Filing for an increase, and the reduction risk

Conditions get worse. The rating does not follow on its own, and the fear that asking will cost you what you already have keeps a lot of veterans underpaid for years. Here is what actually governs both directions.

Last reviewed August 2026 · Not legal advice, VA.gov always controls

A VA rating is a snapshot of how bad a condition was when it was evaluated. If the condition has deteriorated since, the rating is simply out of date, and correcting it is a routine claim, not an appeal, not a challenge to anything, and not a favor you are asking for.

The reason people hesitate is the other direction: an increase claim brings a new exam, and a new exam could conceivably show improvement. That risk is real but far smaller than the folklore suggests, and there are substantial protections in regulation. Understanding both sides lets you decide on facts instead of dread.

Filing for an increase

When it is worth doing

Pull up the rating criteria for your condition and read the level above yours. If your current symptoms, as documented in your medical records, meet that description, you have a case. If they do not, you have a project, get the documentation first, then file.

Concrete signals that an increase is worth pursuing:

• New treatment, a new medication, or an escalation in either.
• Surgery, injections, or a device you did not need before.
• Measurable change, worse range of motion, worse test results, more frequent episodes.
• Work consequences: accommodations, reduced hours, absences, a job you had to leave.
• New complications that grew out of the condition, which may be their own secondary claims rather than an increase.

How to file

Use VA Form 21-526EZ and identify it as a claim for increased evaluation, naming the condition. Attach the evidence of worsening: recent treatment records, imaging, test results, a statement from your provider, your symptom logs, and lay statements about the practical impact.

Expect a C&P exam. Prepare for it the same way you would any other. See the exam guide, and be accurate about the full range of your condition, including flare-ups and bad days.

The effective date can reach backward

Ordinarily the effective date of an increase is the date you filed. But there is an important exception: where the evidence shows the increase in disability was factually ascertainable within the year before you filed, the effective date can be set as early as that date of worsening, up to one year retroactive.

This is why dated documentation matters so much. If your records show the deterioration began in March and you filed in November, that March date is worth arguing for explicitly. Say so in the claim; do not assume it will be applied.

The reduction side

The VA can reduce a rating when a condition has genuinely improved, but it cannot do it quietly or casually. Several layers of protection apply.

Procedural protection

Before reducing a rating that would lower your compensation, the VA must issue a proposed reduction with notice explaining the basis. You then have a window, generally 60 days, to submit evidence against it, and a shorter window, generally 30 days, to request a predetermination hearing. If you do nothing, the reduction proceeds. If you respond with evidence, it must be considered.

Reductions are also not supposed to rest on a single exam that happens to catch you on a good day, particularly for conditions that fluctuate. The evidence must show sustained material improvement under the ordinary conditions of life, not a momentarily better measurement.

Ratings in effect five years or more

A rating that has been continuously in effect for five years or longer is considered stabilized, and the standard for reducing it is higher. The VA must show sustained improvement based on a full review of the record, a single re-examination is not enough.

Ratings in effect twenty years

A rating continuously in effect for 20 years or more is protected and cannot be reduced below that level except on a showing that it was based on fraud. This is one of the strongest protections in the system, and it is worth knowing the anniversary of your own ratings.

Service connection in effect ten years

Service connection that has been in effect for 10 years or more cannot be severed except on a showing of fraud, though the percentage can still be adjusted. The link itself is safe.

Total ratings

A 100% rating carries its own standard: reduction requires evidence of material improvement in the condition. And a rating found permanent and total is generally not scheduled for routine future examinations at all.

So should you file?

A structured way to think about it:

The other move worth remembering: an increase is not the only route to more compensation. Unclaimed secondary conditions, SMC categories, and TDIU often produce a larger result than squeezing one more step out of a condition that is already accurately rated, and none of them requires a re-examination of a rating you are happy with.

Routine future examinations

Some ratings are assigned with a future exam scheduled, typically where improvement is expected. Attend it. Failure to report can result in the rating being reduced or discontinued for that reason alone. If the date does not work, reschedule in advance and document that you did.