VA Disability Rating Tools & 38 CFR Part 4 Reference
Free, educational tools from HonorBound — combine your ratings, look up diagnostic codes and criteria, and read plain-language guides to the VA disability rating system. Sourced from 38 CFR Part 4 and VA.gov.
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Combined Rating Calculator
Uses the VA "whole person" formula (38 CFR §4.25) to combine multiple ratings and look up your monthly compensation.
Open CalculatorCondition Browser
Look up diagnostic codes, rating tiers, and criteria text from Part 4 — searchable by condition name, code, or body system.
Browse ConditionsVA Appeals Roadmap
Denied? Your step-by-step options — Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, and Board Appeal — the one-year deadline, and how to choose.
Read the Appeals RoadmapYour rating & the math behind it
Symptom Wizard
Select symptoms to find which rating tier they correspond to for a given condition.
Start Symptom WizardBilateral Factor Calculator
Calculate the 10% bonus applied when you have service-connected disabilities on both sides of a paired extremity (both knees, both shoulders, etc.).
Open Bilateral CalculatorTDIU Estimator
Find out if you may qualify for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability — compensation at the 100% rate even if your combined rating is below 100%.
Check TDIU EligibilitySpecial Monthly Compensation
SMC levels K through R2 — housebound, aid & attendance, and specific-loss benefits that pay above the 100% rate. Includes an SMC-S quick check.
SMC Reference & Quick CheckGeneral Rating Rules
How the rating system works — benefit of the doubt, combined ratings, pyramiding, bilateral factor, TDIU, and rating protections.
Read Rating RulesRating Protection Rules
The 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year rules that limit the VA's ability to reduce your rating — and what to do when a reduction is proposed.
Read Protection RulesFiling & proving your claim
What to Expect When You File
An overview of the VA claims process — from Intent to File through the rating decision and your options if you disagree. Sourced from VA.gov.
Overview of the Claims ProcessC&P Exam Guide
What to expect at a VA Compensation & Pension exam, how to prepare, what the examiner evaluates, and what happens after. Content sourced directly from VA.gov.
Read C&P Exam GuideNexus Letter Guide
What a nexus letter must legally contain, which conditions most often need one, and how to get an adequate opinion from your doctor.
Read Nexus GuideSecondary Service Connection
How to build a secondary claim, what "caused or aggravated" means in practice, and the most common condition chains from PTSD, MSK injuries, and TBI.
Secondary Claims GuidePACT Act & Presumptive Conditions
Burn pits, Agent Orange, Gulf War illness, Camp Lejeune, and radiation — conditions that don't require a nexus letter. Includes an era-based screener.
Browse Presumptive ConditionsEffective Date Reference
How VA effective dates are calculated — the one-year lookback, Intent to File, increased ratings, secondary claims, and CUE.
Read Effective Date RulesDBQ Reference
All public VA Disability Benefits Questionnaires organized by body system, linking to official VA.gov PDFs.
Browse DBQsFamily, survivors & other benefits
GI Bill Estimator
Estimate your Post-9/11 (Ch 33) housing allowance, tuition coverage, books stipend, and months remaining — plus the Montgomery GI Bill (Ch 30) monthly rate.
Estimate GI Bill BenefitsPension & Survivor Benefits
Estimate VA Veterans Pension and Survivors Pension (with Aid & Attendance or Housebound), plus DIC survivor benefits.
Estimate Pension BenefitsEducation Benefits for Family & Survivors
Beyond your own GI Bill — transfer it to a spouse or child, the Fry Scholarship and DEA (Chapter 35) for survivors and dependents, and the STEM Scholarship extension, with the deadlines that matter.
Explore Family Education BenefitsState Veteran Benefits
Pick your state on the map to see its Veteran benefits — property tax breaks, tuition waivers, park passes, and more.
Find State BenefitsMilitary Skills Translator
Translate your MOS, rate, or AFSC into civilian job titles and keywords for your résumé — from the official DoD/O*NET military crosswalk.
Open the Skills TranslatorReference & help
Common Questions
Plain-language answers to the questions Veterans ask most — claims basics, ratings, survivors, and education — each linking straight to the right tool.
Browse Common QuestionsVA-to-English Glossary
Plain-English definitions of common VA terms — service connection, nexus, C&P, effective date, P&T, TDIU, SMC, and more.
Open the Glossary