How a PTSD DBQ Enhances Your VA Disability Claim
By Telemedica
3/20/2025
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common disability claims among veterans. If you are a veteran with a current PTSD diagnosis, you may qualify for VA disability benefits regardless of where or when you served in the armed forces.
This blog examines what a PTSD Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) form is, how to get one, and how a PTSD DBQ could be key to winning your VA disability increase.
Key Takeaways
- Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) must have a current PTSD mental health diagnosis and prove service connection between PTSD and military service to qualify for VA disability benefits.
- When applying for VA disability benefits, you can use a PTSD DBQ to facilitate comprehensive medical documentation of your condition and symptoms.
- PTSD DBQs provide essential evidence of the severity and frequency of symptoms, the impact of the condition on occupational and social impairment, and other relevant information to support PTSD VA disability claims.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition caused by a traumatic or highly stressful event or group of events, such as combat. However, veterans are not necessarily required to have served in combat to get a PTSD disability rating.
PTSD can impact a veteran who is involved in or has witnessed traumatic events.
Although PTSD incidence in veterans varies by certain factors such as where you served and whether you were in combat, overall, the number of veterans diagnosed with the disorder is slightly higher than the national average, at 8% compared to 7% of PTSD incidence as the national average.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, of those who served veterans who served in certain military operations (Operations Iraqi Freedom [OIF] and Enduring Freedom [OEF], as many as 29% were diagnosed with PTSD at some point in life.
PTSD Symptoms
PTSD Symptoms often include severe anxiety flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares, uncontrollable intrusive thoughts, and reliving traumatic events.
A person with PTSD may experience symptoms years after the initial trauma, and depending on the success of treatment, the symptoms can last for months or even decades after diagnosis.
Types of PTSD symptoms include:
- Re-experiencing symptoms – such as recurring memories, flashbacks, or nightmares, which include physical symptoms like sweating or racing heart.
- Avoidance symptoms – avoiding certain people, places, or events that serve as a reminder of the traumatic experience
- Arousal and reactivity symptoms – feeling tense or irritable, being intensely on guard, easily startled, or having trouble falling or staying asleep.
- Cognition and mood symptoms – trouble remembering the traumatic event, negative thoughts or emotions (e.g., anger, guilt, shame, fear, or remorse), loss of interest, and social isolation
What is a PTSD DBQ?
A disability benefits questionnaire (DBQ) for PTSD can provide essential evidence of the severity and frequency of your PTSD symptoms, the impact of your condition on occupational and social impairment, and other relevant information to show your PTSD was “at least as likely as not” caused or worsened by your military service.
For VA disability purposes, a PTSD DBQ helps VA claim reviewers evaluate your VA disability claim more accurately.
Qualified civilian medical providers and contracted VA providers fill out the DBQs, ensuring accurate and relevant information is included in your VA disability claim.
A DBQ for PTSD can expedite the VA disability claims process as they often serve as the missing link in a comprehensive disability claim.
DBQs and Service Connection
Using a PTSD DBQ form, the VA will be able to determine whether a disability is service-connected and assess how severe the symptoms are and how they impact your work and social life.
Although DBQs do not definitively prove service connection (i.e., a link between your PTSD and military service) on their own, completed forms can serve as essential evidence when establishing a link between your PTSD and your military service.
Essential medical details can significantly strengthen a VA disability claim by filling in gaps in medical records and supporting the service connection argument. However, medical records and buddy statements may be needed to fully establish a relationship between your military service and PTSD.
How a PTSD DBQ Supports a VA Claim
The standardized DBQ for PTSD is a form that outlines questions for a licensed provider to fill out, giving detailed information that enables a VA rater to:
- Document the severity of your PTSD symptoms using the specific language the VA looks for in determining your rating
- Use specific criteria such as relevant medical tests (e.g., psychological test results) the VA uses to evaluate your current mental health diagnosis.
- Establish how your PTSD impacts your ability to work and socialize.
How to Get a VA DBQ for PTSD
A DBQ form is not a mandatory part of the VA disability claims process; however, the form can provide valuable medical evidence that the VA needs to approve and rate your benefits claim.
