Social Anxiety Disorder / Specific Phobia
DC 9403 §4.130 Mental Health ICD-10: F40.10 Direct
Intense fear of social situations or specific phobic triggers. Same rating formula as PTSD.
VA rating criteria
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 100% | Total occupational and social impairment. 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 own name, occupation, or names of close relatives. |
| 70% | Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas. Suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals; illogical/obscure/irrelevant speech; near-continuous panic or depression; impaired impulse control; spatial disorientation; neglect of personal hygiene; difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances; inability to establish/maintain effective relationships. |
| 50% | Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. Flattened affect; circumstantial/circumlocutory/stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once weekly; difficulty understanding complex commands; impairment of short and long-term memory; impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation/mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. |
| 30% | Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks. Depressed mood; anxiety; suspiciousness; panic attacks (weekly or less); chronic sleep impairment; mild memory loss. |
| 10% | Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. |
| 0% | A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough to interfere with occupational/social functioning or to require continuous medication. |
Filing this claim
This is typically filed as a direct service connection claim. You need a current diagnosis, evidence of in-service event or exposure, and a nexus letter linking them. Use the letter generators to draft your nexus letter and Statement in Support of Claim.
Step by step
- File an Intent to File (Form 21-0966) to lock your effective date.
- Confirm you have a current medical diagnosis in a medical record.
- Get a nexus letter — magic phrase: "at least as likely as not."
- Write a Statement in Support of Claim (21-4138).
- If applicable, gather buddy statements (21-10210).
- File the formal 21-526EZ.
Source: 38 CFR §4.130. For exact regulatory language, consult eCFR Title 38. This is general education — for your specific case, consult a VA-accredited representative.