaching explained: filing a VA pension claim is free, no one may charge for the initial claim, and how to find accredited help and report a scam. VA BenefitsVA Individual Unemployability (TDIU): Age, Retirement and Keeping ItTDIU over 65: VA can't rate you on age, but retiring because of age rather than service-connected conditions won't qualify. How to apply, work and keep it. VA BenefitsIs Dementia a VA Disability? Service Connection and Ratings ExplainedOnly if VA service-connects it; age alone doesn't qualify. The TBI, secondary and aggravation routes, how VA rates dementia, and how to file.

Find personalized help deciding whether and how to ask VA for a higher rating at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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