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Eating Disorder

A mental health condition involving unhealthy eating patterns such as severely restricting food, binge eating, or purging. The VA rates eating disorders under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, based on how the condition affects your work and social functioning.

Code: 9520
Criteria: 38 CFR 4.130, DC 9520 — General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders
Exam length: ~60 minutes
Form: Mental Disorders DBQ / Nutritional Deficiencies DBQ

Rating steps

0%
10%
30%
50%
70%
100%

The percentages this diagnostic code can be rated at. Which one applies depends on the findings — no tool here can tell you in advance.

This exam may ask about thoughts of suicide or self-harm. Answer honestly — it helps the examiner capture the true severity of your condition, and disclosing it will not get you committed against your will. If you are struggling right now, you are not alone: call the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net. It is free, confidential, and available 24/7.

What happens at the appointment

The examiner will ask about your specific eating behaviors — restriction, binge eating, purging, excessive exercise, laxative use — and the history and timeline of your condition.
You will be asked about your relationship with food, body image concerns, and how the eating disorder affects your daily life, social situations, and occupational functioning.
The examiner may take or review your weight history, BMI, and vital signs, and may ask about physical complications like dental erosion, electrolyte imbalances, or cardiac issues.
If both mental health and nutritional components are being evaluated, you may see two examiners or have a combined exam that addresses both the psychiatric and physical aspects.
The examiner will assess whether your eating disorder is a primary condition or secondary to another service-connected condition such as PTSD, depression, or MST.

What the examiner is actually filling in

01Whether you meet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or other specified feeding/eating disorder.
02The severity of both psychological symptoms (body image disturbance, food preoccupation) and physical complications (malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance, dental erosion).
03Your level of occupational and social impairment — eating disorders can be rated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders or under nutritional deficiency criteria depending on presentation.
04Whether the eating disorder is at least as likely as not related to military service or secondary to a service-connected condition.
05The current treatment status and whether the condition is stable, improving, or worsening.

Rated under 38 CFR 4.130, DC 9520 — General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The examiner records findings on the DBQ; a rating specialist makes the decision.

A complete answer sounds like

Be honest about the frequency and severity of behaviors — "I purge 3-4 times per week after meals and spend 2 hours daily exercising to compensate for eating" gives the examiner clear data.
Describe the mental preoccupation: "I spend most of my waking hours calculating calories, checking my body in mirrors, and planning what I will or will not eat" shows cognitive impairment.
If you avoid social situations involving food — holidays, restaurants, work lunches — explain how this isolates you and affects relationships and employment.
Mention any physical symptoms you experience: dizziness, heart palpitations, chronic fatigue, cold intolerance, or hair loss — these are medical evidence of severity.
If military culture around fitness standards or MST triggered or worsened the eating disorder, explain that timeline clearly to establish the service connection.

What costs veterans points

Not disclosing purging behaviors, laxative abuse, or excessive exercise out of shame — the examiner needs the full clinical picture to accurately assess severity.
Focusing only on weight while ignoring psychological symptoms — body dysmorphia, food obsessions, rituals around eating, and social avoidance are all part of the disability.
Failing to mention physical complications that have resulted from the eating disorder, such as tooth enamel loss, hair thinning, fainting, or chronic constipation.
Not connecting the eating disorder to military service — pressure to meet weight and fitness standards, MST, or the culture of food restriction in certain units can establish a nexus.
Minimizing the condition because your current weight appears normal — many eating disorders (bulimia, EDNOS/OSFED) occur at normal weight and are still severely disabling.

