Mental Health
MST & Personal Assault
Military Sexual Trauma claims and the markers rule under §3.304(f)(5)
Military Sexual Trauma claims do not require a police report. The regulation expressly allows alternative evidence — behavioral markers — to corroborate an assault.
What MST & Personal Assault Really Is
Military Sexual Trauma is not itself a diagnosis — it is an experience. What gets rated is the psychiatric condition that followed it, most often PTSD, depression, or an anxiety disorder.
What it actually means
Military Sexual Trauma is not itself a diagnosis — it is an experience. What gets rated is the psychiatric condition that followed it, most often PTSD, depression, or an anxiety disorder.
What the VA measures
Occupational and social impairment under the General Rating Formula in 38 CFR §4.130. The assault establishes the stressor; the impairment sets the percentage.
Why claims get missed
Veterans assume the claim dies without a report. §3.304(f)(5) was written specifically because these assaults go unreported, and it accepts behavioral markers instead.
What in Your Service Causes MST & Personal Assault
Service connection is not a feeling, it is a chain of evidence. These are the pathways the VA already recognises. Find yours, then make sure your file says it out loud.
Assault by someone in your chain of command
The most common reason an assault goes unreported. Retaliation risk, a hostile command climate, and career consequences are recognized in the regulation, not held against you.
Assault during training or a first duty station
Isolation, rank disparity, and dependence on the same people you would have to report to are documented barriers, and the markers left in your record are often the strongest evidence.
Sexual harassment escalating over time
Repeated harassment is itself a qualifying stressor. Requests for transfer and sudden performance declines corroborate it even with no single reportable incident.
Assault by a fellow service member off duty
The regulation does not require that the assault occurred on duty or on base — only that it occurred during service.
You Do Not Need a Report You Never Filed
The single biggest myth about MST claims is that you needed to report the assault at the time. Section 3.304(f)(5) explicitly recognizes that assaults often go unreported and permits evidence from sources other than service records to corroborate the stressor. These are called markers.
What Counts as a Marker
Requests for transfer or a sudden unit change
A decline in performance evaluations
Increased use of leave or sick call
Substance use beginning after the event
Relationship problems, anxiety, or depression onset
Statements from family, friends, or clergy told at the time
Handled With Care and Precision
These claims are sensitive and evidentiary at the same time. We identify markers in your record you may not realize are there, prepare a stressor statement that connects them, and make sure the C&P examiner has what they need to render a favorable opinion under the correct standard.
Establishing Service Connection
To establish service connection for a mental health condition, veterans must meet three criteria. First, there must be a current diagnosis. Second, there must be evidence of an in-service stressor or event that could have caused or aggravated it — combat, military sexual trauma, a traumatic event, or the documented conditions of service. Third, a nexus — a medical link — must connect the in-service event to the current condition.
Current psychiatric diagnosis consistent with the DSM-5
A verified in-service stressor or event (combat, MST, or other trauma)
Medical nexus linking the diagnosis to service ("at least as likely as not")
Service records, personnel records, and markers of behavioral change
Lay statements from family or fellow service members describing the change
Why Work With an Accredited Advocate
Veterans should seek the assistance of an Accredited VA Disability Advocate because we guide you through the complex claims process and ensure all necessary evidence is gathered and presented effectively. Our advocates are trained to identify and link service-related conditions, increasing the likelihood of a successful claim. We also provide personalized representation, helping veterans navigate appeals and secure the benefits they deserve. As a VA-Accredited Claims Agent, our fees are regulated under 38 CFR §14.636 — and there are no fees unless we win your appeal.
The Rating Schedule, Spelled Out
Mental health conditions are all rated under the same General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders in 38 CFR §4.130. The percentage is not driven by your diagnosis — it is driven by how much the condition impairs your work and social life. These are the actual criteria the VA measures your claim against.
A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.
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.
Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks, due to such symptoms as depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, weekly panic attacks, chronic sleep impairment, and mild memory loss.
Reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as flattened affect; circumstantial or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty understanding complex commands; impaired judgment and abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.
Deficiencies in most areas — work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood — due to such symptoms as suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals; near-continuous panic or depression; impaired impulse control; neglect of personal hygiene; and inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; disorientation to time or place; and memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.
