By Eleanor Whitfield — Independent Veterans Benefits Writer | Reviewed & updated July 21, 2026
Independent and non-government. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or any government agency. For official information, visit VA.gov.
The Rating You Received Is Not Necessarily the Rating You Will Keep
A VA disability rating increase is one of the most practical tools a veteran has when a service-connected condition gets worse over time. The percentage the VA assigned you five or ten years ago reflected your health as it was then — not as it is today. Illnesses progress, treatments change, and conditions such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related diseases are known for worsening gradually and then quickly. When that happens, the law allows you to ask the VA to take another look.
Many veterans never make that request. Some assume the original decision is permanent. Others worry that asking will somehow put the benefits they already receive at risk. The reality is more balanced: the VA reviews these requests every day, most protections in the system favor veterans with long-standing ratings, and a well-documented request generally comes down to one question — does the medical evidence show the condition is now more disabling than the current rating reflects?
This guide walks through how a VA disability rating increase works, when it may make sense to ask for one, what evidence tends to matter, how to file step by step, and the safeguards that protect ratings you have held for years. It is written for education only; a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) can help you apply it to your own situation.
Part 1: What a VA Disability Rating Increase Actually Means
Every service-connected condition the VA recognizes carries a percentage rating from 0% to 100%, assigned in steps of 10 under the rating schedule in Title 38, Part 4 of the Code of Federal Regulations. That percentage is meant to reflect how much the condition reduces your average ability to work and function. When you request a VA disability rating increase, you are telling the VA that your condition no longer matches the criteria for your current percentage and now meets the criteria for a higher one.
Two points are worth understanding at the outset. First, this is not an appeal. An appeal argues that the VA got a past decision wrong; a request for an increase says the decision may have been correct at the time, but your health has since changed. Second, a VA disability rating increase is condition-specific. If you are rated for three conditions, you can ask for a review of one, two, or all three — each is measured against its own criteria in the rating schedule.
For veterans with asbestos-related illnesses, this distinction matters a great deal. Respiratory conditions are rated largely on objective measures such as pulmonary function testing, so as breathing capacity declines, the schedule may support a higher percentage. The VA explains how percentages are assigned on its official page about disability ratings, which is worth reading before you file anything.
Part 2: When It May Make Sense to Request an Increase
There is no limit on how many times you may seek a VA disability rating increase, and no waiting period after your original decision. Even so, timing matters, because the outcome depends entirely on what the medical evidence shows. Situations where a request is commonly worth discussing with a VSO include:
- Documented worsening. New test results, imaging, or specialist notes show the condition has progressed — for example, declining lung function in a veteran rated for an asbestos-related respiratory disease.
- New or more intensive treatment. You have started oxygen therapy, chemotherapy, frequent hospitalizations, or other care that the rating criteria specifically mention.
- Greater impact on daily life and work. You have reduced hours, stopped working, or now need help with everyday tasks because of the rated condition.
- Related conditions have developed. A service-connected illness has caused or aggravated a new problem. That is usually filed as a new claim rather than an increase — our guide to secondary conditions linked to mesothelioma explains the difference.
On the other hand, if your symptoms are essentially unchanged and your records reflect that, a request is unlikely to succeed and simply adds paperwork. The rating schedule is criteria-driven: feeling that a percentage is unfairly low is understandable, but the VA generally moves a rating only when the evidence lines up with the next step in the schedule.
Part 3: How the VA Evaluates a Request for a Higher Rating
Once your VA disability rating increase request is received, the VA gathers your recent VA treatment records automatically and will request private records you identify and authorize. In most cases it will also schedule a claim exam — often called a C&P exam — with a VA or contracted examiner who measures your condition against the rating criteria. We cover that exam only briefly here; the essentials are simple: attend it, answer honestly, and describe your worst days as well as your average ones, because examiners can only record what you report and what testing shows.
The reviewer then compares all of the evidence to the schedule for your specific diagnostic code. For respiratory conditions, that often means pulmonary function values; for cancers, it may involve treatment status and residual effects. Depending on your situation, the outcome can be a higher rating, a continued rating, or — less commonly — a proposal to reduce, which is discussed in Part 6.
Veterans whose illness stems from asbestos exposure sometimes hold ratings for more than one related diagnosis, and the rules for how those interact are not always intuitive. If that describes you, our explainer on how asbestosis and mesothelioma claims differ may help you understand which condition is driving your combined percentage before you decide what to ask the VA to review.
Part 4: What a Higher Percentage Is Worth
The financial effect of a VA disability rating increase depends on which step you reach. Compensation rises with each 10-percent step, and the jumps are not even — the difference between 40% and 50%, for instance, is proportionally larger than the step below it, and additional amounts for a spouse, children, or dependent parents begin at 30%. Rather than quote figures that change annually, check the official chart directly: as of the 2026 rate tables, current amounts for every percentage and dependent combination are published on the VA’s veteran compensation rates page.
A higher combined rating can also unlock benefits beyond the monthly payment. Depending on the percentage reached, veterans may see expanded health care priority, travel reimbursement for medical appointments, commissary access, and — at 100% or with certain protections — education benefits for dependents and other programs. If you are not yet enrolled in VA care, our step-by-step guide to applying for VA health care explains how enrollment works alongside compensation.
One caution about money: if the VA later determines you were paid more than you were entitled to — for example, after a dependency change you did not report — it can create a debt. Keeping your dependent information current protects you; our companion article on overpayments and debt waivers covers what to do if that ever happens.
Part 5: How to File for a VA Disability Rating Increase, Step by Step
Filing for a VA disability rating increase uses the same form as an original claim, and you can complete it online in an afternoon if your records are in order.
