Sleep apnea is rated by the VA at four possible levels: 0%, 30%, 50%, or 100%. The most common rating is 50%, which applies to veterans who require a CPAP machine or similar breathing assistance device. Your specific rating depends on the severity of your symptoms and what treatment you need.
The Four Rating Levels
The VA uses Diagnostic Code 6847 to evaluate all types of sleep apnea, whether obstructive, central, or mixed. Each tier has a specific clinical threshold:
- 0%: You have a documented sleep-disordered breathing condition but no active symptoms. This means you’re service-connected but receive no monthly compensation.
- 30%: You experience persistent daytime sleepiness (called hypersomnolence) that isn’t managed by other treatment. This rating applies when you’re consistently drowsy during the day because of disrupted sleep.
- 50%: Your sleep apnea requires the use of a breathing assistance device such as a CPAP machine. This is the rating most veterans with moderate to severe sleep apnea receive, and it’s tied to the device requirement rather than a specific severity score from your sleep study.
- 100%: Your condition has progressed to chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention, right-sided heart failure (cor pulmonale), or you require a tracheostomy. This level reflects life-threatening complications, not just the sleep apnea itself.
What the 50% Rating Actually Requires
The key question for most veterans is whether they qualify for the 50% tier. The rating schedule says sleep apnea that “requires use of a breathing assistance device such as continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine” warrants 50%. In practice, this means your treating physician has prescribed a CPAP (or BiPAP, APAP, or similar device) based on your sleep study results, and the medical records support that the device is necessary.
Board of Veterans’ Appeals decisions have clarified that a prescription from a treating provider carries significant weight. In one 2025 case, a VA examiner suggested CPAP wasn’t required, but the Board sided with the veteran’s treatment records showing the device had been prescribed and found necessary. The standard is whether the condition requires the device, not whether you use it every single night. That said, having compliance data from your CPAP machine strengthens your case considerably.
Proposed Changes to the Rating Criteria
In February 2022, the VA proposed a major overhaul of how sleep apnea is rated. Under the proposed rules, simply using a CPAP machine would no longer automatically qualify you for 50%. Instead, the VA would evaluate how well treatment controls your symptoms. If a CPAP fully resolves your sleep apnea symptoms, you’d be rated at 0%. Progressively higher ratings would apply based on how symptomatic you remain after treatment.
This proposal went through a public comment period but has not been finalized or implemented as of the original announcement. Veterans already receiving compensation for sleep apnea would not be affected by these changes, according to the VA’s own statement. Any new rule would apply going forward. Still, this is worth monitoring if you’re planning to file a claim, because the landscape could shift.
Getting Service-Connected for Sleep Apnea
Before a rating percentage matters, you need the VA to agree your sleep apnea is connected to your military service. There are two main paths: direct service connection, where you show the condition started during or was caused by service, and secondary service connection, where sleep apnea developed because of another condition the VA already rates.
Secondary claims are common and have a well-established legal framework. The standard is “but-for” causation, meaning your sleep apnea wouldn’t exist “but for” your service-connected condition. Importantly, the connection can involve intermediate steps. For example, PTSD can cause sleep disturbances, reduced motivation, overeating, and weight gain, and weight gain is a well-documented cause of obstructive sleep apnea. Federal courts have confirmed that obesity can serve as a valid link between a service-connected condition and sleep apnea, even though obesity itself isn’t rated as a VA disability.
Allergic rhinitis and sinusitis are another frequently cited pathway. Research from the National Institutes of Health shows that allergic rhinitis increases the risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea through two mechanisms: it raises nasal airway resistance, and the mouth breathing it causes can narrow the throat by shifting the jaw position. If you’re already service-connected for rhinitis or sinusitis, this connection is worth exploring with a medical opinion.
The Sleep Study Requirement
You’ll need a sleep study to get a VA diagnosis of sleep apnea. The VA accepts both in-lab polysomnography (an overnight stay at a sleep clinic) and home sleep apnea tests. Your doctor determines which is appropriate for your situation. Home tests are simpler and more convenient, but they may not be suitable for everyone, particularly if other sleep disorders are suspected.
The sleep study results will confirm whether you have sleep apnea, what type it is, and how severe it is. Severity is typically measured by how many times per hour your breathing stops or becomes shallow. Your doctor uses these results to determine whether a CPAP or other treatment is necessary, which directly feeds into your rating level.
How Ratings Combine With Other Disabilities
A 50% rating for sleep apnea alone translates to roughly $1,100 per month in compensation (rates adjust annually). But most veterans have multiple service-connected conditions. The VA uses a combined rating formula rather than simple addition. If you have a 50% rating for sleep apnea and a 70% rating for PTSD, your combined rating isn’t 120%. Instead, the VA calculates it using a formula that accounts for the remaining “whole person” after each disability, which in this example would round to a combined 85% or higher.
Because sleep apnea frequently connects to conditions like PTSD, rhinitis, or sinusitis, veterans who successfully claim it as a secondary disability often see a meaningful jump in their overall combined rating. For veterans sitting near the 100% combined threshold, adding a 50% sleep apnea rating can be the difference that gets them there.