Key Points to Remember
Rated under 38 CFR §4.130 on occupational and social impairment
The VA accepts "markers" — behavioral changes, transfers, or performance drops — to corroborate the stressor
Lay statements and post-service treatment records can establish an event the file never recorded
Do not minimize symptoms at the exam; the rating depends on the full picture
What to Expect at Your MST C&P Examination
Military sexual trauma claims are governed by a special evidentiary rule. Under 38 CFR §3.304(f)(5) the VA cannot deny a personal assault claim solely because the assault was never formally reported — it must consider alternative sources of evidence called markers, and it must give you notice that you may submit them. The examination is also entitled to a level of care other exams are not: you can request an examiner of a specific gender, and you should.
A written request, made in advance, for a same-gender examiner and for any accommodation you need — this request is routinely granted when it is made early.
A review of markers rather than an incident report: requests for transfer, sudden changes in performance evaluations, unexplained disciplinary action, changes in weight, new substance use, deterioration in work performance, pregnancy tests or STI testing, or a visit to a chaplain, rape crisis center or counselor.
Statements from family, friends, clergy or fellow service members you told at the time, which are competent evidence of the marker even when no report was filed.
A trauma-informed clinical interview and assessment against the DSM-5 criteria, with the option to pause or stop at any point.
Scoring of occupational and social impairment under the 38 CFR §4.130 General Rating Formula, exactly as in any mental disorder claim.
Assessment of comorbid conditions frequently seen with MST — depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance use, sexual dysfunction and chronic pain — each separately claimable.
A written medical opinion connecting the current diagnosis to the in-service markers, which is the piece that carries this type of claim.
What Happens Once the C&P Exam Is Complete
The examiner compiles a detailed report — your medical history, physical findings, and diagnostic results — and assesses the severity, symptoms, and impact of your condition. That report is sent to the VA Regional Office handling your claim and becomes part of your official file, reviewed alongside your other evidence.
The VA may send the report back for corrections, clarification, or a second opinion if it finds it incomplete or unclear. This can delay your claim, because the VA requires thorough and accurate information to decide. Your claim only moves to the decision phase once the VA is satisfied with the evidence — which is exactly why the quality of the file we build for you matters so much. Once decided, your effective date controls how far back your back pay reaches, and any denial can be challenged through a Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, or Board appeal.
The Advocate’s Take
MST survivors are routinely denied because nobody assembled the markers the regulation already allows. The evidence is usually there. It has to be found and framed.
Every Level the VA Can Assign You
These percentages come straight out of the rating schedule that governs mst & personal assault — Diagnostic Code 9411 / 9434 / 9400. Read them slowly. If your current rating does not match what your records actually show, that gap is exactly what an appeal exists to correct.
0%
A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.
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 medicati…
30%
Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks, due to such symptoms as depressed mood, anxiety, susp…
50%
Reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as flattened affect;
70%
Deficiencies in most areas — work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood — due to such symptoms as suicidal ideation;
100%
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as gross impairment in thought processes or communication;
Secondary Claims — Both Directions
Under 38 CFR §3.310, a condition caused or made worse by an already service-connected condition is itself service connected. That runs in both directions, and it is the single largest pool of unclaimed compensation in the system.
What mst & personal assault can cause
If this condition is already service connected, each of these is a separate claim you may be owed.
Chronic pelvic pain and gynecological conditions
Physical residuals of assault are separately ratable under 38 CFR §4.116.
Sleep apnea
Frequently connected as secondary to the psychiatric condition and to medication-driven weight change.
Substance use and gastrointestinal conditions
Both are recognized consequences of untreated trauma and are separately claimable when diagnosed.
A secondary claim still needs two things: a current diagnosis of the secondary condition, and a medical opinion saying it is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by the service-connected condition. You do not have to prove it happened in service.
Building a MST & Personal Assault Claim That Wins
Every claim stands on three legs. Knock one out and the claim falls over, no matter how bad your symptoms are. Before you file, look at your file and find all three.
