Sleep Apnea VA Rating Calculator
Official sources checked . This guide covers U.S. VA monthly disability compensation.
The starting 50% sleep apnea rating is an example based on the current breathing-device criterion. It is not a diagnosis or a prediction of approval. Choose the percentage VA assigned in your decision, then enter other individual ratings separately.
For DC 6847, the current levels are 0%, 30%, 50%, and 100%. Add eligible dependents to compare payments. The tool applies combined-rating math and estimates regular monthly compensation; it does not determine service connection, SMC, TDIU, or back pay.
How Much Does VA Pay for Sleep Apnea?
A veteran alone with only a 50% compensable rating receives $1,132.90 per month at 2026 rates. If you have other ratings, VA works out one combined payment rather than simply adding a separate sleep apnea payment.
Compare the 2026 VA compensation chart for household differences. For example, a spouse can change pay at the same 50% rating. The 50% pay guide covers more dependent situations.
Sleep Apnea and PTSD Combined Rating
When VA has assigned separate ratings for sleep apnea and PTSD, the percentages combine using remaining capacity. They are not added directly. Whether one condition caused or aggravated the other is a different evidence question.
A 70% PTSD rating and 50% sleep apnea rating produce 85% before final rounding, then 90%. Adding 10% tinnitus to those two ratings produces a Table I value of 87%, still a final 90% rating. Follow the VA math examples for intermediate rounding.
How the VA rates sleep apnea
Diagnostic code 6847 covers obstructive, central, and mixed sleep apnea. The percentage follows the published criteria, not the diagnosis label or an AHI score alone.
Sleep apnea rating levels in detail
The record shows sleep-disordered breathing without symptoms. A VA award at 0% recognizes service connection, but that rating alone does not produce regular monthly compensation. A sleep-study diagnosis by itself is not the same as a VA service-connection award.
This refers to ongoing excessive sleepiness during waking hours. The schedule does not describe 30% as a temporary stage. The record must support the applicable criteria.
The current criterion addresses the need for a breathing-assistance device such as CPAP. Treatment records should explain what is required for your diagnosed condition.
The criteria include chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention, cor pulmonale, or a required tracheostomy. The medical record must support the qualifying findings.
Does a CPAP prescription mean a 50% VA rating?
A prescription can document required treatment. It does not, by itself, prove that sleep apnea is connected to military service. Keep the diagnostic report, prescription, and treatment notes that explain the device need.
The current criterion concerns required breathing assistance. Symptom improvement while using treatment is not the same question as whether that treatment is still required. VA evaluates the full record; this calculator does not make that determination.
Current criteria and proposed changes
This page uses the published DC 6847 checked on October 24, 2026. VA's 2022 announcement about respiratory-rating proposals described proposed changes. For any newer announcement, check the published rule and effective date before treating it as the standard for your claim.
Sleep apnea with asthma or COPD
38 CFR § 4.96(a) restricts separate combination of specified respiratory evaluations. These include asthma, COPD, and sleep apnea. VA generally evaluates the predominant disability, with elevation where the overall severity warrants it.
For this situation, use the respiratory evaluation actually assigned in your decision. Entering separate proposed percentages as if each would be payable can overstate the estimate. This differs from the separately assigned PTSD and tinnitus examples above.
Sleep apnea secondary to PTSD
A secondary claim addresses whether an existing service-connected condition caused or aggravated another disability. Having both PTSD and sleep apnea does not automatically establish that link. A clinician's explanation should address your history, records, and the relationship claimed.
The aggravation provisions also address medical evidence of the condition's earlier severity. See 38 CFR § 3.310 and VA's evidence guidance. A combined-rating calculation cannot establish a medical nexus.
Sleep apnea secondary to back injuries
The same evidence distinction applies when a claim involves an orthopedic or back condition. Two diagnoses occurring together do not establish causation. Identify the relationship claimed and the medical records or opinion addressing it, including aggravation if that is the issue.
Example: 50% Sleep Apnea and 70% PTSD Combined
This example assumes no dependents, no bilateral factor, and no adjustments outside regular compensation. It illustrates the math, not eligibility for either condition.
Evidence needed for a sleep apnea claim
- Diagnostic evidence: the sleep-study report and clinician's assessment of the condition.
- Treatment records: any device prescription and notes explaining why breathing assistance is required.
- Service-connection evidence: records, statements, and medical explanations relevant to direct service connection or the claimed secondary relationship.
- Decision and examination records: the letter, favorable findings, evidence list, and relevant examination report if VA has already decided the claim.
A post-service diagnosis does not decide the service-connection question by itself. Organize evidence around the claim issue rather than assuming an in-service diagnosis or a particular purchased letter is required in every case. Use the DBQ directory, forms directory, and C-file request guide to locate relevant documents.
What If VA Denied Your Sleep Apnea Claim?
Separate the issue VA decided: diagnosis, connection to service, required treatment, or the combined-rating calculation. Compare the stated reasons with the favorable findings and evidence list. Simply changing a claim to a secondary theory does not supply the missing evidence.
Check the decision date and VA's review options. Our denial guide explains where to start, and an accredited VSO can help you prepare questions and records.
Estimate Your 2026 VA Pay
Enter all assigned individual ratings in the VA disability calculator and compare the 2026 compensation chart. The calculator uses current monthly rates, not a historical back-pay calculation.
Frequently asked questions
A stand-alone 50% rating pays $1,132.90 per month for a veteran alone, or $1,241.90 with a spouse and no children or dependent parents. Other ratings and eligible dependents can change the total payment.
No. The current 50% criterion concerns a required breathing-assistance device such as CPAP. VA must also establish service connection and evaluate the medical evidence. Owning a machine alone does not establish those requirements.
Yes. The current DC 6847 device criterion is about required treatment, not just how you feel while using it. An individual evaluation depends on the documented treatment need and the full record.
The published DC 6847 schedule checked October 24, 2026 lists 0%, 30%, 50%, and 100%. Each level has its own criteria; the calculator models percentages you enter rather than assigning a medical rating.
An AHI score helps describe the sleep-study findings, but DC 6847 does not use AHI bands alone to assign a percentage. The current criteria also address symptoms, required breathing assistance, and severe respiratory findings.
If these are separately assigned ratings, VA Table I combines them to 85%, which rounds to a final 90% rating. This arithmetic does not establish that one condition caused the other.
A secondary claim requires evidence addressing whether a service-connected condition caused or aggravated sleep apnea. Having both diagnoses does not automatically establish the connection.
Do not assume these percentages can be combined separately. Section 4.96(a) generally provides one evaluation for the predominant disability among these coexisting respiratory conditions, with possible elevation when the overall severity warrants it.
A post-service diagnosis does not by itself establish or rule out service connection. VA evaluates evidence linking the condition to service or to an existing service-connected disability.
This page uses the published DC 6847 criteria checked October 24, 2026. Proposed-rule announcements are not themselves effective rating criteria. Check the published regulation and any applicable effective date.
No. It estimates current monthly U.S. VA disability compensation. A retroactive award depends on the effective date, historical rates, payment period, and individual award details.
Read the reasons, favorable findings, decision date, and evidence list. Identify whether VA disputed the diagnosis, service connection, rating criteria, or calculation. An accredited representative can help review the available options.