Claim Raven explanation
What this means
Service connection in effect for ten years or more is protected from severance except for the specific fraud or qualifying-service exceptions in this rule. Severance means ending the finding that the disability is service connected.
This protection is different from protecting a particular percentage. A service-connected rating can still be reviewed under applicable rating rules even when the underlying service connection is protected.
How this helps your claim
If VA proposes severance, compare the service-connection effective date with the proposed action and inspect the stated exception. Do not confuse the ten-year rule with the separate five-year or twenty-year rating provisions.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Verify the original service-connection effective date and proposed severance date.
- Identify the exact exception VA says permits severance.
- Distinguish an action ending service connection from one changing only the disability percentage.
Distinguish the protected relationship from the percentage
Service connection recognizes that a disability is connected to service. Its evaluation measures severity under the applicable rating rules. This section protects the former in qualifying circumstances; it should not be read as automatically freezing the latter.
Find the effective date of service connection and the action VA proposes. A notice about severance raises a different issue from a notice about reducing the evaluation. Keeping those actions separate helps identify which protection and exceptions should be considered in the decision's reasoning.
Does ten-year protection prevent every future rating reduction?
No. It concerns severance of service connection and includes specific exceptions. Protection of a percentage is addressed by other rules. A veteran can therefore have protected service connection while a particular evaluation remains subject to the applicable rating and reduction standards.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 3.957
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 3.957 Service connection.
Service connection for any disability or death granted or continued under title 38 U.S.C., which has been in effect for 10 or more years will not be severed except upon a showing that the original grant was based on fraud or it is clearly shown from military records that the person concerned did not have the requisite service or character of discharge. The 10-year period will be computed from the effective date of the Department of Veterans Affairs finding of service connection to the effective date of the rating decision severing service connection, after compliance with § 3.105(d). The protection afforded in this section extends to claims for dependency and indemnity compensation or death compensation.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1159)
[33 FR 15286, Oct. 15, 1968]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 3.105: VA decision revision, CUE, and rating reductions
- 38 USC § 1159: Federal Protection of Service Connection After Ten Years
- 38 CFR § 4.1: What a VA disability rating measures
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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