A current diagnosis
A doctor has to say you have it, now, in writing. Not "reports symptoms of" — a diagnosis. Without this leg, nothing else in the file matters.
A link to your service
An event, an injury, an exposure, or an already service-connected condition. Service records, unit records, buddy statements, and your own account all count as evidence.
A nexus that ties the two together
A medical opinion stating it is at least as likely as not that your service caused or aggravated the condition. That phrase is a legal standard: 50 percent or better. It is the leg most denials break.
Document the problem before you file
• Keep a dated symptom log for at least 30 days. Frequency, severity, and what it stopped you from doing.
• Get statements from people who see it — a spouse, a coworker, a battle buddy. Lay evidence is legal evidence.
• Pull your private treatment records. The VA only has to help; it does not have to go find everything.
• Write down what you have stopped doing. Lost work, lost sleep, lost activities. That is what impairment looks like on paper.
Your Rights in This Process
It costs nothing to file
Filing a VA claim is free. Accredited representatives may only charge for work on an appeal after an initial decision, and those fees are capped by 38 CFR §14.636.
The VA has a Duty to Assist you
Under 38 CFR §3.159 the VA must help you get the evidence it needs, and it must tell you what is missing before it denies you for missing it.
You can ask for a different examiner
You may request a trauma-informed clinician, or a clinician of a specific gender, for a C&P examination. Ask before the exam is scheduled.
You can claim every condition you have
There is no limit and no penalty. Primary conditions, secondary conditions, and conditions made worse by service all get filed.
You can appeal and be re-evaluated
A denial is not the end. You may submit new evidence, request a higher-level review, appeal to the Board, and ask for re-evaluation when your condition worsens.
You must be considered for TDIU
If your service-connected conditions keep you from holding substantially gainful employment, you may be paid at the 100 percent rate without a 100 percent rating.
Questions Veterans Ask About MST & Personal Assault Claims
I never filed a report. Is my claim over?
No. 38 CFR §3.304(f)(5) exists because these assaults go unreported. It expressly permits evidence from sources other than service records — behavioral markers — to corroborate the stressor. A transfer request, a performance drop, increased sick call, substance use onset, or a statement from someone you told at the time can all carry it.
What counts as a marker?
Requests for transfer or a sudden unit change, a decline in performance evaluations, increased use of leave or sick call, substance use that began after the event, relationship breakdown, or the onset of anxiety and depression. We look for these in your personnel file, not just your medical record.
Can I ask for a female examiner?
Yes. You can request a same-gender examiner and a trauma-informed clinician for any exam connected to your claim, and you can have a support person with you. Ask before the exam is scheduled rather than on the day.
Will I have to describe the assault in detail?
The examiner needs enough to confirm the stressor supports the diagnosis. You do not owe anyone a narrative you cannot give. A written stressor statement prepared in advance lets you control what is said and how much you have to say out loud.
When You Are Ready to File
Talk to an accredited representative before you file. It costs nothing to ask, and the order you file in changes what the VA is allowed to award you. Albert L. Thombs Jr. is VA-Accredited Claims Agent #45147.
The application itself
This is the form that opens a disability compensation claim. List every condition you are claiming, and name the secondary conditions explicitly.
Release for private records
Authorises the VA to request records from your private doctors. Without it, treatment outside the VA may never reach your file.
Lay or buddy statement
The official form for your own statement and for statements from people who witnessed the event or the change in you.
Resources Worth Keeping
These are real, staffed VA lines. Tap to call from your phone.
Veterans Crisis Line
988
Then press 1. Text 838255. Available 24 hours a day, every day. You do not need to be enrolled in VA health care.
VA Benefits & Facility Line
1-800-827-1000
Claim status, general benefits questions, and help finding the right VA office.
Women Veterans Call Center
1-855-829-6636
Call or text. Staffed by women veterans who can connect you to services in your area.
Vet Centers
1-877-927-8387
Community-based counselling for combat veterans and their families. No VA enrollment required.
