When to File for a VA Rating Increase

Timing Is Everything

Knowing when to file for a rating increase can mean the difference between thousands of dollars in back pay and a frustrating denial. File too early without adequate evidence, and you risk a quick denial. Wait too long, and you lose months of increased benefits you rightfully deserve. Understanding the strategic timing of your claim is critical to maximizing your benefits.

The right time to file depends on multiple factors: the strength of your evidence, how much your condition has worsened, whether you're within protected time periods, and your specific circumstances. This guide will help you identify when the timing is right for your increase claim.

Clear Signs You Should File Now

1. After a Significant Worsening Event

Certain events clearly demonstrate that your condition has worsened substantially:

• Hospitalization: Being hospitalized for your service-connected condition (especially mental health hospitalizations) is strong evidence of increased severity

• Emergency room visits: Multiple ER visits for your condition show it's not well-controlled

• Surgery: Needing surgery indicates progression or severe symptoms

• New assistive devices: Being prescribed a cane, walker, wheelchair, or CPAP machine demonstrates functional decline

• Inability to work: Having to quit your job, reduce hours, or go on disability due to your condition

• Loss of independence: Needing family members to help with daily activities you previously did alone

Action Tip: If you've experienced any of these events, file as soon as you have the documentation. Your effective date will be the date you file (or the date of the claim if decided within one year), so don't delay once you have evidence of significant worsening.

2. After Receiving a New Related Diagnosis

A new diagnosis related to your service-connected condition can warrant an immediate increase claim:

• Secondary conditions: Diagnosed with a new condition caused by your service-connected disability (e.g., sleep apnea from PTSD, radiculopathy from back injury)

• Progression: New imaging showing arthritis, disc degeneration, or other structural changes

• Complications: Development of complications from your original condition

• Mental health comorbidities: New diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions secondary to existing service-connected conditions

When you receive a new diagnosis related to your service-connected condition, you should file either:

• An increase claim if the new condition is a manifestation of worsening of your rated condition

• A new secondary service connection claim if it's a distinct condition caused by your service-connected disability

• Both, if appropriate (the VA will sort out which is correct)

3. When Documentation Shows Clear Pattern of Worsening

You don't need a dramatic event to file. A consistent pattern of worsening documented in medical records is sufficient:

• Increasing medication: Your doctor has increased dosages or added new medications

• More frequent treatment: You're seeing doctors more often than before

• Failed treatments: Multiple treatments have been tried without success

• Specialist referrals: Being referred to specialists indicates increasing complexity or severity

• Physical therapy or rehabilitation: Need for increased therapeutic interventions

• Consistent symptom reports: Your medical records consistently document symptoms that meet higher rating criteria

Ideally, you should have at least 6-12 months of consistent documentation showing worsening before filing. This creates a clear narrative of decline rather than temporary fluctuation.

4. When You're Approaching the One-Year Mark

If you're within one year of a denial or lower-than-expected rating decision, timing becomes critical due to effective date rules:

• Within one year: If you file a Supplemental Claim within one year and win, your effective date may go back to your original claim date

• After one year: Your effective date is the date you file the Supplemental Claim, potentially losing 12+ months of back pay

Strategic Consideration: If you're at month 10-11 and still gathering evidence, you may need to file to protect your effective date. You can file with what you have, then continue developing evidence and submit it as the claim is pending. Or file a Higher-Level Review (faster) while you gather evidence for a potential Supplemental Claim.

Times You Should Wait Before Filing

Warning: Here's where veterans blow their claims: they file too early. The urge to submit is strong—you want benefits NOW. So you file before gathering evidence. Then you get denied, and suddenly you're fighting uphill for years.

I made this mistake myself. Took me 18 months to recover from a preventable denial. Do it right the first time. Gather your evidence. Build your case. THEN file. The few extra weeks you spend preparing could mean the difference between a 30% rating and a 70% rating—that's $14,000 per year.

1. Immediately After Your Initial Rating

If you just received your initial service connection, consider waiting before filing for an increase unless you have clear evidence that:

• Your C&P exam understated your symptoms

• You have new evidence showing your current state is worse than what was considered

• The rater clearly misapplied the rating criteria

Otherwise, it's better to gather several months of post-rating medical evidence showing worsening before filing an increase claim. Filing immediately without new evidence typically results in denial because there's nothing new to consider.

2. During a Temporary Flare-Up

If you're experiencing a temporary flare-up but don't have documentation of chronic worsening, wait:

• A single bad week or month isn't sufficient evidence of permanent worsening

• Document the flare-up and how long it lasts

• If flare-ups are becoming more frequent or lasting longer, that pattern of change is what you should document before filing

• Wait until you have evidence showing that your baseline has worsened, not just isolated bad periods

3. Before You Have Adequate Evidence

Don't file just because your condition feels worse. You need documented evidence:

• Medical records: Recent treatment records documenting increased symptoms

• Objective findings: Test results, imaging, or exam findings showing worsening

• Functional evidence: Documentation of decreased ability to function

Wait until you can build a compelling evidence package. A weak claim filed too early is worse than a strong claim filed a few months later.

4. When You're Under a Protected Rating Period

Certain ratings come with protected periods where the VA generally won't reduce your rating:

• Initial stabilization period: For new service-connected conditions, ratings are typically protected for the first five years unless clear improvement is shown

• Post-hospitalization: After hospitalization for a service-connected mental health condition, you may receive a temporary 100% rating

If you're in a protected period and your rating is already appropriate, you might wait until you have very strong evidence of worsening before filing, as you're less at risk of reduction during this time.

