New VA Neurological Disability Rating Rules: What’s Proposed for 2026

• The VA has proposed updating how it rates neurological conditions and convulsive disorders — including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and peripheral neuropathy — for the first time in decades.
• The proposal (RIN 2900-AQ73), published in the Federal Register in November 2024, is still pending. VA has testified it aims to finalize it by the end of fiscal year 2026 — September 30 — but that is an agency target, not a deadline.
• If finalized, existing neurological ratings are expected to be protected from reduction based on the rule change alone.
• The proposal adds a dedicated rating system for movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and essential tremor.
• This is one of four remaining VASRD body systems still in proposed-rule status — the others are mental disorders, respiratory conditions, and ear conditions.
• Until a final rule takes effect, your neurological condition is still rated under the current criteria in 38 CFR §§ 4.120–4.124a.

• What’s Changing in How the VA Rates Neurological Conditions
• Which Conditions Are Affected
• Where the Proposed Rule Stands Now
• What This Means If You’re Already Rated
• How to Prepare While the Rule Is Pending
• Other VASRD Changes Moving at the Same Time
• Frequently Asked Questions

No, the VA has not finalized new rules for rating neurological conditions — but it has proposed them, and they could take effect within the next year. The proposal would update how the VA rates conditions like epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and peripheral neuropathy for the first time in decades.

This article is for veterans currently rated for a neurological condition, and the family members helping them track what a rating change would mean.

What’s Changing in How the VA Rates Neurological Conditions

The VA has proposed the first major update to how it rates neurological conditions and convulsive disorders since the schedule’s medical terminology and diagnostic codes were last revised. Published in the Federal Register on November 12, 2024 (RIN 2900-AQ73), the proposal would update outdated medical terms, add diagnostic codes for conditions the current schedule does not clearly cover, and refine evaluation criteria to reflect a more current medical understanding of how these conditions affect daily functioning.

Which Conditions Are Affected

The neurological body system covers conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, and peripheral nerves — epilepsy and other convulsive disorders, Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, peripheral neuropathy, and migraine among them. One of the more significant proposed additions is a dedicated rating system for movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and essential tremor, replacing criteria that were not built with these conditions specifically in mind. Understanding VA Neurological Disability Ratings covers how these conditions are rated under the current, still-active criteria.

Where the Proposed Rule Stands Now

As of September 2026, this rule remains proposed, not final. In January 2026 congressional testimony, VA officials said the department aims to publish final rules for all four of its remaining VASRD body systems — mental disorders, respiratory conditions, ear conditions, and neurological and convulsive disorders — across three separate rulemakings by the end of fiscal year 2026, which ends September 30. That is an agency timetable, not a legal deadline, and it does not guarantee the final criteria will match what was proposed in 2024. 2026 VA Disability Rating Changes tracks what has actually moved across the disability schedule this year, alongside this and the VA’s other pending updates.

What This Means If You’re Already Rated

If you already have a rating for a neurological condition, nothing changes until a final rule is published and takes effect. VA’s general practice with rating schedule updates is to protect existing ratings from reduction based on the new criteria alone — you would need to show an actual improvement in your condition, not just a change in how it is measured, before a rating drops. If the new rule does take effect while your claim is pending, VA is expected to apply whichever version, current or updated, produces the more favorable result for you.

How to Prepare While the Rule Is Pending

There is nothing to file because of this proposal specifically — it is not final, and there is no new form or application tied to it. What is worth doing now: keep your neurological treatment records current, and if your condition has worsened since your last rating, you do not need to wait for the new rule to file a claim for an increase under the current criteria.

Other VASRD Changes Moving at the Same Time

This is one of four VASRD body systems still in proposed-rule status. New VA Mental Health Rating Criteria covers the parallel proposal for how PTSD, depression, and other mental health conditions are rated, and Obesity as a VA Disability covers a separate, court-driven change to how obesity factors into a claim. Between new rulemakings and new case law, the rating schedule is moving on several fronts at once this year.

Frequently Asked Questions

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