Claim Raven explanation
What this means
Congress directs VA to adopt a disability rating schedule based, as far as practicable, on average reductions in earning capacity.
Congress gives VA authority to use a schedule of disability percentages rather than determine every award through a separate estimate of an individual's lost wages. VA applies the diagnostic criteria to the supported disability picture. The statute also limits reductions caused by readjustment of the schedule itself, which is a different question from a claimed medical improvement.
How this helps your claim
This statute helps explain the purpose of the rating schedule and why VA uses diagnostic codes and percentages. It also contains a protection when the schedule itself is readjusted: that change cannot by itself reduce an existing rating without improvement in the disability. Other reduction rules may also apply.
What to check in your records
Look up the diagnostic code and version used in your decision; distinguish a schedule change from a claimed improvement in your condition.
- Find the diagnostic code, evaluation, and dates listed in your rating decision.
- If a reduction is discussed, check whether VA points to a schedule change, improvement in the condition, or another reason.
- Compare the medical evidence VA used with the earlier record. Do not assume this statute contains every procedural or rating-protection rule relevant to a reduction.
Understand why diagnostic criteria govern the percentage
Congress authorizes a schedule based on average impairment, so an evaluation is not simply an individualized calculation of lost wages. The specific criteria translate supported medical and functional findings into a percentage. The diagnosis alone may not provide the necessary severity information.
A schedule amendment raises a different question from evidence that a condition improved. Keep the version of the criteria and the medical course separate when reading a changed evaluation. The statute's protection concerning schedule readjustment should be considered with the implementing provisions.
Does a schedule change automatically justify lowering an existing rating?
Not merely because the schedule was readjusted. The statute includes a limit concerning reductions without shown improvement. The actual award history, amendment and applicable rules must be reviewed together. This is distinct from claiming that no rating can ever change after new medical evidence.
Official statutory text
38 USC § 1155
OLRC release through Public Law 119-102 (July 12, 2026). Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The statutory text is shown here; publisher source credits and editorial notes remain in the linked official release.
§ 1155. Authority for schedule for rating disabilities
The Secretary shall adopt and apply a schedule of ratings of reductions in earning capacity from specific injuries or combination of injuries. The ratings shall be based, as far as practicable, upon the average impairments of earning capacity resulting from such injuries in civil occupations. The schedule shall be constructed so as to provide ten grades of disability and no more, upon which payments of compensation shall be based, namely, 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent, 70 percent, 80 percent, 90 percent, and total, 100 percent. The Secretary shall from time to time readjust this schedule of ratings in accordance with experience. However, in no event shall such a readjustment in the rating schedule cause a veteran’s disability rating in effect on the effective date of the readjustment to be reduced unless an improvement in the veteran’s disability is shown to have occurred.
Related references
- 38 CFR § 4.1: What a VA disability rating measures
- 38 CFR § 4.7: When VA assigns the higher of two ratings
- 38 USC § 5107: Benefit of the doubt in VA claims
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
Ready to review your own document? Start your free claim review.