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C&P Exams & Ratings guides
17 guides
What Is a C&P Exam?A Compensation and Pension exam is an evidence-gathering examination or medical opinion for a VA claim; it is not treatment and the examiner does not decide the claim.Read guide →How to Prepare for a C&P ExamPrepare for a C&P exam by reviewing the condition, building an accurate timeline, knowing your typical symptoms and functional limits, and following the appointment instructions.Read guide →What Is an ACE Exam or Records Review?The Acceptable Clinical Evidence process lets VA complete certain claim-exam work from existing records, sometimes with a telephone interview, without an in-person examination.Read guide →Functional Loss ExplainedFunctional loss describes how a disability affects ordinary movement, endurance, strength, coordination, work, and daily activity—not merely the presence of pain.Read guide →Flare-Ups and Episodic ConditionsFlare-ups and episodic conditions vary over time, so evidence should describe the typical pattern, severe episodes, triggers, duration, recovery, and additional functional loss.Read guide →Range of Motion and Painful MotionRange-of-motion testing measures joint or spinal movement, while the examiner also considers pain, repeated use, flare-ups, weakness, fatigability, and other functional loss.Read guide →Mental Health C&P ExamsA mental-health C&P exam documents diagnosis, symptom history, treatment, safety, and occupational and social impairment for a VA claim.Read guide →Hearing C&P ExamsA hearing-loss or tinnitus C&P exam uses a history, ear examination, and standardized audiology testing; VA ratings rely on specified test methods and functional information.Read guide →Sleep Apnea C&P ExamsA sleep-apnea C&P exam reviews the confirmed diagnosis, sleep-study evidence, treatment, symptoms, and any requested medical relationship; it may be record-based.Read guide →What If You Miss a C&P Exam?A missed C&P exam can delay the claim or cause VA to decide under rules that may be unfavorable; contact VA or the contractor immediately and explain any…Read guide →How to Get and Read a C&P Exam ReportRequest the completed C&P report from VA, then review the diagnosis, records considered, history, findings, functional effects, medical opinion, and rationale.Read guide →How VA Disability Ratings WorkVA assigns a percentage by comparing the service-connected disability picture with the Schedule for Rating Disabilities, then combines multiple ratings using VA math.Read guide →What Is a Diagnostic Code?A VA diagnostic code identifies the rating-schedule criteria used to evaluate a service-connected disability; it is not the same as an ICD medical billing code.Read guide →What Is Pyramiding?Pyramiding is VA’s prohibited practice of compensating the same disability manifestation more than once under different diagnostic codes.Read guide →What a 0% VA Rating MeansA 0% rating generally means VA granted service connection but found the documented disability did not meet compensable criteria at the effective time.Read guide →How VA Combines Disability RatingsVA combines multiple disability percentages using the whole-person method and the Combined Ratings Table; it does not add them normally.Read guide →The Bilateral Factor in Plain EnglishThe bilateral factor adds 10% of the combined value of qualifying disabilities affecting paired arms, paired legs, or paired skeletal muscles before further combination.Read guide →
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See a plain-English CFR rating breakdown, what evidence can document the condition, what a C&P exam may cover, and which current official rules to verify.