VA 20-Year Rule Explained: How It Permanently Protects Your VA Disability Rating

If you’ve been receiving VA disability compensation for decades, one question eventually comes up:

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“Can the VA still reduce my rating after all these years?”

That concern leads directly to one of the strongest protections in VA law the VA 20-year rule.

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This rule is not a myth, a policy preference, or a discretionary guideline. It is a binding federal regulation that places a hard legal floor under long-standing disability evaluations.

“Once a rating crosses the 20-year mark, the VA loses most of its power to reduce it,” said by Brian Reese, VA disability expert.

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What Is the VA 20-Year Rule?

The Legal Foundation

The VA 20-year rule comes from 38 C.F.R. § 3.951(b), which implements 38 U.S.C. § 110.

The regulation states:

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If a service-connected disability has been continuously rated at or above a certain evaluation for 20 or more years, the VA cannot reduce that evaluation below that level, unless the VA proves the original rating was based on fraud.

Key Points Veterans Must Know

• The rule protects any evaluation level (10%, 30%, 70%, 100%, etc.)
• The rating must be continuous for 20 years
• Fraud is the only exception
• Medical improvement does not override the rule

“Improvement doesn’t matter once the 20-year rule applies only fraud does,” explains Reese.

Where the VA 20-Year Rule Comes From?

38 C.F.R. § 3.951(b): Preservation of Disability Evaluations

This regulation is often referred to as the “preservation rule.” Once triggered, it locks in the minimum evaluation level for life.

Even if the VA later believes the original rating was incorrect, outdated, or overly generous, it cannot reduce it below the protected level unless fraud is proven.

VA’s Internal Guidance (M21-1)

The VA’s adjudication manual (M21-1) instructs raters that:

• Protected ratings must not be reduced
• The 20-year period is measured from the earliest effective date
• Erroneous ratings are still protected if no fraud exists

This internal guidance reinforces that the protection is mandatory, not optional.

How the VA 20-Year Rule Works in Practice?

What “Continuously Rated” Really Means?

“Continuously rated” does not require uninterrupted payments.

A rating may still qualify for 20-year protection even if:

• Payments were temporarily offset
• Compensation was withheld
• VA applied recoupment or other payment adjustments

What matters is that the evaluation remained legally in effect for compensation purposes.

What the Rule Protects and What It Doesn’t?

What the 20-Year Rule DOES Protect?

• The lowest evaluation level held for 20+ years
• Long-standing combined ratings
• Evaluations even if medical evidence later changes

What the 20-Year Rule Does NOT Prevent?

• VA increasing your rating if symptoms worsen
• VA reducing a higher, unprotected increase back down to the protected floor
• Payment changes required by other laws (e.g., incarceration rules)

How the 20-Year Clock Is Calculated?

VA compares two dates:

1. The earliest effective date of the evaluation
2. The effective date of the proposed reduction

If 20 or more years have elapsed, the rating is protected.

Example: Which Rating Is Protected?

• 10% migraines effective January 1, 2008
• Increased to 30% effective January 1, 2016

By January 1, 2028:

• 10% has existed for 20 years → protected
• 30% has existed for 12 years → not protected

Result: VA cannot reduce below 10%, absent fraud.

“The protected level is usually the lowest rating held during the full 20-year period,” said by Reese.

Combined Ratings and the VA 20-Year Rule

The rule also applies to combined evaluations.

If your combined rating (for example, 90%) has been in place for 20 or more years:

• The combined rating becomes the protected floor
• VA cannot reduce total compensation below that level
• VA may still adjust individual ratings as long as the combined rating remains intact

Example: Protected 90% Combined Rating

• Combined 90% effective January 1, 2003
• Proposed reductions in 2025 would drop you to 70%

Because 90% has existed for 22 years, VA cannot lawfully reduce below 90% unless fraud is proven.

Interaction With TDIU and Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)

TDIU

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) has separate reduction rules under 38 C.F.R. § 3.343.

However:

• The underlying schedular ratings remain protected under the 20-year rule
• VA cannot reduce those protected evaluations even if TDIU is later challenged

Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)

SMC calculations must respect protected evaluation levels.

VA cannot lawfully manipulate ratings below protected floors to eliminate SMC eligibility.

Advanced Nuances Veterans Should Know

Retroactive Increases Count

If a later decision (or CUE correction) grants a higher rating retroactively to a date 20+ years in the past, that rating becomes immediately protected.

Renouncing Benefits Can Break Protection

Formally renouncing VA compensation can interrupt continuity, potentially resetting the clock.

Payment Adjustments ≠ Reductions

The 20-year rule protects evaluation levels, not every payment situation governed by other laws.

How the VA 20-Year Rule Fits With Other VA Protections?

VA Rating Protections Compared

Rule	What It Protects	Key Effect
5-Year Rule	Stabilized ratings	Requires sustained improvement
10-Year Rule	Service connection	Prevents severance
20-Year Rule	Evaluation level	Prevents reduction below floor

Each rule stacks, meaning long-term veterans often benefit from multiple layers of protection.

Pro Tips to Use the VA 20-Year Rule to Your Advantage

• Get your VA Rating Code Sheet to confirm effective dates
• Identify which evaluations have crossed 20 years
• Treat those levels as permanent floors
• Scrutinize any proposed reduction carefully
• Challenge reductions that violate 38 C.F.R. § 3.951(b)

“Most unlawful reductions happen because veterans don’t realize their rating is already protected,” explains Reese.

Final Thought

The VA 20-year rule is not a courtesy it’s a legal command.

Once your disability rating or combined evaluation has stood for 20 uninterrupted years, the VA generally cannot reduce it, regardless of medical improvement, policy changes, or examiner opinions.

Veterans who understand this rule hold one of the strongest defensive tools in the entire VA disability system.

“If your rating has lasted 20 years, the law is on your side use it,” concludes Reese.

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