How does the VA rate sleep apnea?

The VA rates sleep apnea at 0%, 30%, 50%, or 100% under 38 CFR 4.97, diagnostic code 6847. Under the current rules, needing a breathing-assistance device such as a CPAP machine for your service-connected sleep apnea generally means a 50% rating.

The rating levels for sleep apnea (DC 6847)

Sleep apnea (obstructive, central, or mixed) is rated under the respiratory schedule as follows ¹:

• 100% — Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention, cor pulmonale (right-heart strain caused by lung disease), or a condition that requires a tracheostomy. ¹
• 50% — Requires the use of a breathing-assistance device, such as a CPAP machine. ¹
• 30% — Persistent daytime hypersomnolence (ongoing excessive daytime sleepiness). ¹
• 0% — Documented sleep-disordered breathing, but asymptomatic. ¹

There is no 10%, 20%, or 40% level for sleep apnea. It goes 0, 30, 50, then 100.

The CPAP rule: why a prescription usually means 50%

The most common outcome for veterans is the 50% level, because it applies when a breathing-assistance device is required to treat the condition. ¹ Two points veterans often get wrong:

• The device has to be medically required — a CPAP the VA recognizes you need, not simply one you bought on your own.
• The rating is tied to the device being required, not to how many hours a night you use it. Your compliance data is not what sets the rating under the current criteria.

A 50% rating pays $1,132.90 per month in 2026 for a veteran with no dependents, tax-free, and more with a spouse or children.

How sleep apnea must be diagnosed

Sleep apnea must be diagnosed with a sleep study (polysomnogram); the examiner reviews that study when evaluating the claim. ² If you also have a comorbid service-connected condition that requires pulmonary function testing (such as asthma), that testing must be completed as well. ² Note that upper airway resistance syndrome is not the same as sleep apnea and is not itself a ratable disability. ²

The secondary claim most veterans miss

Many veterans develop sleep apnea because of another condition they are already rated for. When that happens, you can file sleep apnea as a secondary condition, and it receives its own rating on top of your existing ones. ³ Common pathways include sleep apnea secondary to PTSD (including weight gain from medication), GERD, or chronic sinusitis. ³

A secondary claim requires three things: a current diagnosis of sleep apnea, a primary condition that is already service-connected, and a medical nexus opinion linking the two. ³ Having both conditions is not enough on its own — the nexus is what wins it. ³

A proposed change (not in effect)

The VA has proposed changing how sleep apnea is rated so that the 50% level would no longer be tied simply to CPAP use, and would instead depend on how well treatment works. As of 2026 this is only a proposal — it has not been finalized and has no effective date, so the current criteria above still apply. Veterans who already hold a rating are expected to be grandfathered if the rule ever changes. File under the rules that exist today.