One of the questions I get asked all the time is “Brian, do you have any VA C&P Exam tips?”
Yes, I do have 7 compensation and pension exam tips that I’m sharing with you in this post.
Hi Veterans, Brian Reese here, Air Force service disabled veteran, VA claim expert, and founder at VA Claims Insider and Military Disability Made Easy.
Veterans can use these C&P exam tips to help prepare for their VA comp and pen exams.
Top 7 C&P Exam Tips
- Tip #1. Read through your military, VA, and private medical records
- Tip #2. Review CFR, Title 38, Part 4, Schedule for Rating Disabilities
- Tip #3. Do not have your best day
- Tip #4. Be uncomfortably vulnerable
- Tip #5. Explain how your disabilities are limiting your work, life, and social functioning
- Tip #6. Know your true story cold as well as any in-service stressor events
- Tip #7. Give the C&P examiner a detailed picture of your life before, during, and after service
WATCH: 7 SECRET C&P Exam Tips Revealed and Explained!
You might also like my post called >>
Okay, let’s explore in detail, the Top 7 Ways to Prepare for Your VA C&P Examination.
The VACompensation and Pension exam, also known as a C&P exam is the #1 mostimportant day in the entire VA claim process.
A veterancan do everything else right, but if you miss your VA C&P exam or worse,get a bad C&P exam, the results can literally make or break your final VArating.
It’s shameful I know; however, the sad reality is that the VA Rater, also known as the RVSR will rely almost solely on the exam notes from the C&P examiner.
Don’t worrythough, even if you have a terrible C and P exam, there is still hope and youcan fight it!
How to Prepare for Your Compensation and Pension (C&P) Exam
C&P Exam Tip #1: Read through your military, VA, and private medical records
Read throughyour medical records in detail prior to your C&P exam.
There is nosubstitute for knowing what’s in your service treatment records, VA medicalrecords, or any private medical records.
Do you havea medical diagnosis of the disability you’re claiming?
Do you haveany subjective symptoms of your disability in your service treatment records?
Is there alogical link or connection between your current disability and your active dutymilitary service? Be prepared to talk about this at your C&P exam.
When didyour symptoms of the disability begin? Did they start on active duty or afteryou left the service?
Do you havecurrent symptoms of the disability into the present day? If yes, how severe arethose symptoms?
C&P Tips #2: Review eCFR, Title 38, Part 4, Schedule for Rating Disabilities
38 CFR Part 4 Schedule for Rating Disabilities is the law that governs all VA disability claims.
Did you know the complete VA disability claims list contains more than 830 ratable disabilities under the law?
>> Get My FREEeBook for Veterans: “The Secret Guide to 833 Ratable VA Disabilities” <<
Veteransshould review the general schedule prior to their C&P exam, which will helpyou understand how your current symptoms and keywords tie to a specific ratingunder the law.
For example, if you’re filing a claim for PTSD, you’ll want to review the PTSD rating scale to determine your approximate VA rating for PTSD based upon your severity of symptoms.
C and P Exam Tip #3: Do NOT have your best day
This doesNOT mean you should lie or stretch the truth.
This meansthat you need to tell the C&P examiner how you are on your very worst days.
Remember thatthe VA C&P exam is a snapshot in time of how you’re doing on ONE particularday.
If you’rehaving a good day, but this is unusual for you, make sure to explain to the compand pen examiner how you normally are on your worst days.
For example,if your back pain is so severe that you often can’t get out of bed in themorning without help or you wear a back brace, make sure to tell the C&Pexaminer in detail.
Compensation and Pension Exam Tip #4: Be UNCOMFORTABLY VULNERABLE
This meansthat if it’s uncomfortable for you to say to a C&P examiner who you justmet; you need to say it!
For example,nobody wants to talk about their sexual dysfunction, and that’s exactly why youneed to talk about it.
Tell the C&P examiner about the severity of your VA Erectile Dysfunction (ED) and how it’s hurting your relationship with your spouse.
