VA BENEFITS REFERENCE
VA Decision Terms And Definitions
Read 18 sourced definitions used in VA decision documents, including deferred, favorable findings, staged ratings, TDIU and permanent and total status.
Terms describe different findings and actions. A definition alone does not establish a benefit or identify the right review procedure.
Deferred
VA has postponed deciding an issue because additional development is needed.
A partial rating can decide one issue while leaving another pending. For example, VA might grant one condition and defer another while obtaining an examination or medical opinion. The deferral does not reveal whether the eventual result will be favorable.
Read the exact scope. Service connection may already be granted while the percentage remains unresolved, or the entire entitlement question may still be pending. Track requests for information and examinations through official VA channels.
A deferral on one issue does not pause the review period for a different issue already decided in the same packet. Keep separate lists of pending actions and disputed decisions, with the relevant notice dates. There is no universal number of days added by a deferral.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Not Service Connected · Duty-To-Assist Error.
Service Connected
VA has recognized the required relationship between a disability and qualifying military service.
Service connection can involve a disability incurred or aggravated during service. Applicable presumptions may establish that relationship, and secondary service connection can involve a disability caused or aggravated by an already service-connected condition. The route matters because the required evidence differs.
A grant of service connection does not answer every question about payment. Read the assigned evaluation and effective date separately. A service-connected condition can have a noncompensable evaluation, and a decision may grant service connection while leaving another aspect unresolved.
When reviewing a notice, identify which condition was granted and the legal basis discussed in the reasons. Do not assume that recognizing one disability also establishes service connection for every other diagnosis or symptom in the record.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Not Service Connected · Disability Evaluation · Effective Date.
Not Service Connected
For the issue addressed, VA has not established service connection for the claimed disability.
This result does not necessarily mean VA disputes that a health problem exists. The reasons may accept a diagnosis but find that an event, connection, or another legal requirement has not been established. Favorable findings identify accepted parts of the issue.
Read the conclusion together with its date and claim context. A codesheet can reflect earlier adjudications; do not treat every historical entry as a newly issued denial. If the current notice denies service connection, identify the element it says is missing before deciding what evidence or review request is appropriate.
A denial is different from a deferral and from a service-connected 0% evaluation. Available review options depend on the type of decision and procedural history. A records request alone does not challenge the result.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Service Connected · Deferred · Favorable Findings.
Disability Evaluation
The percentage assigned under VA rating rules for a service-connected disability during a specified period.
The rating schedule generally measures average impairment in earning capacity. The percentage is not a medical diagnosis and is not a direct measurement of how much pain someone experiences. The applicable diagnostic criteria and evidence determine the evaluation.
Read the condition, percentage, and effective date as one entry. If the evaluation changes during the period under consideration, a decision can assign staged ratings. A later evaluation replaces the earlier evaluation for its own period; it is not an additional disability to add to the calculation.
For a disagreement, compare the reasons for the assigned evaluation with any explanation of the next higher level. A combined evaluation is a different number, calculated from the separate disabilities that apply during the same period.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Diagnostic Code · Staged Rating · Combined Evaluation.
Combined Evaluation
The overall evaluation VA calculates from the applicable individual disability evaluations.
VA generally combines percentages using the Combined Ratings Table in 38 CFR 4.25 rather than adding them. For example, 50% and 30% combine to 65, which rounds to a 70% combined evaluation. That example assumes no additional adjustment applies.
First identify the separate ratings in effect for the same period. Historical and replacement ratings for the same disability cannot both be treated as concurrent evaluations. Changes in effective dates may require different calculations for different periods.
The combined evaluation is not, by itself, a complete payment determination. TDIU and other separately determined entitlements can affect compensation. Compare the combined figure with the codesheet and narrative, then use the award notice to understand the actual benefit rather than treating the arithmetic alone as an award.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Disability Evaluation · Staged Rating · Total Disability Based On Individual Unemployability (TDIU).
Effective Date
The date from which VA establishes entitlement to an award or evaluation under the applicable rules.
