To qualify for the automatic 50% PTSD rating a veteran must be discharged from active service as a result of their PTSD. The veteran must be experiencing enough symptoms that they cannot carry out their military duties, AND those symptoms must have been caused or worsened by a stressor or event during active service.
Some veterans believe that they automatically receive a 50% disability rating if diagnosed with PTSD, but that's not the case. To be eligible for the automatic 50% rating, you must meet specific criteria: Discharged due to PTSD: Your military discharge must be directly related to your PTSD symptoms.
A 50% rating applies when your PTSD causes more pronounced problems at work and in your daily life. A 70% rating means PTSD causes significant and frequent difficulties in your daily life, such as near continuous panic attacks. At this rating you also have trouble working and maintaining healthy relationships.
When given at an intake or assessment session, the PCL-5 may be used to help determine the appropriate next steps or treatment options. For example: A total score of 31-33 or higher suggests the patient may benefit from PTSD treatment.
Initial research suggests that a PCL-5 cutoff score between 31-33 is indicative of probable PTSD across samples. However, additional research is needed.
A VA disability rating for PTSD is based on statutes that outline what symptoms meet which level of disability. PTSD is only rated at 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% or 100%.
Veterans affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may have heard of a specific VA policy that allows them to receive an automatic rating of 50% for their condition. While such policy does exist, the process is not technically “automatic,” because the veteran is still required to meet certain 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 ...
Criteria that VA will consider for a 30% PTSD rating includes, but is not limited to: “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 ...
PTSD disability ratings can be 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100%. Transparency about your worst symptoms is vital for your rating. VA often rates veterans by the average of their symptoms. So, if a veteran has such symptoms that fall in the 30, 50, and 70% PTSD rating ranges, they will often get a 50% PTSD rating.
A 0 percent PTSD rating is the lowest possible rating on the PTSD rating scale. This rating will be assigned when: “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.”
10% PTSD Rating
A 10% rating means that the VA found that you have mild PTSD symptoms that could interfere with your work and social functioning during times of significant stress. Alternatively, you may receive a 10% rating if your PTSD is well controlled with continuous medication.
A 70% rating for PTSD is serious, even if it doesn't include TOTAL impairment with hallucinations, delusions, and thoughts of self-harm or hurting others.
Differences between PTSD VA ratings
At 70%, a veteran has occupational and social impairment with difficulties in most areas, including work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, and mood. People rated at 70% are living in a near-constant state of panic or depression.
If you think you deserve a PTSD increase from 50% to 70%, you'll want to write a strong and truthful personal VA statement in support of a claim, focusing on your current mental health symptoms and how those symptoms affect you in negative ways.
This rating scale ranges from 0 to 100 percent with in-between ratings of 10, 30, 50, and 70 percent. Under limited circumstances, veterans may be assigned a permanent and total disability rating for PTSD.
Your work history, income history, and the benefits program you qualify for will all impact your actual check size. Payments don't actually vary based on your condition. The maximum disability benefit is $3,627 for SSDI and $914 for SSI in 2023.
Most people think of physical injuries and diseases when they think of disabilities. However, mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are also disabilities. PTSD can prevent a person from returning to work or earning their regular income.
PTSD assessment may begin using a self-screen. However, a more in-depth assessment is required to diagnose PTSD. That assessment will involve an interview with a provider and may also include self-report questionnaires that you complete. You can always ask questions so that you know what to expect.
The SIP is a clinical interview to assess symptoms of PTSD corresponding to DSM-IV criteria along with survival and behavioral guilt. Symptoms can be rated for the past 4 weeks and during the worst period ever. The interviewer assesses both frequency and intensity of symptoms. It takes 20-30 minutes to administer.
If you can't provide a clear service-connected stressor that was the cause of your clinically diagnosed PTSD, then your claim will most likely be denied. You must have a clear service-related stressors in order to qualify for VA disability benefits for PTSD.