What This Rating Is Worth (2026)
| 10% | $180.42/mo |
| 20% | $356.66/mo |
| 30% | $552.47/mo |
| 40% | $795.84/mo |
| 50% | $1,132.90/mo |
| 60% | $1,435.02/mo |
| 70% | $1,808.45/mo |
| 80% | $2,102.15/mo |
| 90% | $2,362.30/mo |
| 100% | $3,938.58/mo |
Rates shown are the veteran-alone amounts effective December 1, 2025. A spouse, children, or dependent parents increase your payment at 30% and above. Every 10% you are under-rated can cost you thousands of dollars a year for the rest of your life.
Estimate Your Exact Pay
Veteran RepresentationYour VA Claim Exam: What to Expect
This official VBA video walks you through the entire C&P exam process. Understanding what happens in that room is the difference between a rating that reflects your true condition and one that undervalues you.
Veteran RepresentationWhat It Takes to Win These Benefits
The Three-Part Test
Service connection under 38 CFR §3.303 requires all three:
- 1A current, diagnosed disability
- 2An in-service event, injury, or exposure
- 3A medical nexus linking the two
Veteran RepresentationThe medical evidence the VA is actually looking for:
VA Claim Exams: Psychological
This exam is specific to your body system. The examiner uses a specialized DBQ for this category of conditions, and the tests they perform determine your exact rating level. Watch this before your appointment.
What to Expect at Your C&P Exam
Your Compensation & Pension (C&P) exam is not treatment. It is a rating tool. The examiner will not fix anything — they complete a Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) and check the boxes that decide your rating. What happens in that room can move your rating an entire level, so walk in prepared.
Veteran RepresentationThe Forms You File — We Prepare Them For You
These are the forms that drive this claim. Start any of them on our site and an accredited agent prepares and files it for you — correctly, the first time.
Application for Disability Compensation
The core application that opens or reopens your claim.
Start this with usStatement in Support of Claim
Your own account and buddy/lay statements that fill the gaps in your record.
Start this with usAppoint Us as Your Representative
Authorizes our accredited agent to act on your behalf with the VA.
Start this with usStatement for Mental Health Disorders
Documents the in-service stressor(s) behind PTSD, anxiety, depression, or MST.
Start this with usUnemployability (TDIU) Application
Claims 100% pay when your conditions keep you from working — even below 100%.
Start this with usDisability Benefits Questionnaire
The exam form that captures the severity criteria for this specific condition.
Start this with usSMC & TDIU — When Your Rating Isn't the Whole Story
TDIU — Paid at 100% Without a 100% Rating
Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (38 CFR §4.16) pays you at the 100% rate when your service-connected conditions prevent substantially gainful employment — even if your combined rating is lower. You may qualify if:
- One condition is rated 60% or higher, or
- Two+ conditions combine to 70% with at least one rated 40%, and
- Those conditions keep you from holding steady, gainful work.
- Cannot meet the numbers? Extraschedular TDIU under §4.16(b) may still apply.
Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)
SMC (38 CFR §3.350) pays above the normal schedule for especially serious losses — loss or loss of use of a body part, being housebound, or needing the aid and attendance of another person. Common levels:
- SMC-K — Loss / loss of use — Add-on for loss or loss of use of a specific body part (hand, foot, eye, reproductive organ, or certain other losses). Paid on top of your regular compensation. Can stack (up to the statutory cap).
- SMC-S — Housebound — Statutory housebound: a single 100% disability plus additional disabilities of 60%+, or substantially confined to your home. Veteran-alone rate shown.
- SMC-L — Aid & Attendance — You need the regular aid and attendance of another person, or have anatomical loss/loss of use of both feet, one hand and one foot, blindness, or are permanently bedridden. Veteran-alone rate shown.
- SMC-M — Higher Aid & Attendance — A higher level of aid and attendance (e.g., loss of use of both hands, or loss of use of both legs at a higher level). Veteran-alone rate shown.
These are the benefits veterans most often leave on the table because no one told them they qualified. If any of this sounds like your situation, call an accredited agent at 702-992-4883 — we screen for SMC and TDIU on every case.
Keep Reading
Talk to a VA-accredited claims agent about mst & personal assault
Albert L. Thombs Jr. is a US Army veteran, VA-Accredited Claims Agent #45147, and 100% service-connected himself. He personally reviews every request. Fees are capped by 38 CFR §14.636 — and there are no fees unless you win.
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