- Step 1 — Gather recent medical evidence. Collect treatment notes, test results, and imaging from roughly the last twelve months, from both VA and private providers. Evidence of worsening is the heart of the request.
- Step 2 — Consider a short personal statement. A plain-language description of how the condition affects work, sleep, and daily activities gives the reviewer context that lab values alone cannot.
- Step 3 — File the claim. Submit online through the VA’s file-a-claim portal, by mail using VA Form 21-526EZ, or in person at a regional office. Select the conditions you want reviewed and mark that you are seeking increased compensation.
- Step 4 — Attend any scheduled exam. Missing a claim exam is one of the most common reasons requests stall or are denied on the existing record.
- Step 5 — Track the decision and effective date. If granted, the increase is generally effective from the date the VA received your claim — or up to one year earlier if the evidence shows the worsening began within that year before you filed.
A VA-accredited VSO from an organization such as the DAV, VFW, or American Legion can prepare and file all of this with you at no charge, and many veterans find the second set of eyes worth it.
Part 6: The Risk of a Reduction — and the Ratings That Are Protected
The most common worry veterans raise before seeking a VA disability rating increase is that the VA will instead lower what they already have. It is true that filing opens your condition to fresh review, so it is fair to weigh the possibility. But the system includes strong safeguards, and a reduction requires the VA to follow specific procedures, not simply issue a lower number.
- Five years: a rating in place for five years or more is considered stabilized and generally cannot be reduced unless sustained improvement is shown across the full record.
- Ten years: after ten years, service connection itself is protected — the VA may adjust the percentage with proper evidence, but it generally cannot sever the connection absent fraud.
- Twenty years: a rating held continuously for twenty years generally cannot be reduced below its lowest level during that period.
- 100% ratings: a total rating may be reduced only if the evidence shows material improvement in the veteran’s ability to function under the ordinary conditions of life and work.
Before any reduction takes effect, the VA must send a proposal, give you 60 days to respond with evidence, and offer a hearing. Depending on your situation, a proposed reduction can often be answered successfully with current medical records. None of this means the risk is zero — it means the risk is procedural, visible, and contestable, which is very different from arbitrary.
Part 7: Special Cases — Cancer Ratings, Asbestos Illness, and the PACT Act
Certain conditions follow their own rhythm in the rating schedule, and asbestos-related disease is a leading example. Active malignancies such as mesothelioma are generally rated at 100% during treatment and for a period afterward, followed by a mandatory review that rates the residual effects — scarring, breathing impairment, fatigue — under their own criteria. For these veterans, the question is often less about requesting a VA disability rating increase and more about making sure the post-treatment review fully captures every residual.
Veterans with progressive, non-cancer conditions such as asbestosis sit at the other end: their percentages may start modest and justify periodic requests as pulmonary function declines. And for veterans whose exposure-related conditions were newly recognized as presumptive, the PACT Act may affect both eligibility and effective dates, so it is worth mentioning your exposure history when you file. Veterans who cannot work because of service-connected conditions may also have heard of TDIU, which pays at the 100% level without a 100% combined rating — that program has its own rules and is covered in depth elsewhere, so raise it with your VSO if it may fit your circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a VA disability rating increase take?
Timelines vary with workload, the number of conditions reviewed, and whether an exam is needed. Straightforward requests with complete records are typically decided within several months, but there is no guaranteed schedule. You can track status through your VA.gov account.
Can the VA lower my rating if I ask for an increase?
A VA disability rating increase request does open the condition to review, so it is possible — but it is uncommon, and the protections in Part 6 apply. A reduction requires evidence of sustained improvement and a formal proposal process with notice and a chance to respond. If your evidence shows worsening, a reduction is unlikely.
Do I need a lawyer to request an increase?
No. Most veterans file with help from a free, VA-accredited VSO. Attorneys and accredited claims agents typically become relevant at the appeal stage, and any representative you use should be accredited by the VA.
Is there a deadline or limit on requests?
No. You may request a review of a service-connected condition whenever the evidence supports it. That said, repeated requests without new medical evidence rarely change the outcome.
Will an increase change my back pay?
If granted, the higher rate is generally paid from the date the VA received the claim, and in some cases up to one year earlier if records show the condition worsened within the year before you filed. This is different from the back-pay rules for original claims.
What if my request is denied?
You can gather stronger evidence and file a supplemental claim, ask for a higher-level review, or appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. A VSO can help you choose among those decision-review options based on why the request was denied.
Resources
- VA: About disability ratings — how percentages are assigned and combined.
- VA: How to file a disability claim — the same process used to request increased compensation.
- VA: Current compensation rates — the official 2026 rate tables by percentage and dependents.
- 38 CFR Part 4 — the full schedule for rating disabilities.
- Find free help: contact a Veterans Service Officer through the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), or The American Legion. Local officers can be found through each organization’s website, your county veterans service office, or any VA regional office.
Final Thoughts: Your Rating Should Keep Up With Your Health
A disability percentage is not a verdict — it is a snapshot, and the system was built with the understanding that health changes. If your service-connected condition has worsened, requesting a VA disability rating increase is not gaming the system or risking everything you have earned; it is using the process exactly as Congress designed it. Gather your recent records, be honest about your hard days, lean on a VSO if you want experienced help, and let the evidence speak. Veterans and families navigating asbestos-related illness have carried heavier burdens than paperwork. This one, at least, comes with a map.
Medical disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult a licensed physician or your VA care team about your specific situation.
Legal disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult a VA-accredited attorney, claims agent, or a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) about your specific claim.