The rating criteria, in plain language

Rating levels for Eating Disorder under 38 CFR 4.130, DC 9520 — General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders
Rating	Rating criteria	What that means for you
0%	A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.	You have a diagnosis, but your symptoms are not severe enough to affect your work or social life, or your symptoms are controlled by medication.
0%	What supports this level Formal diagnosis on record Symptoms managed without continuous medication No measurable impact on work or relationships
10%	Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.	Your symptoms are mild. You can generally function well, but you have some trouble during stressful periods.
10%	What supports this level Mild, transient symptoms Decreased work efficiency only during high stress Symptoms controlled by continuous medication
30%	Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).	Your condition causes occasional decreases in your work performance. You may have depressed mood, anxiety, trouble sleeping, or mild memory problems.
30%	What supports this level Depressed mood Anxiety Suspiciousness Panic attacks weekly or less often Chronic sleep impairment Mild memory loss Generally functioning satisfactorily
50%	Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.	Your condition makes you less reliable and productive at work. You may have flattened emotions, trouble with complex tasks, panic attacks more than once a week, or difficulty with judgment.
50%	What supports this level Flattened affect Circumstantial or stereotyped speech Panic attacks more than once a week Difficulty understanding complex commands Memory impairment Impaired judgment Impaired abstract thinking Disturbances of motivation and mood Difficulty maintaining work and social relationships
70%	Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.	Your condition causes serious problems in most areas of your life — work, family, thinking, and mood. You may have suicidal thoughts, obsessional behaviors, or near-constant panic or depression.
70%	What supports this level Suicidal ideation Obsessional rituals interfering with routine activities Intermittently illogical or irrelevant speech Near-continuous panic or depression Impaired impulse control Spatial disorientation Neglect of personal appearance and hygiene Difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances Inability to establish and maintain effective relationships
100%	Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.	Your condition causes total impairment in your ability to work and function socially. You may be a persistent danger to yourself or others, disoriented, or have severe memory loss.
100%	What supports this level Gross impairment in thought processes or communication Persistent delusions or hallucinations Grossly inappropriate behavior Persistent danger of hurting self or others Inability to perform activities of daily living Disorientation to time or place Memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name

The middle column is our transcription of the criteria at 38 CFR 4.130, DC 9520 — General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, condensed for reading. Read the section itself on eCFR before relying on the exact wording. The items under each level are the kinds of evidence that document it — not a VA checklist, and not a prediction of which level applies to you.

Mistakes we see most often

Not documenting the full range of symptoms including physical health consequences (weight changes, dental damage, nutritional deficiencies).

Not connecting the eating disorder to military service — boot camp culture, deployment stress, and MST are recognized risk factors.

Eating disorders are rated under the same General Rating Formula as other mental health conditions — the functional impact on work and relationships drives the rating.

Not filing for secondary physical conditions caused by the eating disorder (GERD, dental damage, malnutrition).

Before & after your exam

These apply to every C&P exam, whatever the condition.

Do not miss the appointment: Missing your C&P exam without a good reason can cost you. Under 38 CFR § 3.655, a missed exam can cause a claim for an increased rating or a reopened claim to be denied, and can cause an original claim to be decided on the evidence already in your file. If you cannot make it, call the VA or the exam company right away to reschedule — a documented good reason (illness, work conflict, no transportation, a family emergency) protects your claim.
Your examiner may be a contractor: Many C&P exams are performed by VA-contracted companies — QTC, Optum Serve (LHI), VES, or MSLA — not at a VA hospital. They will call, text, or mail you to schedule. Do not ignore an unknown number or letter while your claim is pending, and confirm the exam location and time before you go.
The examiner does not decide your claim: The examiner's job is to record findings on the Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ). A rating specialist at the Regional Office makes the actual decision, using the exam together with your full record — service records, medical records, and lay statements. One appointment does not settle everything.
Get a copy of your exam report: After the exam you can request the report (often called the DBQ or C&P exam results) through VA.gov, the Blue Button tool, or your accredited representative. Reading it lets you catch errors while you still have time to respond.
If the exam was inadequate, you have options: If the examiner rushed you, evaluated the wrong condition, or the report is inaccurate, you can submit a statement and new evidence, and — after a decision — request a review (a Supplemental Claim or Higher-Level Review). A single bad exam is not the end of your claim.

View condition guide →View evidence checklist →

Folder readiness

Tick these off as you gather them. Nothing here is required — the exam happens either way — but each one is something the examiner cannot record if it is not in front of them.

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Take it with you

Print the whole guide — what the examiner records, the folder list with your ticks, the criteria table and the mistakes to avoid — and bring it to the appointment.

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C&P Exam Preparation Guides

The VA orders this exam to verify your diagnosis and measure how severe it is right now. It can shape your rating and your monthly compensation — but it does not decide your claim. A rating specialist weighs it against your full record, and if the exam does not reflect your condition, you can say so and ask the VA to correct it.

Source forms
Coverage

Eating Disorder

Rating steps

What happens at the appointment

What the examiner is actually filling in

A complete answer sounds like

What costs veterans points

The rating criteria, in plain language

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

Mistakes we see most often

Before & after your exam

Eating Disorder

Rating steps

What happens at the appointment

What the examiner is actually filling in

A complete answer sounds like

What costs veterans points

The rating criteria, in plain language

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

What supports this level

Mistakes we see most often

Before & after your exam