Do I need to create an account to use the C&P Exam Prep Guides?

No. All 41 guides are free and public at /tools/cp-exam-prep. No login, no email, no paywall. The guides are built for veterans who are walking into an exam next week and need real information today.

Will this help me get a higher rating?

That is not the goal. The goal is an accurate rating. Each guide helps you describe what you actually experience in terms the examiner's DBQ is designed to capture. If your condition is severe, accurate reporting reflects that. If it is mild, accurate reporting reflects that too. Examiners are trained to spot inconsistency, so exaggeration tends to hurt claims rather than help them.

Where does the guide content come from?

Each guide is generated against the publicly available 38 CFR rating schedule, the VA's published DBQ forms, and relevant M21-1 manual sections using AWS Bedrock with a knowledge base we maintain. A human reviews each guide before publish. When CFR or DBQ versions change, we update.

What if my condition is not in the 41 covered today?

We started with the most frequently claimed conditions. More guides are rolling out. If you do not see yours, the general C&P exam preparation guide still applies, and the DBQ explainer will help you read whatever form your examiner brings.

Is this a substitute for a VSO or attorney?

No. The guides are preparation, not representation. A Veterans Service Officer or VA-accredited attorney can review your specific file, raise issues you did not know to claim, and argue errors after the fact. Use the guides to walk in prepared; use a representative for strategy.

C&P Exam Prep Guides: 41 Free, Condition-Specific Walkthroughs

What changed today

If you have a Compensation and Pension exam coming up, you can now read the exact Disability Benefits Questionnaire your examiner is likely to complete, what will be measured, and how the 38 CFR rating brackets work for your specific condition, before you walk in. Free. No account. Forty-one conditions at launch.

The tool lives at /tools/cp-exam-prep. Each guide is self-contained: pick your condition, read, go to your exam.

This matters because most veterans show up to a C&P exam having read generic advice. They know to be honest. They know not to exaggerate. What they do not know is that the examiner will measure thoracolumbar flexion in degrees, or count prostrating migraine attacks over the prior twelve months, or ask about specific occupational and social impairment clusters that map directly to 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100% brackets. The gap between "tell the truth" and "describe what is being measured, using the words the form is designed to capture" is the gap these guides close.

Why condition-specific beats generic

Generic exam advice says: arrive early, bring meds, be honest, be specific. That is all true. It is also not enough on its own.

A veteran preparing for a PTSD C&P exam needs to understand that the examiner is looking at occupational and social impairment ranges, not just symptom count. "Sometimes I get angry" is less useful than "about three times a month I lose my temper in a way that ended a job in 2024." One is a feeling; the other is functional impact at a level the DBQ can score.

A veteran preparing for a lumbar spine exam needs to know that flexion to 60 degrees is a different rating tier than flexion to 30 degrees, and that the examiner will test range of motion after repetitive use. If your exam lands on a good day, you can volunteer flare context accurately.

A veteran preparing for a migraine exam needs to know what "prostrating" means in VA rating language, and why a headache log from a neurologist tends to be more persuasive than self-report alone.

Every one of the 41 guides is built around that specificity. Each one tells you:

Which DBQ the examiner will likely use, by form number
What gets measured, tested, or observed (ranges of motion, METs, PHQ-9, speech recognition scores, whatever applies)
The 38 CFR rating criteria, broken out by level, in plain English
How to describe your symptoms accurately, with example phrasing
Common mistakes veterans make in that specific exam type

Who this is for

If you are a veteran with a scheduled exam, this is for you. If you are helping a family member prepare, this is for you. If you are a VSO or rep looking for a shareable prep link to send clients, this is for you.

You do not need an account. You do not need to pay. You do not need to give us an email. The guides render as static pages. Open one, read it, walk into your exam.

If you find the guide useful and want deeper help, the rest of the VA Rating Assistant platform (document uploads, rating calculator, autofill) is where the paid product lives. The prep guides stay free.

What makes this different from what is already out there

Most C&P prep content online falls into three buckets. Generic blog posts written once and rarely updated. Paid coaching calls, often expensive, often well-intentioned, sometimes not. Chatbots that guess at rating criteria with no underlying data layer.

None of those have what we built underneath: a structured DBQ data layer mapped to the CFR rating schedule, plus condition-specific measurement context. That is the piece that lets a guide say "the examiner will measure forward flexion in degrees, and the brackets are 85+, 60–85, 30–60, less than 30" rather than "they will test your back."

It is also the piece that lets us keep guides current as forms change. When a DBQ gets updated or a CFR diagnostic code is revised, the data updates and the affected guides regenerate, with a human review before publish.

The conditions covered today

Forty-one guides are live now, including the most frequently claimed VA conditions: PTSD, sleep apnea, lumbar spine, cervical spine, hearing loss, tinnitus, migraines, GERD, depression, anxiety, hypertension, diabetes, traumatic brain injury, knee conditions, shoulder conditions, plantar fasciitis, and more. If you have a list of conditions on your claim, odds are several of them are already covered.

More are rolling out. If yours is not in the set yet, start with the general C&P exam preparation guide and the DBQ explainer. Both cover the shape of the exam even when we do not have condition-specific coverage.

A note on the ethics of "prep"

These guides are preparation, not coaching. We do not tell veterans how to get a higher rating. We tell them how to describe what they actually experience in terms the DBQ is designed to capture.

Examiners are trained to detect inconsistency between self-report, medical records, and observable behavior. Veterans who exaggerate tend to end up with weaker outcomes, not stronger ones. Veterans who minimize get underrated constantly, and in our experience that is the more common failure mode. A lot of veterans are trained out of complaining and push through, then understate symptoms in a ten-minute exam that sets a rating for years. Accurate reporting means accurate reporting in both directions.

How to use a guide this week

Pick the condition you have an exam scheduled for. Read the whole guide. Write down three to five bullet points that describe your worst week, your typical week, and a specific example of functional impact. Bring that list.

At the exam, answer the questions you are asked, honestly. If the examiner does not ask about flares, and flares are relevant to your condition, volunteer that context. If you do not remember something, say so. Do not guess at dates or units.

After the exam, request a copy of the report when it is in your file. Check it for factual errors. If something is clearly wrong, a VSO or accredited rep can help you file a clarifying statement.

Where to go next

Browse all 41 guides at /tools/cp-exam-prep
Read a specific example: the PTSD guide
Understand the form itself: what is a DBQ
If you have multiple conditions, plan combined ratings with the calculator
Broader exam prep: C&P exam preparation

Legal disclaimer

This information is for educational purposes only and is not legal or medical advice. Rating criteria are summarized from publicly available 38 CFR regulations and VA-published DBQ forms. The guides are preparation guidance, not coaching on how to get a higher rating. Never exaggerate, minimize, or fabricate symptoms at a C&P exam; VA examiners are trained to detect inconsistency, and accuracy protects both your credibility and your long-term rating. For advice on your specific claim, consult a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) or VA-accredited attorney.

This information is for educational purposes only and is not legal or medical advice. Rating criteria are summarized from publicly available 38 CFR regulations. Consult a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) or VA-accredited attorney for advice on your specific claim.