The general rule often uses the later of the claim date or the date entitlement arose, but important exceptions apply. Different rules can govern claims shortly after separation, increases, continuous pursuit of a decided issue, and other situations. An effective date is not automatically the date symptoms began.
Look for a separate date for each condition and each staged evaluation. Compare the explanation with the filing history and evidence rather than assuming every issue shares the same start date.
Payment usually begins with the month after an original or increased award becomes effective under 38 CFR 3.31, subject to exceptions. That payable period differs from the day money reaches a bank account. Record the notice date separately because it serves a different purpose when reviewing deadlines.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Staged Rating · Disability Evaluation.
Staged Rating
Different evaluations assigned to the same disability for distinct periods based on the facts found.
A staged rating accounts for a change in the disability level during the period being decided. In the fictional sample, Condition A is 10% from March 15 and 30% from July 1. The example teaches date organization, not criteria for a real diagnosis.
Read the evidence and reasoning supporting each boundary between stages. The issue may concern the percentage, the date it changed, or both. Do not assume the date of an examination necessarily answers every effective-date question.
When calculating the overall evaluation, use the stage that applies to the period being calculated. Do not combine the earlier and later percentages as separate disabilities. A retrospective staged evaluation and a proposed reduction of an existing running award require different procedural analysis; obtain help before applying reduction rules to the wrong type of decision.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Effective Date · Combined Evaluation · Disability Evaluation.
Permanent And Total (P&T)
Total disability that VA determines is reasonably certain to continue throughout the person's life.
Total and permanent answer different questions. A total rating describes the disability level or entitlement to total compensation; permanence concerns whether the impairment is expected to continue for life. Section 3.340 expressly recognizes that total disability may or may not be permanent.
Do not infer P&T solely from a 100% evaluation, a TDIU award, or the absence of an examination appointment. Read the express determination and any associated benefit findings in the decision. Different benefits may have additional eligibility requirements.
A static disability is another distinct concept used in reexamination rules. It can concern an individual condition without establishing total disability. If the notice and codesheet appear inconsistent, ask an accredited representative to compare the actual entries instead of treating one isolated phrase as a universal protection against future review.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Total Disability Based On Individual Unemployability (TDIU) · Static Disability · Routine Future Examination.
Total Disability Based On Individual Unemployability (TDIU)
An entitlement to compensation at the total rate when service-connected disabilities prevent substantially gainful employment under the applicable rules.
TDIU can apply even when the schedular evaluation is below 100%. Section 4.16(a) contains percentage requirements, including rules for treating certain related disabilities as one. Section 4.16(b) provides for referral for extraschedular consideration when the percentage standards are not met.
Being unemployed or reaching a percentage threshold does not by itself establish TDIU. The question concerns the effect of service-connected disabilities on the ability to secure or follow substantially gainful work. Marginal employment has separate treatment under the regulation.
In a decision, distinguish the individual and combined evaluations from the TDIU determination and its effective date. TDIU also does not automatically establish permanence. This glossary does not decide whether a particular job, income level, or workplace arrangement qualifies.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Combined Evaluation · Permanent And Total (P&T) · Effective Date.
Clear And Unmistakable Error (CUE)
A narrow kind of factual or legal error that would have manifestly changed the outcome, based on the record and law at the time.
CUE is not a general label for an unfair decision. Under 38 CFR 3.105, a request to revise a final agency decision must identify the specific error and explain why the outcome would necessarily have been different. The applicable procedural rules differ for a Board decision.
A disagreement over how evidence was weighed, a later changed diagnosis, or a failure of the duty to assist is not itself CUE. New evidence obtained years later does not automatically prove that the earlier decision contained CUE.
The phrase also appears in the rule protecting favorable findings, where it describes the threshold for rebutting a finding. That use should not be confused with filing a separate request to revise a final decision. Seek qualified assistance before selecting a CUE procedure or allowing an ordinary review deadline to pass.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Duty-To-Assist Error · Favorable Findings.
