Education only. Not affiliated with VA, not a law firm, not medical advice, and we don’t file your claim. What this site is and isn’t.

Public rules

Anxiety — public rules, in plain words

See the exact words of VA's mental health rating formula, so you can check whether your records and your own statement describe how anxiety affects work and daily life.

This page shows VA’s public rules for anxiety conditions. Generalized anxiety disorder is diagnostic code 9400 in 38 CFR 4.130. Other anxiety codes, such as 9410 and 9413, use the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. It uses plain words, then the exact words from the rule book.

It is education and organizing only. It is not your rating. We do not say you have anxiety. You review the words and you submit. We do not file. If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1, or text 838255. This page is not crisis care.

Last reviewed 2026-10-16.

The levels below match the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR 4.130 on eCFR (issue date August 27, 2026). Checked October 22, 2026. Not medical advice.

What do we help you do?

We help you review your documents against the published rating criteria. Rating criteria are the public rules VA published. This is education and organizing. It is not a promise of a rating. We do not decide the claim.

Where do these rules come from?

Why do your papers have to say it?

A VA exam is a short visit. Write how often something happens, how long it lasts, and how it stops normal life, only if that is true. If those facts are not in the papers you send, the exam may not have them. We do not write them for you.

Published levels (38 CFR 4.130, General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders)

CFR means the Code of Federal Regulations. DC means diagnostic code. Those are public rule numbers.

Published: 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. — 100% in the rule book.

The highest level means you cannot work, and you cannot get along with people at all. The words after “such symptoms as” are examples. They do not all have to be true. This page does not say you are at this level. This is not your rating, your pay, or a VA decision. It does not tell you which symptoms to write down.

Published: 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. — 70% in the rule book.

This level means serious problems in most parts of life, such as work, school, family, judgment, thinking, or mood. The words after “such symptoms as” are examples. They do not all have to be true. This page does not say you are at this level. This is not your rating, your pay, or a VA decision. It does not tell you which symptoms to write down.

Published: 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. — 50% in the rule book.

This level means work and getting along with people are less steady. The words after “such symptoms as” are examples. They do not all have to be true. This page does not say you are at this level. This is not your rating, your pay, or a VA decision. It does not tell you which symptoms to write down.

Published: 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). — 30% in the rule book.

This level means work slows down sometimes, but day-to-day life mostly still works. The words after “such symptoms as” are examples. They do not all have to be true. This page does not say you are at this level. This is not your rating, your pay, or a VA decision. It does not tell you which symptoms to write down.

Published: 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. — 10% in the rule book.

This level means mild symptoms that get in the way only when stress is high, or symptoms that stay in check with medicine you take all the time. This page does not say you are at this level. This is not your rating, your pay, or a VA decision.

Published: 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% in the rule book.

A 0 in the rule book means a doctor has named the condition, but the symptoms do not get in the way of work or daily life, and they do not need medicine all the time. This is a level in the rule book. This is not your rating, your pay, or a VA decision.

38 CFR 4.130, Schedule of ratings—mental disorders

What to line up — only what you actually have

A diagnosis from a doctor, psychologist, or counselor you already have. We do not go get it.
Treatment notes or a medicine list you already have, only if they exist.
A statement in your own words about how often symptoms show up, and what they change about work and daily life. Write only facts you can stand behind. We do not write it.

Other conditions

Note 2 of 38 CFR 4.130 says ratings under diagnostic codes 9201 to 9440 will be evaluated using the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. Generalized anxiety disorder (9400), other specified anxiety disorder (9410), and unspecified anxiety disorder (9413) are inside that list.

Anxiety secondary to tinnitus: 38 CFR 3.310(a) says a disability that is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury shall be service connected. 3.310(b) also covers a condition that a service-connected one made worse. If VA already rated your tinnitus, and a doctor has diagnosed an anxiety condition, this is the rule that applies.

No VA.gov or eCFR page names tinnitus and anxiety as a pair. VA's evidence-needed page says VA usually needs medical records or medical opinions from health care providers to support the link. Only a medical opinion can say whether the ringing caused or worsened your anxiety. VA decides the claim. This is not advice to claim it.

Questions if a statement leaves these out

Questions only. They do not make up a fact. They do not write the statement.

Has a doctor or counselor diagnosed an anxiety condition? List only records that exist.
How often do the symptoms you actually have show up? If you are unsure, say you are unsure.
What do they change about work, sleep, or getting through a day — only if that is true?

How do you check your statement against this rule?

The statement review lines your own words up with the published words on this page. It shows which of those words your statement speaks to and which are not mentioned yet. It asks questions. It does not add a symptom, a test result, or a date.

How the statement review flags missing details
VA ratings by condition
Start the 14-day trial to run the review. Card required up front; cancel before day 15 and you are not charged.

Common questions

Which rule does VA use for anxiety?

38 CFR 4.130 lists generalized anxiety disorder as diagnostic code 9400. Note 2 says codes 9201 to 9440 use the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The published levels are 100, 70, 50, 30, 10, and 0 percent.

Does tinnitus cause anxiety?

This page cannot say. That is a medical question. 38 CFR 3.310 lets VA service connect a condition caused or made worse by a service-connected one when the evidence shows the link. Ask your own doctor. VA decides.

Is this page medical advice?

No. This page shows VA's published rule in plain words. It is education and organizing only. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not a rating. You review the words. You, or a free accredited representative, submit to VA.

Forms you can open

There is no anxiety-only form on VA’s additional-forms page. The disability application is VA Form 21-526EZ. You fill it out and send it. We do not send it.

Application for disability benefits

VA Form 21-526EZ. Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits.

There is no separate form for this condition. This is the disability application. You fill it out and send it to VA. We do not send it.

You fill this out and send it to VA. We do not fill it in with your records. We do not send it. We do not make a packet that is ready to file.

Signed in? The forms list only helps you keep track. It does not fill a form. It does not send it.