VA Rating for Bipolar Disorder: 0% to 100% Criteria and 2026 Disability Pay
VA rates bipolar disorder under diagnostic code (DC) 9432 in 38 CFR § 4.130. The schedule has 6 levels: 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 100%. The table below quotes each level word for word from the current CFR text and adds a one-line summary; the 2026 monthly compensation figures that follow are VA's published rates.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Criteria checked against the eCFR and Federal Register October 26, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Bipolar disorder rating criteria in 38 CFR § 4.130
Diagnostic code: DC 9432 Bipolar disorder. Criteria are quoted from the current CFR; the plain-English column is our summary and is not part of the regulation.
| Rating | Criteria as printed in 38 CFR (quotation) | In plain English (our summary) |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | A mental condition is formally diagnosed, but symptoms do not interfere with work or social life and do not require continuous medication. |
| 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. | Mild or transient symptoms that reduce work efficiency only during significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. |
| 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). | Occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to do work tasks, while generally functioning satisfactorily. |
| 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. | Reduced reliability and productivity at work and in relationships. |
| 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. | Deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood. |
| 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. | Total occupational and social impairment. |
2026 VA monthly pay at each bipolar disorder rating
| Rating | Veteran alone | With spouse |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $0.00 | VA's rate table starts at 10%, so a 0% rating has no monthly compensation rate |
| 10% | $180.42 | Same as alone; spouse amounts start at 30% |
| 30% | $552.47 | $617.47 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 | $1,241.90 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 | $1,961.45 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 | $4,158.17 |
VA does not add ratings together. When a veteran has more than one rated condition, VA combines them with its combined ratings table (38 CFR § 4.25), so the amounts above apply to a combined rating, not to this condition alone. Work out a combined rating with the VA disability calculator at /va-disability-calculator/.
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How the criteria are written
The General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders applies to every diagnostic code from 9201 to 9440 in § 4.130, so the same six levels apply whichever mental disorder is service connected. Note 2 at the end of § 4.130 says ratings under diagnostic codes 9201 to 9440 are evaluated using it.
The 0% level is described as a formally diagnosed mental condition whose symptoms are not severe enough to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication. VA does not list 0% in its monthly rate table, which starts at 10%.
The schedule says its nomenclature is based on the DSM-5. VA decides which level matches the evidence in a claim, usually after a VA examination.
VA publishes Disability Benefits Questionnaires for this area (benefits.va.gov): Mental Disorders DBQ.
Is this the current rule?
Source text. § 4.130 Schedule of ratings—Mental disorders. from the eCFR (38 CFR Part 4), text up to date as of October 22, 2026, retrieved October 26, 2026. Read the section on eCFR.
Latest final rule affecting the section. 80 FR 14308 (final rule), Schedule for Rating Disabilities-Mental Disorders and Definition of Psychosis for Certain VA Purposes, published March 19, 2015, effective March 19, 2015. VA adopted the August 4, 2014 interim final rule (79 FR 45093), which the eCFR amendment history for § 4.130 cites as 79 FR 45100, as final without change. It replaced DSM-IV references with DSM-5 and updated nomenclature. It adopted as final the interim final rule 79 FR 45093, effective August 4, 2014.
- DC 9432: Added November 7, 1996.
Upcoming changes. Our Federal Register search on October 26, 2026 found no final rule for this section with an effective date after that day.
Proposed rule (not law). VA proposed changes to the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders on February 15, 2022 (87 FR 8498). It is only a proposal: it has not been finalized, so the CFR text above is the rule that applies and the proposed criteria are not shown here. 87 FR 8498
Related conditions
- PTSD: Rated under the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in § 4.130 (DC 9411 for PTSD).
- Anxiety: Rated under the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in § 4.130 (DC 9400 and other anxiety codes).
- Depression: Rated under the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in § 4.130 (DC 9434 and other depressive codes).
- All VA disability ratings by condition
Questions about the Bipolar disorder rating
What diagnostic code does VA use for bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder is rated under diagnostic code (DC) 9432 in 38 CFR § 4.130, the Schedule for Rating Disabilities. The code lists are quoted from the eCFR text current as of October 22, 2026.
What are the VA rating levels for bipolar disorder?
The schedule has 6 levels for bipolar disorder: 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 100%. Each level has its own criteria, quoted in the table on this page. VA decides which level applies to a claim.
How much is VA disability pay for a bipolar disorder rating in 2026?
VA's 2026 monthly rates for a veteran alone, with the with-spouse amount for 30% and higher, are 10%: $180.42; 30%: $552.47 ($617.47 with a spouse); 50%: $1,132.90 ($1,241.90 with a spouse); 70%: $1,808.45 ($1,961.45 with a spouse); 100%: $3,938.58 ($4,158.17 with a spouse). A 0% rating is not in VA's rate table, which starts at 10%. Rates took effect December 1, 2025. The amount you are paid depends on your combined rating, not on this condition alone.
Are ratings for bipolar disorder added to my other ratings?
No. VA does not add ratings together; it combines them using the combined ratings table in 38 CFR § 4.25. Use the VA disability calculator on this site at /va-disability-calculator/ to see how ratings combine.
Does bipolar disorder have its own VA rating criteria?
No. DC 9432 (Bipolar disorder) is rated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR § 4.130, the same formula used for PTSD, anxiety, depression and the other mental disorders listed there.
Does the CFR list bipolar I and bipolar II separately?
No. Section 4.130 has one entry, DC 9432 Bipolar disorder, and the General Rating Formula does not distinguish between forms of the disorder. CFR Appendix A lists DC 9432 as added November 7, 1996.
Does this page decide my VA rating?
No. FedRateCalc is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. This page quotes the rating schedule and VA's published rates for information only; it is not legal or medical advice. VA decides the rating and the payment.