Duty-To-Assist Error
A failure to provide required assistance in developing evidence for the claim.
In Higher-Level Review, the reviewer checks whether VA met its duty to assist before issuing the decision under review. If a predecision error is found and the maximum benefit cannot be granted, 38 CFR 3.2601(g) requires return for correction and readjudication.
That return is not an automatic grant. VA may need to obtain records, an examination, or another necessary development item before making a new decision. Follow any resulting requests and keep the return notice with the earlier decision.
An unfavorable medical opinion is not automatically a duty-to-assist error simply because the claimant disagrees with its conclusion. A duty-to-assist error is also not itself CUE. Identify the particular assistance that was required and missing, and distinguish it from a dispute about how existing evidence was evaluated.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Deferred · Clear And Unmistakable Error (CUE).
Favorable Findings
Conclusions on facts or the application of law to facts that the adjudicator resolved in the claimant's favor.
An accepted diagnosis, qualifying event, or other established element may be favorable even when another required element is missing. The finding belongs to the specific issue and does not necessarily establish service connection, a rating, or an effective date.
Under 38 CFR 3.104(c), these findings bind subsequent agency and Board adjudicators unless evidence identifies clear and unmistakable error in the favorable finding. Section 20.801(a) states the corresponding rule for Board adjudication.
Preserve the exact wording and supporting evidence identified in the notice. When considering review, focus on what remains disputed and check whether a later decision improperly revisits an established finding. A positive medical statement alone is not necessarily an adjudicator's favorable finding. The rule is protective but not an unconditional promise that a finding can never be rebutted.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Not Service Connected · Clear And Unmistakable Error (CUE) · New And Relevant Evidence.
Diagnostic Code
A rating-schedule identifier showing the basis used to evaluate a disability.
A diagnostic code points to the criteria applied to a condition. It is different from the disability percentage and from a medical billing code. Under 38 CFR 4.27, some unlisted conditions may be evaluated by analogy using a constructed code, and hyphenated codes can identify the basis of an evaluation.
Match the code to the named condition, the assigned percentage, and the reasons in the narrative. A code alone does not tell you which findings VA accepted or why it selected a particular evaluation.
If the code appears inconsistent with the disability or explanation, note the specific discrepancy for review. Do not assume that two numbers joined by a hyphen represent two separate ratings, or that changing a code automatically changes service connection. The actual evaluation and legal context still matter.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Disability Evaluation · Service Connected.
Static Disability
A disability established as static for purposes of VA's reexamination rules.
Section 3.327(b)(2) lists a static disability among the circumstances in which periodic reexaminations are not scheduled in service-connected cases. This concerns routine future examination planning, not an extra percentage or a separate payment benefit.
Static does not automatically mean permanent and total. A condition may be static at an evaluation below 100%, and the assessment of total disability remains a separate question. Check which disability an entry concerns rather than extending it to every condition in the file.
The general rule in 3.327(a) preserves VA's authority to request an examination when needed to ensure a disability is accurately rated. A static designation therefore should not be read as permission to ignore an examination notice or as an absolute guarantee against all future review.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Routine Future Examination · Permanent And Total (P&T).
Routine Future Examination
A planned reassessment of a disability when VA's rules call for checking its continued existence or severity.
A codesheet may contain a future-examination entry when applicable. Section 3.327 explains when reexaminations are appropriate and lists situations in which routine periodic examinations are generally not scheduled, including static disabilities and certain other circumstances.
The entry is not itself a reduction decision. An examination collects information; a later adjudication determines any benefit change under the applicable rules. Likewise, a blank future-exam entry is not enough to establish P&T or a permanently protected percentage.
If VA schedules an examination, read and respond to the actual notice. Contact the scheduling office promptly if you cannot attend. Do not rely on an old codesheet label to disregard a new request. Keep the notice and any rescheduling confirmation with your claim records.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Static Disability · Permanent And Total (P&T) · Disability Evaluation.
New And Relevant Evidence
Evidence not previously in the actual record that tends to prove or disprove a matter at issue.
