Plain-language guidance on filing, the Disability Benefits Questionnaire, and C&P exam prep — plus a tool that checks your exam for the gaps that quietly lower a rating.
162,407 veterans were newly rated for limitation of knee flexion in FY2025 — the second most common first-time VA disability claim in the country. (VA Annual Benefits Report, FY2025)
VA's examination forms tell the examiner exactly what to measure and how. Most veterans never see one until a decision letter arrives that doesn't match the condition they live with. These are real instructions, printed on current forms:
“If undamaged, range of motion testing must be conducted.”
Your good ankle gets measured too — the comparison is part of what makes the exam adequate.
“Prostrating means causing extreme exhaustion, powerlessness, debilitation or incapacitation…”
Every tier of the migraine rating turns on that one word — and VA defines it right there.
“When nerve impairment is wholly sensory, the evaluation should be mild, or at most, moderate.”
An exam that records only numbness and pain is capped — by regulation, not by doubt.
One unanswered question is often the whole difference. A shoulder exam that never records pain on motion can mean 0% instead of 20%. A migraine exam that leaves the second frequency question blank caps the rating at 30%. Nobody acted in bad faith — a short appointment and a stoic veteran produce that result honestly.
This site exists so you know what the form asks before you sit down in front of it.
Lock in your effective date with an Intent to File, then file your 526EZ inside the one-year window.
Know exactly what your DBQ measures — and why it drives your rating more than anything else.
Walk into your C&P exam knowing what gets tested and what not to underreport.
Run your completed DBQ through the Decoder to catch the gaps that quietly lower a rating.
Six conditions are covered in full: knee, shoulder and arm, ankle, migraine, tinnitus, and sciatic nerve. More of the most common first-time claims are on the way.
Everything here is free. FindADBQ does not file claims, does not represent veterans, does not ask for a power of attorney, and has nothing to sell. It is written by a VA-accredited claims agent and former VA rating specialist who spent years on the deciding side of these claims. More about who writes this.