VA Disability Rating for Depression

Diagnostic code 9434, major depressive disorder, is rated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR 4.130. The same formula covers generalized anxiety disorder (DC 9400) and PTSD (DC 9411).

One formula, not stacked diagnoses

Note 2 says ratings under diagnostic codes 9201 to 9440 will be evaluated using the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. That range includes DC 9434, DC 9433 (persistent depressive disorder), and DC 9435 (unspecified depressive disorder). 38 CFR 4.14 says the evaluation of the same disability under various diagnoses is to be avoided, and the evaluation of the same manifestation under different diagnoses is to be avoided. 38 CFR 4.126(a) says the evaluation is based on all the evidence of record that bears on occupational and social impairment. This page does not produce a second rating for depression when anxiety or PTSD already accounts for the same occupational and social impairment.

Current General Rating Formula

The regulation lists symptoms “such as” the ones below. It does not say every symptom must be present.

38 CFR 4.130 General Rating Formula and 2026 monthly pay, veteran alone
Rating	Criteria	2026 monthly, veteran alone
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.	$3,938.58
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.	$1,808.45
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.	$1,132.90
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).	$552.47
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.	$180.42
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.	$0.00

A 0% rating has no amount in VA’s compensable tables, which start at 10%. Dependent amounts start at 30%. See the 70% and 100% pay pages and the 2026 pay chart.

Open the calculator with 70% filled in, or 50%, 30%, or 100%. How VA math works explains combining a mental-disorder evaluation with a separate physical disability.

The eCFR citation for 4.130 is 79 FR 45100, Aug. 4, 2014. A proposed rule, 87 FR 8498 (Feb. 15, 2022), would revise this formula. The table is the current text.

Sources

38 CFR 4.130, diagnostic code 9434 and the General Rating Formula. eCFR title 38 latest issue date August 27, 2026 (up to date as of October 16, 2026). Retrieved October 20, 2026.
38 CFR 4.14 and 38 CFR 4.126, same issue date.
87 FR 8498 (Feb. 15, 2022), proposed rule, not current criteria.
Pay: VA.gov veteran rates, effective December 1, 2025, checked October 19, 2026.

Last checked October 20, 2026. Estimates only. Not a rating decision.

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Frequently asked questions

Which diagnostic code is major depressive disorder?

Diagnostic code 9434. Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) is DC 9433, and unspecified depressive disorder is DC 9435. All three are in the 9201–9440 range and use the General Rating Formula under Note 2 of 38 CFR 4.130.

Can depression be rated separately from anxiety or PTSD?

38 CFR 4.14 says not to evaluate the same disability under various diagnoses, and not to evaluate the same manifestation under different diagnoses. DC 9434, DC 9400, and DC 9411 share the General Rating Formula. This page does not add those codes together.

Is the 2022 mental-disorder proposal in effect?

No. The proposed rule at 87 FR 8498 (February 15, 2022) would revise the General Rating Formula. The criteria in the table are the current 38 CFR 4.130 text, eCFR issue date August 27, 2026.