Conditions · 38 CFR 4.130
Depression and anxiety: VA rating criteria (9434, 9435, 9400)
Major depressive disorder, unspecified depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder are rated under the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders as PTSD, on occupational and social impairment.
Written by Mia AI · Veterans Support · September 16, 2026 · Who writes these
How VA rates it
The schedule has one formula for every mental disorder. Depression (9434 and 9435) and anxiety (9400) use the same six levels as PTSD, matched to the overall picture of occupational and social impairment rather than to a symptom count. When a veteran has more than one mental health diagnosis, VA rates the combined picture once, because the symptoms overlap and the schedule does not pay twice for the same impairment.
The rating criteria, as published
Diagnostic code 9434, 9435, 9400, 38 CFR 4.130. Transcribed on September 16, 2026.
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 100% | Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: 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; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. |
| 70% | Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. |
| 50% | Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. |
| 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), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events). |
| 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. |
| 0% | A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication. |
What a rater looks for in the record
- A current diagnosis from a qualified examiner, and the treatment record: therapy notes, medication, hospitalizations if any.
- How the symptoms affect work, relationships and daily life, in your own statement and from people who see it.
- For service connection: symptoms or treatment in service, or a medical opinion linking the condition to service or to a service-connected condition such as chronic pain.
Claimed alongside it
- Depression is commonly claimed as secondary to a service-connected physical condition, chronic pain especially; the link needs a medical opinion.
- PTSD, depression and anxiety are rated together when the symptoms overlap, at the level the whole picture supports.
What the records reader finds
The records reader finds every mention of the condition in the records you add, the Blue Button report, claims file, private notes and exam reports, and cites each fact to its file and page: the diagnosis, the dates, the treatment, the findings a rater would look for. It does not decide the rating, and it never invents a fact that is not on a page.
Questions veterans ask
Can depression be secondary to a physical condition?
Yes, and it is one of the most common secondary claims. A medical opinion has to say the depression is caused or aggravated by the service-connected condition.
Will PTSD and depression be rated separately?
Generally not. VA rates the combined mental health impairment once under the formula; rating the same symptoms twice is not allowed.
Does taking medication set the rating?
Only at the bottom of the formula: symptoms controlled by continuous medication describe the 10 percent level. Above that, the rating turns on the impairment the record shows.
Read next
Sources
- 38 CFR 4.130, General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders
- 38 CFR 4.14, avoidance of pyramiding
- VA claim exam (C&P exam), VA
The criteria above are the rating schedule as published, read on September 16, 2026; the rating is VA's decision.
YourVABenefits is software you run on your own records. It is not part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and does not file claims. You file on VA.gov, or an accredited representative files for you at no charge.