Strategic Timing Considerations

The Continuous Claims Strategy

Some veterans with progressively worsening conditions (like arthritis, degenerative disc disease, or worsening PTSD) should consider filing increase claims regularly as their condition declines:

• Every 1-2 years: For conditions that are gradually worsening

• When you meet next rating level: As soon as your symptoms clearly meet the criteria for the next higher rating

• After each significant change: New diagnosis, hospitalization, major treatment change

This strategy ensures you're compensated appropriately as your condition declines, rather than staying at a 30% rating for years when you should be at 50% or higher.

Understanding Protected Ratings

Your timing decisions should consider whether you have protected ratings:

5-Year Protection:

• If you've had your rating for 5+ years, the VA must show sustained improvement to reduce it

• You can be more aggressive about filing increases because reduction is harder

10-Year Protection:

• After 10 years, the VA can't terminate your service connection, only reduce the rating

• This provides significant protection when filing for increases

20-Year Protection:

• After 20 years at a certain rating level (e.g., 20 years at 50%), the VA cannot reduce below that level

• This creates a "floor" for your rating, making increase claims very low-risk

Seasonal and Practical Timing

Practical considerations that may affect your timing:

• Tax implications: Large back pay awards can affect your tax situation. Consider timing if you're close to a year-end

• SSA coordination: If you receive Social Security Disability, coordinate timing to avoid offset issues

• Employment changes: If you're about to leave a job due to your condition, wait until you have employment records documenting your difficulties

• C&P exam scheduling: Claims filed in summer months may get scheduled faster due to examiner availability

• Your availability: Ensure you'll be available for a C&P exam over the next few months

Special Timing Scenarios

After a Mental Health Hospitalization

Mental health hospitalizations trigger specific timing considerations:

• File immediately after discharge: You're entitled to 100% temporary rating for the hospitalization period plus time for recovery

• Document pre-hospitalization decline: Gather evidence of the worsening that led to hospitalization

• Follow-up evidence: Continue documenting symptoms after discharge to show the hospitalization was part of overall worsening, not an isolated crisis

When Returning from Active Duty

If your service-connected condition worsened during a period of active duty recall:

• File for an increase within one year of release from active duty to potentially get an earlier effective date

• Obtain records from your active duty period showing worsening

• Document any combat-related aggravation

During Pending Claims

What if you already have a claim pending and your condition worsens further?

• Submit additional evidence: Use VA's QuickSubmit to add new evidence to your pending claim

• Don't file a duplicate claim: This can confuse the system and delay processing

• After a decision: If you're denied and your condition has worsened since filing, immediately file a new Supplemental Claim with the additional evidence

When Approaching Retirement Age

Veterans approaching retirement should consider timing strategically:

• Before retiring: File while you're still working if work is becoming difficult—this documents functional limitations

• Age-related worsening: Many conditions naturally worsen with age. Don't assume age-related decline isn't compensable

• TDIU consideration: If you're planning to retire early due to your disabilities, consider filing for TDIU (Total Disability Individual Unemployability) before retiring

The Evidence-First Approach

The single most important principle for timing is: Let evidence drive your filing decision, not the calendar.

Real Talk: The VA rater doesn't care that you were deployed three times. They care about documentation. No documentation = no service connection. It doesn't matter how obvious your case seems.

I've seen Purple Heart recipients get denied because the paperwork wasn't there. Timing matters, but evidence matters more. Don't file until you're ready.

Before filing, ensure you have:

1. Recent medical records (within past 6-12 months) documenting increased symptoms

2. Evidence addressing the rating criteria for the next higher rating level

3. Functional evidence showing how your worsening affects daily activities

4. Supporting lay statements from people who've observed your decline

5. Clear narrative of how and when your condition worsened

If you have strong evidence on all these points, file now—don't wait. Each month you delay is a month of benefits you're not receiving. If your evidence is weak in any area, spend time strengthening it before filing unless you're approaching a critical deadline (like the one-year mark).

Quick Decision Guide

File Now If:

• You have strong evidence of clear worsening

• You were recently hospitalized for your condition

• You received a new related diagnosis

• You're approaching the one-year anniversary of a denial

• You've had to quit work or reduce hours due to your condition

• Your rating clearly doesn't match your current symptoms

Wait and Gather More Evidence If:

• You just received your initial rating (unless clearly wrong)

• You're in a temporary flare-up without documented chronic worsening

• You have less than 6 months of recent treatment records

• You don't have clear evidence meeting the next rating level criteria

• You're still undergoing diagnostic testing

Urgent - File Immediately:

• You're at month 11 after a denial (to preserve effective date)

• You were hospitalized for a mental health condition

• You've become unable to work due to your condition

• You received a proposed rating reduction notice

Final Recommendation

The best time to file for a rating increase is when you have compelling evidence that your condition has worsened to the level of the next higher rating. Don't wait for the "perfect" moment—if you have solid evidence, file. You can always submit additional evidence as your claim is pending.

However, don't file prematurely just because you feel worse. Take the time to document your worsening properly. A well-timed, well-documented claim filed three months later has a much better chance of success than a rushed claim filed today without adequate evidence.

If you're uncertain about timing, consult with a VSO or accredited attorney. They can review your specific situation, assess your evidence, and advise whether now is the right time to file or whether you should continue developing your claim. Good timing, combined with strong evidence, maximizes your chances of a successful increase.