If you’re abusingalcohol because of your severe anxiety and insomnia, you must tell the examinerbecause you’re helping explain the severity of your mental health symptoms.
C&P Exam Strategy #5: Explain “HOW” your disabilities are limiting your work, life, and social functioning
VA claims for all mental health conditions come down to your current level of “Occupational and Social Impairment.”
How is your severe PTSD affecting your work, life, and social functioning?
VA claims for other conditions are all about (1) Limitation of Range of Motion and (2) Pain Level.
Make the examiner STOP as soon as you feel pain.
If you can’tbend over to touch your toes, don’t do it!
If you’reunable to move your knee to your chest, don’t let the examiner move you!
Be preparedto discuss how your disability is limiting and affecting your work, life, andsocial functioning.
For example, you can say things like, “My PTSD is so severe that I had an angry outburst at my boss last week and got written up for it.”
Another example is, “My plantar fasciitis is causing me so much heal pain that I can longer run, or workout, and I’ve gained 20 pounds in the past 3 months. In fact, it’s difficult to walk without my brace.”
C&P Exam Prep #6: Know your true story cold as well as any in-service stressor events
Know yourtrue story cold and the potential in-service stressors (or otherservice-connected disability) that caused or made your disability worse and beprepared to discuss the incident in detail with the C and P examiner.
Mostveterans don’t have specific incidents well documented, so make sure to discussthe approximate month and year of when your disability symptoms began.
You may want to include a VA Buddy Letter to help explain and corroborate your story, which will help prove the Nexus requirement for service connection.
For example,“I was sexually assaulted by my boss on a Navy ship in October 1987. I nevertold anyone about this incident as I feared for my life and career.”
C and P Exam Hack #7: Give the C&P examiner a detailed picture of your life before, during, and after service
You must beprepared to talk about your life in detail.
Where didyou grow up and what was your life like before joining the military?
What did youdo on active duty and did you have any specific job requirements?
Did youdeploy to a combat zone or other austere location?
What happenedafter you left active duty service?
Make sureyou’ve given the C&P examiner a detailed picture of your life and how themilitary either caused or made your disability condition worse.
If you canmake the C and P examiner feel something, they’ll be able to relate to yourstory, which will help them make the proper analysis regarding the severity ofyour disability.
VA C&P Exam – Frequently Asked Questions
What is a VA C&P Exam?
After youfile a VA disability claim, chances are, you’ll be contacted and scheduled forone or more C&P exams by one of the following:
1. VA doctorwho works for the VA
2.Contracted doctor who works for a private contracted company
Why do I need a C and P Exam?
The C&P examhelps the VA Rater (RVSR) rate your disability claim.
Your finalVA rating will be based on the severity of your symptoms and will affect howmuch disability compensation you receive.
There are 5primary reasons why veterans get a VA c and p exam:
1.Independent medical evaluation by a doctor.
2. Make orconfirm a medical diagnosis of a disability.
3. Determinethe approximate timeframe of when the veteran’s symptoms began.
4. Determinehow bad the veteran’s symptoms of the disability are on C&P exam day.
5. Try todecipher if the veteran is telling the truth.
Does everyone who files a VA claim need to have a VA disability claim exam?
No, not allveterans need a VA C&P exam.
If you haveenough medical evidence in your file to support your claim, the VA might notneed to schedule a C&P exam.
Medical evidence may include Disability Benefit Questionnaire (DBQ) reviews, Medical Nexus Letters, doctor visits and hospital reports, test results, and other documents.
This is whywe talk a lot about the importance of medical evidence in your VA disabilityclaims strategy!
What is the VA wait time after C&P exam?
Depending onthe VA Regional Office, veterans can normally expect a rating decision within2-3 weeks after their last VA C&P exam.
The total VAclaim process, which consists of 8-steps, usually takes about 3 months or 90days from start to finish.
However,your claim may take longer depending upon the complexity of your disabilities andthe among of information the VA Rater needs to review.
If you want your VA claim to move faster, here’s a tip: STOP uploading new information AFTER you’ve already submitted your claim.
