The VA assigns disability ratings based on the severity of your condition at a specific point in time. Many veterans were rated years ago, when their symptoms were less severe or less documented. Conditions like orthopedic injuries, hearing loss, PTSD, and chronic pain often worsen progressively — sometimes dramatically. Yet the VA will not automatically increase your rating because your condition got worse. You have to ask.
There is no penalty for seeking an increase. The VA cannot reduce your existing rating simply because you filed for a higher one, unless it finds your condition has actually improved. Understanding that this process exists — and that it's yours to use — is the first step.
Under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA), veterans have three official review lanes. For rating increases, the two most relevant are the Supplemental Claim and the Higher-Level Review (HLR). Choosing the wrong one wastes time and may cost you back pay.
Use a Supplemental Claim when you have new and relevant evidence to submit. "New" means it wasn't part of your original claim file. "Relevant" means it could reasonably affect the outcome — for example, recent medical records showing your knee condition has progressed from mild to severe, or a private doctor's opinion connecting new symptoms to your service-connected condition.
A Supplemental Claim resets your effective date to the date VA receives it (or the date of your Intent to File, if you filed one first). This is the most commonly used path for increase claims and is appropriate when your condition has genuinely worsened and you have documentation to prove it.
Choose an HLR when you believe the VA made an error in your last rating decision — not because of new evidence, but because the rater misapplied the law, ignored evidence already in your file, or made a clear factual mistake. You cannot submit new evidence with an HLR. A senior rater reviews your existing file and looks for obvious errors.
An HLR is the right move if your C&P exam clearly documented moderate or severe symptoms and the rater still assigned a low rating, or if the decision referenced the wrong diagnostic code.
→ Do you have new medical records, a new doctor's opinion, or new buddy statements? → Supplemental Claim
→ Do you think the rater got the law or facts wrong using your existing file? → Higher-Level Review
→ Do you disagree with a BVA decision? → Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC)
For a Supplemental Claim, the VA requires evidence that is both new (not previously submitted or considered) and relevant (tends to prove or disprove a material fact). Under 38 CFR § 3.2501, relevant evidence is broadly defined — even evidence that doesn't definitively prove your case can qualify if it raises or lowers the likelihood of a key fact being true.
Examples of new and relevant evidence for an increase claim include:
Vague claims of "it's gotten worse" rarely move the needle. The VA rates conditions against specific diagnostic criteria laid out in the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (38 CFR Part 4). To get an increase, your evidence must show that your symptoms now meet the criteria for a higher rating level.
For example, a knee condition rated at 10% under Diagnostic Code 5260 requires limited flexion of no more than 30 degrees for a 20% rating. Your records need to show that specific measurement. A back condition rated under Diagnostic Code 5237 requires "forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less" for a 40% rating. If your doctor documented 28-degree flexion, that's the language that matters.
Before filing, pull the relevant diagnostic code from 38 CFR Part 4 and make sure your medical records speak directly to those criteria. If they don't, your next doctor's visit should address those specific measurements and functional limitations explicitly.
A nexus letter — a written medical opinion from a licensed physician — is not only useful for establishing initial service connection. It can also be powerful evidence for an increase claim. A well-written nexus letter for an increase should:
You can obtain a nexus letter from your private treating physician, a VA physician (in some cases), or a private medical opinion service. The quality of the letter matters enormously — a generic "he's getting worse" note carries far less weight than a specific clinical analysis tied to the rating criteria.
The VA will almost certainly schedule a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam when you file for an increase. This exam is performed by a VA clinician or contracted examiner and directly influences your rating. Many veterans lose increase claims at this stage — not because their condition didn't worsen, but because they minimized their symptoms during the exam.
Important guidance for C&P exams on increase claims:
Filing an HLR when you should file a Supplemental Claim. If you have new evidence, an HLR cannot consider it. You need to be in the right lane.
Submitting the same old evidence. Resubmitting records the VA already has won't help. The evidence must genuinely be new.
Missing the one-year deadline. After a rating decision, you generally have one year to file a review in the same lane. After one year, a Supplemental Claim is still available, but you may lose the ability to contest the original effective date.
Not filing an Intent to File first. If your claim is not fully ready, file an Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966) first to lock in your effective date while you gather evidence.
Timing matters enormously for rating increase claims. Under the AMA framework:
Back pay flows from your effective date. A delayed filing can mean thousands of dollars in forfeited back pay — sometimes tens of thousands for veterans with high combined ratings.
Many rating increase claims can be filed on your own. But if your rating has been stuck for years, if the VA has denied previous increases, or if your condition significantly affects your ability to work, a VA-accredited attorney or claims agent can be valuable. They understand the diagnostic codes, know how to frame medical evidence, and can identify errors in your record that you might miss.
VA-accredited attorneys typically work on contingency — meaning they only get paid if they win, from a portion of your back pay. There is no upfront cost. Under 38 CFR § 14.636, attorney fees are regulated and must be approved by the VA, so you're protected from overcharging.
A VA-accredited attorney can review your file, identify the strongest path for an increase, and handle the entire process — at no upfront cost to you.
Talk to a Free VA Attorney →VA-accredited attorneys and claims agents in your state. No upfront cost — they only get paid if you win.
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