VA rating reductions the deadlines, the 5, 10 and 20-year protections, and how to fight a proposed cut
A proposed VA rating reduction is a warning, not a final cut. VA must receive a hearing request within 30 days to keep your payments level, and you have 60 days to send evidence. VA has to prove your condition improved. At the Board, veterans won 68.7% of 7,393 decided reduction appeals.
How the Board ruled on rating reductions, 2021 to 2026
7,393
decided rulings in Claim Raven's library of Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions
- 68.7%restored
- 15.7%sent back
- 15.6%denied
- 68.7%of decided reduction appeals ended with the rating restored
- 2,743 of 2,748restored when VA didn't follow the reduction procedures
- 30 daysfor VA to receive a hearing request that keeps payments level
- 20 yearsat a rating, and it can't go lower except for fraud
Board figures: Claim Raven's analysis of Board of Veterans' Appeals rulings on rating reductions, 2021 to 2026. Rules: 38 CFR 3.105, 3.344, 3.951.
On this page
How a VA rating reduction works
A proposed rating reduction is a warning, not a final cut. VA must send you a proposal with its reasons, give you 60 days to send evidence and 30 days to ask for a hearing, and then decide. In a reduction, VA has to show your condition actually improved; you don't have to prove it didn't (Brown v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 413 (1993)).
- These rules apply when payments would go down. The proposal process covers a reduction that would lower or stop compensation you are being paid now (38 CFR 3.105(e)).
- Improvement means real-life improvement. VA must look at the whole history, not one exam, and ask whether any improvement will last under the ordinary conditions of life (38 CFR 3.344(a)).
- The final reduction starts later. If VA goes ahead, the lower rating takes effect on the last day of the month in which 60 days from the final notice run out (38 CFR 3.105(e)).
Proposed VA rating reduction: the 30-day and 60-day deadlines
Two clocks start on the date of the proposal letter. VA must receive a request for a predetermination hearing within 30 days; if it does, your payments stay at the current level until the final decision. You have 60 days to send evidence that your rating should stay (38 CFR 3.105(e) and (i)).
Within 30 days: ask for a hearing
VA must receive the request inside 30 days. The hearing is held by VA staff who didn't take part in the proposal, and VA gives you at least 10 days' notice of the date. Payments continue at the current rate until the final decision.
Within 60 days: send evidence
Treatment records, a statement from your doctor on your current symptoms, your own statement and statements from people who see you every day. Explain why the exam VA relied on doesn't show lasting improvement.
If you don't ask for a hearing, or miss it without good cause, VA decides on the record. Either way, VA must send a written final notice with its reasons and the evidence it used, and your one-year review deadlines run from that final decision, not the proposal.
Free help: an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative can file the hearing request and evidence with you (find one on VA.gov (opens in a new tab), or near you).
VA rating protections: 5, 10 and 20 years
The longer a rating has stood, the harder it is to cut. These protections come from VA's own regulations.
| Protection | What it means | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5 years or more at the same level | VA can't reduce on an exam less full and complete than the one that set the rating, and can't reduce a condition that comes and goes on one exam unless the whole record clearly shows lasting improvement. | 38 CFR 3.344 |
| 10 years of service connection | Service connection can't be severed except for fraud or military records clearly showing you lacked the required service or character of discharge. | 38 CFR 3.957 |
| 20 years at or above a rating | The rating can't go below that level except for fraud. | 38 CFR 3.951 |
| A change to the rating schedule | A new schedule alone isn't grounds to reduce; medical evidence must show the condition actually improved. | 38 CFR 3.951 |
| A 100% schedular rating | Not reduced without an exam showing material improvement, judged under the ordinary conditions of life, such as while working. | 38 CFR 3.343 |
| TDIU | VA can reduce TDIU only with clear and convincing evidence that you can actually hold a job. | 38 CFR 3.343 |
A reduction made without following these rules is void from the start, and the Board restores the rating (Kitchens v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 320 (1995)). For TDIU, see whether VA can take TDIU away.
Original research
How often the Board restores a reduced rating: what 7,393 rulings show
Veterans win most reduction appeals. The Board restored the rating in 68.7% of 7,393 decided reduction rulings from 2021 to 2026, and in 81.5% of its final calls. Under the current appeals system it restored 74.7%, against 54.0% for legacy appeals.
The biggest factor is procedure. When the Board found VA hadn't followed the required reduction procedures, it restored the rating in 2,743 of 2,748 final decisions. When it found VA had followed them, 67.6% were still restored on the evidence.
Ratings restored, by whether VA followed the reduction rules
Reduction rulings the Board granted or denied, 2021 to 2026. The share is restored.
Source: Claim Raven analysis of Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions. Associations, not causes.
Rating reduction appeals at the Board, by year
Share of decided reduction rulings granted (rating restored), sent back and denied each year.
- 56.2% granted, 23.7% sent back, 20.1% denied
- 57.6% granted, 24.5% sent back, 17.9% denied
- 62.8% granted, 23.1% sent back, 14.1% denied
- 73.6% granted, 11.4% sent back, 15.0% denied
- 73.9% granted, 10.5% sent back, 15.6% denied
- 76.0% granted, 9.6% sent back, 14.4% denied
Source: Claim Raven analysis of Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions. Dismissed and withdrawn appeals are left out.
