If you’ve filed a VA disability claim, or you’re getting ready to, you’ve probably run into the letters DBQ. Maybe a buddy told you to “get a DBQ.” Maybe you saw an ad for one. Either way, I want you to know what this form is before you spend money or time on it.
A DBQ, short for Disability Benefits Questionnaire, is a standardized VA form that a clinician fills out to document a medical or mental health condition. It turns your symptoms and history into the specific details a VA rater needs to decide your claim.
I worked as a PTSD psychologist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and since 2013 I’ve assessed, diagnosed, and treated hundreds of veterans. This is how I explain DBQs to the veterans I work with.
VA introduced its first public DBQs in 2010. Today there are close to 70 public forms, each built around one condition or body system, from knees and hearing to sleep apnea and mental health.
Every DBQ uses checkboxes and set language that match VA’s rating rules. That’s the whole point. Instead of a rater digging through a ten-page narrative to find out how often you have panic attacks, the answer sits in a box they already know how to read.
VA rates PTSD, depression, anxiety, and most other mental health conditions on one scale: 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, or 100 percent. The mental health DBQ asks me, as the clinician, to pick the level of work and social impairment that best fits you, and those choices line up with that scale.
When your evidence doesn’t speak to how your symptoms affect your job, your relationships, and your daily life, the rater is left guessing. I’ve seen that lead to another exam, or to a rating that doesn’t match what you’re living with.
A Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam is the exam VA schedules for you. It’s free, and it’s done by a VA clinician or a VA contract examiner, who fills out a DBQ as part of it.
A private DBQ is one you arrange yourself with a provider you choose. You pay for it, and it gets submitted as evidence with your claim. VA doesn’t reimburse the cost, and it can still schedule its own exam afterward. If it does, please go.
A private DBQ is never required. Plenty of veterans are rated fairly on a C&P exam alone, and I’ll tell you if I think that’s likely your situation.
VA’s public list includes three mental health forms:
One form is missing from that list on purpose. The Initial PTSD DBQ isn’t available to private providers, including me. If you’re claiming PTSD for the first time, VA’s own examiner or a contract examiner completes that form. Your treatment records and other private medical evidence still count, and VA has to consider them, but the initial PTSD exam itself comes from VA’s side.
If anyone offers you a private “initial PTSD DBQ,” that’s a reason to ask more questions.
For a first-time mental disorders exam, VA requires a board-certified or board-eligible psychiatrist, a licensed doctorate-level psychologist, or a trainee working under close supervision of one. Review exams allow a slightly wider group, including some clinicians under supervision.
In plain terms: for an initial mental health DBQ, you want a psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist with a doctorate. I’m a licensed clinical psychologist with a doctorate, so I meet that standard.
The Mental Disorders DBQ runs eight pages. When I complete one, it covers:
It ends with my signed certification. The form warns that knowingly submitting false information can lead to fines or jail time, and VA says it can check the authenticity of any DBQ it receives. I take that signature seriously, and you should want a clinician who does.
A good DBQ is accurate, specific, and backed by an actual evaluation. It describes what your worst days look like, not just your best ones. It isn’t inflated, because an inflated DBQ hurts your credibility and can hurt your claim.
Watch out for anyone who:
For help filing the claim itself, use a VA-accredited representative. Veterans service organizations offer that help at no cost, and I’m happy to point you to one.
Yes, as long as everyone is honest about how it was done. The current mental health DBQ asks whether you were examined in person and, if not, how. VA guidance lets claims processors accept a private telehealth DBQ, weighing things like how well the clinician knows your history and which records they reviewed. Mental health is one of the areas VA considers suited to telehealth.
I’ve been doing DBQ through Telehealth for four years, and every DBQ I complete says so, and I make sure it’s thorough enough to stand on its own.
I’m a licensed clinical psychologist based in Texas and a PSYPACT provider, which lets me see clients by telehealth across 40 states. My years at VA taught me how mental health conditions show up in veterans, from combat trauma to military sexual trauma to the slow grind of years of service.
My evaluations are thorough and honest. I document what’s really going on in your life so VA has a clear, accurate picture. I don’t file claims, and I won’t promise you a rating, because no ethical clinician can.
Wondering whether a mental health DBQ makes sense for your situation? Call me at (713) 487-5574 or email drriggins@protonmail.com. You can also read more about VA Disability Evaluations, Military Trauma, and PTSD Therapy.
