Guide · updated 2026-07-30
Your VA Decision Letter, Decoded — Every Section Explained
A plain-language walkthrough of the standard VA rating decision letter: where your combined rating, effective date, monthly amount, and the evidence list live, what each section legally means, and which numbers to check against the official rate tables.
What arrives and when
After VA decides a claim you receive a decision packet: a cover letter with your monthly amount and payment start, and a Rating Decision document with the reasoning. The letter is the money summary; the rating decision is the evidence trail. Both matter — the letter tells you what you'll be paid, the rating decision tells you why.
The combined rating line
Your individual condition percentages do not add — they combine under VA math (38 CFR 4.25), largest first, against remaining capacity, with paired left/right limb conditions getting the bilateral factor before rounding to the nearest 10. If the combined number on your letter surprises you, run the same percentages through a combined-ratings calculator to see the arithmetic step by step.
The effective date — where back pay comes from
The effective date is generally the later of when entitlement arose or when VA received your claim; payment begins the first day of the following month. The gap between that date and the decision date becomes retroactive pay at the rate tables in force across those months — one lump deposit, usually within 15 days of the decision.
Dependent status changes your monthly amount
At combined ratings of 30% or higher, the monthly rate depends on your dependents: spouse, children under 18, school children 18–23, and dependent parents each move you to a different row of the official rate table. Check that the letter's dependent listing matches your family — a missing dependent is a common, fixable payment error.
What this page is not
This is education about a public document format, not claims assistance. We do not help prepare, file, or argue claims, and no one should charge you a fee for help with an initial claim — accredited representatives (attorneys, claims agents, VSOs, searchable on VA's accreditation directory) are the only people authorized to assist for a fee at the appeal stage.
Official sources for this guide
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