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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.
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A condition that causes a sudden, frequent urge to urinate that is hard to control. The VA rates overactive bladder based on how often you need to urinate during the day and how many times you wake up at night.
The percentages this diagnostic code can be rated at. Which one applies depends on the findings — no tool here can tell you in advance.
Rated under 38 CFR 4.115a, DC 7517. The examiner records findings on the DBQ; a rating specialist makes the decision.
| Rating | Rating criteria | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | 38 CFR 4.31: In every instance where the schedule does not provide a zero percent evaluation for a diagnostic code, a zero percent evaluation shall be assigned when the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met. | You have a diagnosis of overactive bladder but your symptoms do not meet the requirements for a compensable rung — your daytime voiding interval is longer than three hours, you wake fewer than two times a night, and you need no absorbent materials. The urinary frequency criteria in 38 CFR 4.115a print no 0 percent; 38 CFR 4.31 supplies it. A 0% rating establishes service connection. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 10% | Bladder, injury of: Rate as voiding dysfunction. Voiding dysfunction. Urinary frequency — Daytime voiding interval between two and three hours, or; awakening to void two times per night | You urinate every 2 to 3 hours during the day, or you wake up to urinate 2 times per night. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 20% | Bladder, injury of: Rate as voiding dysfunction. Voiding dysfunction. Urinary frequency — Daytime voiding interval between one and two hours, or; awakening to void three to four times per night. Voiding dysfunction. Continual Urine Leakage, Post Surgical Urinary Diversion, Urinary Incontinence, or Stress Incontinence — Requiring the wearing of absorbent materials which must be changed less than 2 times per day | You urinate every 1 to 2 hours during the day, or you wake up to urinate 3 to 4 times per night — or you have leakage requiring absorbent materials changed less than 2 times per day. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 30% | Bladder, injury of: Rate as voiding dysfunction. Voiding dysfunction. Obstructed voiding — Urinary retention requiring intermittent or continuous catheterization | Your overactive bladder is accompanied by urinary retention that requires intermittent or continuous catheterization to empty your bladder — a pattern that can follow detrusor dysfunction or anticholinergic treatment. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 40% | Bladder, injury of: Rate as voiding dysfunction. Voiding dysfunction. Urinary frequency — Daytime voiding interval less than one hour, or; awakening to void five or more times per night. Voiding dysfunction. Continual Urine Leakage, Post Surgical Urinary Diversion, Urinary Incontinence, or Stress Incontinence — Requiring the wearing of absorbent materials which must be changed 2 to 4 times per day | You urinate more often than every hour during the day, or you wake up to urinate 5 or more times per night — or you have leakage requiring absorbent materials changed 2 to 4 times per day. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 60% | Bladder, injury of: Rate as voiding dysfunction. Voiding dysfunction. Continual Urine Leakage, Post Surgical Urinary Diversion, Urinary Incontinence, or Stress Incontinence — Requiring the use of an appliance or the wearing of absorbent materials which must be changed more than 4 times per day | Your overactive bladder causes continual urine leakage requiring the use of a collecting appliance, or absorbent materials that must be changed more than 4 times per day. 60 percent is the top of the voiding dysfunction table. |
What supports this level
| ||
The middle column is our transcription of the criteria at 38 CFR 4.115a, DC 7517, 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.
Not keeping a voiding diary that records the exact times you urinate during the day and night — the rating is directly based on voiding frequency.
Not reporting nighttime awakenings accurately — many veterans undercount how often they wake up. Track every awakening for at least a week.
Not requesting that your doctor document the frequency in your medical records — self-reported frequency should be backed by clinical notes.
Not filing for secondary conditions such as sleep disturbance, depression from social isolation, or skin irritation from incontinence.
These apply to every C&P exam, whatever the condition.