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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.
When is your exam?
Set the date and this page becomes a plan — the preparation steps get paced across the days you have left. It stays in this browser; no account, nothing sent anywhere.
Chronic symptoms and conditions caused by toxic exposures during military service, such as burn pits, Agent Orange, contaminated water, or radiation. The PACT Act expanded presumptive conditions for toxic-exposed veterans. When symptoms do not fit a specific diagnosis, they may be rated under the chronic fatigue syndrome criteria.
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 3.320, rated analogous to DC 6354. The examiner records findings on the DBQ; a rating specialist makes the decision.
| Rating | Rating criteria | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | 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. | Your symptoms are service connected, but in the past year they have not produced at least one full week of incapacitation — which under DC 6354 means only bed rest and treatment prescribed by a licensed physician — and they are not controlled by continuous medication. Those are the two ways to reach the 10 percent level, so neither is met. This code prints no 0 percent rung of its own; 38 CFR 4.31 supplies it: no monthly payment, but the condition is on record and a later increase runs from it. The lowest compensable level under this code is 10 percent. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 10% | Which wax and wane but result in periods of incapacitation of at least one but less than two weeks total duration per year; or symptoms controlled by continuous medication | You have toxic exposure symptoms that come and go, such as fatigue, headaches, or respiratory problems, that are manageable with medication. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 20% | Which are nearly constant and restrict routine daily activities by less than 25 percent of the pre-illness level; or which wax and wane, resulting in periods of incapacitation of at least two but less than four weeks total duration per year | You have nearly constant toxic exposure symptoms that limit your daily activities by up to 25% compared to before your exposure. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 40% | Which are nearly constant and restrict routine daily activities from 50 to 75 percent of the pre-illness level; or which wax and wane, resulting in periods of incapacitation of at least four but less than six weeks total duration per year | You have nearly constant toxic exposure symptoms that limit your daily activities to 50-75% of what you could do before. You are incapacitated for at least four weeks a year. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 60% | Which are nearly constant and restrict routine daily activities to less than 50 percent of the pre-illness level; or which wax and wane, resulting in periods of incapacitation of at least six weeks total duration per year | You have nearly constant toxic exposure symptoms that limit your daily activities to less than 50% of what you could do before. |
What supports this level
| ||
| 100% | Which are nearly constant and so severe as to restrict routine daily activities almost completely and which may occasionally preclude self-care | You have constant, severe toxic exposure symptoms that prevent you from working or caring for yourself. |
What supports this level
| ||
The middle column is our transcription of the criteria at 38 CFR 3.320, rated analogous to DC 6354, 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 enrolling in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry — this free VA registry creates a record of your exposure and health concerns.
Filing individual conditions when a multi-symptom illness claim under the PACT Act may be more effective — talk to a VSO about which approach is better for your situation.
Not documenting specific exposures during service — burn pit smoke, jet fuel, depleted uranium, and other hazards should be detailed with dates, locations, and duration.
Assuming you need a specific diagnosis — the PACT Act allows claims for conditions that are presumptively linked to toxic exposure, even without a definitive diagnosis.
These apply to every C&P exam, whatever the condition.