What the Board relied on most, and how often it granted
Rulings on rating reductions the Board granted or denied, 2021 to 2026, by the evidence it relied on most. The share is granted. Across all of them, 81.5% were granted (6,229 rulings).
Remands are left out, because the Board weighs the evidence only when it grants or denies. Associations, not causes. Source: Claim Raven analysis of Board decisions.
- The VA exam is usually the battleground. In 51.7% of final reduction decisions, the Board relied most on a VA exam, and it still restored the rating 75.3% of the time. Compare the new exam with the one that set your rating: for a rating held 5 years or more, VA can't reduce on a less complete exam.
- Your own account carries weight. When the Board relied most on statements from the veteran or others about current symptoms, it restored the rating 98.9% of the time.
Rating reduction: grant rate by Board docket
Appeals under the current system (AMA), 2021 to 2026. Granted out of every decided ruling, remands included.
Source: Claim Raven analysis of Board decisions. What went together, not proof that a docket caused a result: veterans with new evidence tend to pick the evidence docket.
How to fight a VA rating reduction
Hit the deadlines, then compare the new exam with the evidence that set your rating. Most wins come from showing VA skipped a required step or the record doesn't show lasting improvement.
Reduction response checklist
- Write down the date on the proposal letter, the 30-day hearing date and the 60-day evidence date
- Send the hearing request so VA receives it inside 30 days, and keep proof
- Find how long the rating has been in effect: 5, 10 and 20 years each add protections
- Compare the new exam with the one that set the rating: was it as full and complete?
- Check whether the condition comes and goes, and whether the exam caught a good day
- Get recent treatment records and a statement from your doctor on current symptoms and limits
- Write your own statement and ask family or coworkers to describe what they see now
- After a final reduction, choose a review within one year of the final notice
Why the Board sent reduction appeals back to VA
Share of 1,164 remanded rulings, 2021 to 2026. A remand can give more than one reason.
Source: Claim Raven analysis of Board decisions.
Severance of service connection
Severance means VA takes away service connection itself, not just lowers the rating. VA can sever only when the evidence shows the grant was clearly and unmistakably wrong, and the burden of proof is on VA (38 CFR 3.105(d)).
- Same notice process. VA must propose the severance with its reasons and give you 60 days for evidence and 30 days to ask for a hearing.
- A changed diagnosis needs a doctor's certification that, in light of all the evidence, the original diagnosis was clearly wrong, with a summary of the facts and reasons.
- After 10 years, severance is limited to fraud or military records clearly showing you lacked the required service or discharge (38 CFR 3.957, 38 U.S.C. 1159).
At the Board, veterans won 56.9% of 1,678 decided severance appeals from 2021 to 2026, and 68.5% of the final calls. When the Board found VA hadn't followed the required procedures, it restored service connection in 176 of 177 final decisions.
Questions veterans ask about rating reductions
How long do I have to respond to a proposed VA rating reduction?
VA must receive a hearing request within 30 days of the proposal notice to keep payments at the current level until the final decision. You have 60 days to send evidence.
Can VA reduce my rating after 5 years?
It can, but only with care: for a rating held at the same level for 5 years or more, VA can't reduce on an exam less complete than the one that set it, and must find improvement that will last under the ordinary conditions of life. After 20 years at a level, VA can't go below it except for fraud.
Who has to prove the condition improved?
VA. In a reduction, VA must show the disability actually improved, including in your ability to function in ordinary life and work.
Can VA take away service connection?
Only if the grant was clearly and unmistakably wrong, with the burden on VA, after the same notice process. After 10 years, only for fraud or military records clearly showing you lacked the required service or discharge.
Do veterans win rating reduction appeals?
Usually. The Board restored the rating in 68.7% of 7,393 decided reduction rulings from 2021 to 2026, and in 2,743 of 2,748 final decisions where VA hadn't followed the required procedures.
Does a rating schedule change lower my rating?
Not by itself. A readjustment to the rating schedule isn't grounds to reduce a rating unless medical evidence shows the disability actually improved.
Sources and method
Board data. Claim Raven reads every Board of Veterans' Appeals decision in its library ruling by ruling: 1,378,030 rulings in 511,036 decisions from 2021 to 2026, each tagged with the issue it decided, the outcome in the decision's order and what the Board relied on. This page counts the 9,699 rulings on rating reductions. Grant rates are granted out of granted, denied and sent back (remanded); dismissed and withdrawn appeals are left out because the Board never decided them. "What the Board relied on" is read only on rulings the Board granted or denied, so it compares with that group's own grant rate. Groups under 100 rulings aren't shown. The library holds only part of 2021's decisions. These figures show what went together in decided appeals, not what caused a result, and they are appeals, not VA's first decisions. The full method is on the VA disability statistics page.
Rules (checked against the eCFR text on 2026-10-06):
- 38 CFR 3.105(d), (e) and (i), 3.343, 3.344, 3.951, 3.957; 38 U.S.C. 1159
- Court decisions: Brown v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 413 (1993); Kitchens v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 320 (1995)
- Official eCFR text of 38 CFR part 3 (opens in a new tab) and VA.gov: find an accredited representative (opens in a new tab)
Cite this page
Claim Raven. VA rating reductions and severance: rules and Board outcomes. Board data 2021 to 2026. https://claimraven.com/rating-reductions
Claim Raven explains VA rules in plain English so you can work your own claim. It is not legal advice, and Claim Raven is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Board outcomes describe appeals that reached the Board; they don't predict any one claim.