Providers who are qualified to complete and sign DBQ forms include:
- VA mental health providers
- Licensed psychologists
- Licensed psychiatrists
The VA healthcare provider often completes the DBQ for PTSD during the Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam.
If you choose a civilian physician, you must email or print the PTSD DBQ form and give it to your provider. The provider must sign the DBQ form—including their credentials—before the VA considers it valid.
The DBQ form must be completed accurately before you submit it to the VA, along with your VA disability claim. Be sure to keep a copy of the form for your records.
Note: Initial PTSD DBQs are not public facing. The first time a veteran files a VA claim for PTSD, the initial PTSD DBQ must be completed by the VA. However, Telemedica can complete the PTSD DBQ form to support an increased rating for PTSD.
DBQ for PTSD Increase
Do you need a DBQ for a PTSD increase? If you’re already service connected for PTSD and seeking a PTSD VA rating increase, a DBQ may be valuable medical evidence to accurately communicate the severity of your symptoms to the VA.
VA Ratings for PTSD
The VA rates PTSD under 38§ 4.130 Schedule of Ratings—Mental Disorders, using diagnostic code (DC) 9411 on its VASRD (VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities).
A VA rating for PTSD can be 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100%, depending on severity of symptoms and how much impairment they cause in occupational and social functioning
0% VA Rating
PTSD symptoms are present but do not interfere significantly with social or occupational functioning. There may be mild symptoms or a full remission of symptoms.
10% VA Rating
PTSD symptoms cause mild impairment in social or occupational functioning. Symptoms may not always be noticeable or disruptive.
30% VA Rating
PTSD symptoms cause occasional decreases in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, though generally functioning satisfactorily with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation.
50% VA Rating
PTSD symptoms cause reduced reliability and productivity due to disturbances such as flattened affect, frequent panic attacks, impaired judgment, difficulty in understanding complex commands, impaired short- and long-term memory, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.
70% VA Rating
PTSD symptoms cause deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to symptoms like suicidal ideation, obsessional rituals interfering 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, neglect of personal appearance and hygiene, difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.
100% VA Rating
PTSD symptoms result in total occupational and social impairment due to symptoms such 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, disorientation to time or place, memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.
Conclusion
In conclusion, PTSD is a severe mental health condition with symptoms that can significantly impact many aspects of your daily life. A well-written PTSD DBQ can be the key to ensuring your winning VA disability claim. If you are a service member with service-connected PTSD, you are entitled to VA disability benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the most common VA rating for PTSD?
The most common rating for all mental disorders, including PTSD, is 70%. A veteran’s PTSD VA rating depends on the severity of symptoms and the impact they have on your ability to work or socialize.
What is the 17-Question PTSD Test?
The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), commonly referred to as “the 17-Question PTSD Test,” is a self-reported, provisional diagnostic screening test that asks 17 questions to screen for a PTSD diagnosis based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV criteria.
The DSM-5-TR is used to formulate mental health diagnoses.
Note: The PCL is not a stand-alone PTSD diagnostic test; a clinical assessment performed by a licensed mental health professional is required for a formal PTSD diagnosis.
What answers should I give on a PTSD DBQ?
Describe your symptoms as they relate to the DBQ questions for your condition. Don’t exaggerate and give specific examples. Explain how PTSD affects your daily life and give examples. Include a description of the traumatic events that caused you to develop PTSD, as well as how your life has changed since you received your diagnosis.
Can Telemedica complete a DBQ for veterans applying for a PTSD increase?
Yes, click HERE to get a DBQ for your PTSD increase.
Medical Evidence Wins VA Claims
Did you know that a lack of medical evidence is the #1 reason VA disability claims are denied?
Medical evidence is a crucial piece of the puzzle that VA raters consider when reviewing a disability claim. Telemedica provides solutions for veterans looking to bolster their claims through high-quality medical evidence that wins claims.
Schedule your FREE 20-minute consultation and learn how to get the supporting medical evidence you need to strengthen your claim.