This is the evidence standard commonly used for a Supplemental Claim. Relevant evidence can include material raising a theory of entitlement that was not previously addressed. Identify the missing element in the decision before choosing what new material to provide or ask VA to obtain.
Repeating an earlier submission does not necessarily make it new. Conversely, useful evidence need not prove the whole claim by itself to be relevant. VA's current Supplemental Claim guidance separately recognizes a change-in-law route, so not every Supplemental Claim should be described as requiring a newly created medical report.
Higher-Level Review does not accept new evidence. The distinction helps choose a review route, but a records request, an explanation on an educational site, or a document sent without the required review request does not itself complete that election.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Favorable Findings · Not Service Connected · Claims File (C-File).
Benefit Of The Doubt
VA's rule for resolving reasonable doubt in the claimant's favor when the positive and negative evidence is approximately balanced.
Section 3.102 applies after consideration of the available evidence. It can concern service origin, degree of disability, or another relevant point. It is not a rule requiring that every uncertainty or possible explanation be accepted.
The regulation distinguishes reasonable doubt from pure speculation or remote possibility. A claim does not become automatic merely because some evidence supports it or because the claimant disagrees with VA's conclusion. The content and weight of the evidence still matter.
When reading the reasons, identify what evidence VA accepted, what it rejected, and how it explained the remaining question. If the explanation appears inconsistent with an approximate balance, describe that issue specifically when seeking qualified help rather than treating the phrase as a substitute for evidence or a proper review request.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Favorable Findings · New And Relevant Evidence.
Claims File (C-File)
The collection of records VA maintains for the benefits claim, rather than just a decision letter or a health-care record download.
VA Form 20-10206 includes a Claims File selection and separate options for records such as disability examinations. Specify the records you need, including a rating decision and associated codesheet when those are the missing documents. What is available depends on the records VA holds and applicable access rules.
Use VA's official personal-records request process and follow its identity and signature instructions. This educational tool does not accept actual records or submit the request. A My HealtheVet medical-record download serves a different purpose and should not be assumed to include the complete benefits file.
Keep a copy of the request and follow up through official channels. Requesting records does not itself seek review of a benefits decision or automatically extend the review period. Protect downloaded files because they can contain sensitive personal and medical information.
See The Sample Context
Related terms: Diagnostic Code · New And Relevant Evidence.
Return To The Annotated Sample
Official Sources
Last verified 2026-10-25. Source publication or legal effective dates are shown separately where available.
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.103
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.2500
- www.knowva.ebenefits.va.gov/system/templates/selfservice/va_ssnew/help/customer/locale/en-us/portal/554400000001018/content/554400000180487/M21-1-Part-V-Subpart-ii-Chapter-3-Section-B-Making-Partial-Rating-Decisions
- department.va.gov/privacy/privacy-act-requests/
- www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-20-10206-ARE.pdf
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.303
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.310
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.102
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.104
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-20.801
- www.knowva.ebenefits.va.gov/system/templates/selfservice/va_ssnew/help/customer/locale/en-US/portal/554400000001018/content/554400000180489/M21-1-Part-V-Subpart-ii-Chapter-3-Section-D-Evaluating-Disabilities
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.400
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.25
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.1
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.31
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.340
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.16
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.2601
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.2501
- www.va.gov/decision-reviews/supplemental-claim/
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.105
- www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/
- www.knowva.ebenefits.va.gov/system/templates/selfservice/va_ssnew/help/customer/locale/en-US/portal/554400000001018/content/554400000180524/M21-1,-Part-V,-Subpart-iv,-Chapter-1,-Section-B---Codesheet-Section
- www.uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/RosinskiDJ_17-1117.pdf
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-4.27
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-3.327
- www.va.gov/disability/after-you-file-claim/
- www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-20.1403
- www.va.gov/forms/20-10206/
- www.va.gov/health-care/get-medical-records/
Check The Source. Get Accredited Help.
Use this resource to understand published information. VA and the official decision control individual benefits.