If you keepuploading more information after claim submission, the VSR and RVSR stop andreview the new information, which can delay your VA rating decision.
How do I get a copy C&P exam results?
If your VA comp and pen exam was conducted by a VA doctor at a VA facility, your exam results will flow into your Blue Button Report on MyHealtheVet within 24-48 hours of the exam.
Veterans can also make a written request to the VA Regional Office (VARO) in your state to request a complete copy of your outpatient medical records, to include C&P exam results.
If your VAC&P exam was conducted by a private medical provider at a private facility,your exam results will NOT flow into your VA medical records.
The fastestway to get a copy of your C and P exam results from a private provider is toask your VSO to login into the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) andprint out a copy for you.
If you don’t have a VSO or designated representative, you can file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the VA Regional Office in your state and ask for a complete copy of your VA Claims File, also known as your VA C-File.
The downsideis a FOIA request usually takes some time to process.
You can alsocall the VA hotline at 1-800-827-1000 and speak to a representative.
We also recommend calling the White House VA Hotline to request a complete copy of your C&P exam results.
How will I know if I got a favorable C&P exam?
A favorable C&P exam will contain a “Nexus” statement, which at a minimum should state, “at least as likely as not” due to a veteran’s military service or another service-connected disability for secondary service connection.
If you see anystatement such as “less likely” or “not likely” this is a signal that you hadan unfavorable VA exam and could be denied VA disability benefits.
What should I do if I had a bad C&P exam?
1. Immediately call 1-800-827-1000, speak to a representative from the VA, complain, and ask him/her to make a note in your record.
2. Write a Memorandum of Fecord (MFR) and upload it to eBenefits or VA.gov immediately after your bad c and p exam (Stick to the facts: Who, what, when, where, why, how)
3. Consider writing your State Congressman or Senator
To see a more in-depth look at this topic, please watch my full YouTube video below called “Bad C&P Exam Now What?”
Let’s focuson the information you will need to include when composing the Memorandum ofRecord.
It needs tobe very direct and to the point.
Start withyour information; include your condition you are being evaluated for.
Include thetime, date and name of the C&P examiner who conducted the exam.
In the bodyof the text, you will want to keep it straight, and to the point, you canpresent it in a bulleted list format to keep the information organized.
List all theareas you feel could have been handled differently and better.
This can include;demeanor, facial expressions, dismissiveness, topics that were not pertainingto your condition, length of time, the preparedness of the examiner, reviewingof the documents you have provided for review, etc.
Once again,be specific and to the point.
Close thereport with a request, be polite and accurate as to what you would like theresult to be.
You can request a new exam; you can request the private DBQ and/or Nexus be used in place of the exam for the VA Rater to consider instead or ask that this exam be thrown out.
Remember itis our duty to fight back if we have a bad C&P examiner, and not just foryourself, but for the other Veterans who may see this individual.
Do you have any PTSD C&P exam tips?
Yes! Please see my post called
You can also watch this video C&P Exam for PTSD SECRETS *LIVE* with Brian Reese VA Claims Insider:
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About the Author
Brian Reese
Brian Reese is one of the top VA disability benefits experts in the world and bestselling author of You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned (Second Edition).
Brian’s frustration with the VA claim process led him to create VA Claims Insider, which provides disabled veterans with tips, strategies, and lessons learned to win their VA disability compensation claim, faster, even if they’ve already filed, been denied, gave up, or don’t know where to start.
As the founder of VA Claims Insider and CEO of Military Disability Made Easy, he has helped serve more than 10 million military members and veterans since 2013 through free online educational resources.
He is aformer active duty Air Force officerwith extensive experience leading hundreds of individuals and multi-functional teams in challenging international environments, including a combat tour to Afghanistan in 2011 supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Brian is a Distinguished Graduate of Management from theUnited States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, and he holds an MBA from Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business, Stillwater, OK, where he was a National Honor Scholar (Top 1% of Graduate School class).
