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Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease
Diagnostic code 9312 · Mental disorders · 38 CFR 4.130
VA has proposed changing these rules
The proposal (87 FR 8498, published February 15, 2022) is not in effect. The rules on this page still apply until VA publishes a final rule.
Read the proposal in the Federal RegisterRating criteria: the exact regulation text
Quoted from 38 CFR 4.130. The "Rating" column is the percentage VA assigns for that level.
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| 9312 Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease |
General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders
A note in the same section of the regulation says which codes use this formula.
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| 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; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. | 100 |
| Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. | 70 |
| Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. | 50 |
| Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events). | 30 |
| Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication. | 10 |
| 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. | 0 |
Notes for the whole table
The nomenclature employed in this portion of the rating schedule is based upon the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) (see § 4.125 for availability information). Rating agencies must be thoroughly familiar with this manual to properly implement the directives in § 4.125 through § 4.129 and to apply the general rating formula for mental disorders in § 4.130. The schedule for rating for mental disorders is set forth as follows:
The VA exam form for this condition
VA examiners record their findings on a Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ). Reading it shows you what the exam will measure and ask.
Rules that apply to this body system
- § 4.125 Diagnosis of mental disorders
- § 4.126 Evaluation of disability from mental disorders
- § 4.127 Intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) and personality disorders
- § 4.128 Convalescence ratings following extended hospitalization
- § 4.129 Mental disorders due to traumatic stress
- § 4.25 Combined ratings table
- § 4.26 Bilateral factor
- § 4.27 Use of diagnostic code numbers
- § 4.14 Avoidance of pyramiding
Where this comes from
38 CFR 4.130, VA's Schedule for Rating Disabilities, from the official eCFR.
Regulation text current as of October 16, 2026.
Change history for this code (38 CFR Part 4, Appendix A): Added March 10, 1976; criterion February 3, 1988; criterion November 7, 1996; Title August 4, 2014.
Read it on eCFR.govInformation, not advice
This page shows the text of VA's rating regulation for information. It is not a rating estimate, and it is not legal or medical advice. VA decides every rating on the evidence in your file.
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