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Written by VMHA Editorial Team | Medically Reviewed by VMHA Internal Quality Assurance Team (Licensed PhD/PsyD Psychologists)
** Updated July 31, 2026
If you are a veteran struggling with your mental health, you are not alone. While many veterans seek a VA rating for depression and anxiety, the process can feel overwhelming.
The short answer is that the VA rates mental health conditions based on how much they affect your daily life and your ability to work. Ratings can range from 0% to 100%. Most veterans with these conditions find themselves in the 50% to 70% range. This guide will help you understand how the Department of Veterans Affairs looks at your symptoms and what you need to do to get the benefits you earned.
The VA uses a specific set of rules called the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. This formula helps VA raters decide your percent rating by looking at your severity of symptoms. It doesn’t matter if your diagnosis is Major Depressive Disorder, panic disorder, or social anxiety disorder; the VA looks at the symptoms, not just the name of the condition.
Currently, the VA evaluates your functional impairment—which is a fancy way of saying “how much this stops you from living a normal life.” They look at your occupational impairment (work) and your social impairment (family and friends).
When you go to your C&P exam (Compensation and Pension exam), the mental health professional will ask about your symptoms of depression and anxiety. They are looking for specific things that affect your social life and occupational functioning.
Common symptoms the VA considers include:
The VA also considers chronic sleep impairment and inappropriate behavior as signs that your mental condition is serious.
To get VA disability benefits, you need three things:
At VMHA, we specialize in helping veterans get a high-quality nexus letter. We don’t just write a letter; we provide medical evidence that uses the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) to show the VA exactly why you deserve a higher rating. We are a team of licensed psychologists who provide uncompromising quality in every report.
Yes! Many veterans have a secondary condition. This means your mental health disorder was caused by a different, service-connected disability.
For example, many veterans suffer from chronic pain due to a back injury. Chronic pain can lead to major depression. In this case, you can file for a secondary service connection. This is a great way to get the VA rating for depression and anxiety you deserve if your primary injury is physical.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a major update to the Schedule of Ratings. Starting in 2026, the VA plans to move to a more modern system. Instead of focusing so much on work, they will look at functional impairment in five “domains” of daily life.
Key Changes to Watch For:
Yes. If your depression rating is at least 60% (or 70% combined), and your symptoms stop you from keeping gainful employment, you may qualify for individual unemployability (TDIU). This pays you at the 100% rate even if your rating is lower.
You should bring your mental health treatment records from service or after service, along with any lay statement from a family member who sees how your symptoms affect your daily activities. Be honest about your “worst days,” not just how you feel that morning.
No. Under the VA’s rules, you can only have one rating for Mental Disorders. If you have both post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression, the VA will combine the symptoms into one single percent rating.
At VMHA, we understand that you aren’t just a number. Our promise is to provide ethical advocacy for every veteran. We are not a network; we are an in-house team of mental health experts. in-house providers provide consistency, reliability, and allow for better quality control. When you work with us, you get:
Don’t settle for a low rating because of poor medical evidence. Let us help you tell your story to the VA.
Dwayne Edwards is a United States Marine Corps Veteran and Founder of VMHA. He served in the infantry and intelligence, deployed to Iraq, and served as the suicide awareness officer for his last command. He holds a BA from Binghamton University and an MBA from Yale School of Management. After experiencing the difference a high-quality psychologist can make for his own mental health journey, he founded VMHA to provide high-quality, ethical, and transparent mental health evaluations to fellow service members and veterans.
Drawing on his executive background, Dwayne established VMHA to increase the quality of life and mental health of the military community.
At VMHA, we hold our educational content to the same high standards as our clinical assessments. This article has been reviewed and fact-checked by our Internal Quality Assurance Team, led by licensed, doctoral-level psychologists (Ph.D. / Psy.D.) to ensure it adheres to our editorial and clinical standards.
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