When the VA proposes to sever service connection or reduce a rating, it must follow the due-process procedures in 38 CFR 3.105. This regulation requires the VA to send a written notice explaining the proposed action and the reasons for it, and it gives the veteran 60 days to submit evidence or argument against the proposal. Separately, a veteran may request a pre-determination hearing, and that request must generally be made within 30 days of the notice to stop the clock on the effective date while the hearing is scheduled. If no hearing is requested and no evidence changes the outcome, the reduction or severance normally takes effect the first day of the second month after the 60-day response period ends.
The legal standard for CUE is intentionally very high. Under 38 CFR 3.105(a) and the body of case law interpreting it, a CUE must be an error that is undebatable and that, had it not been made, would have manifestly changed the outcome. It is not enough for a new reviewer to weigh the same evidence differently or to conclude that the prior decision was poorly reasoned. A 'difference of opinion' about how evidence was evaluated does not meet the CUE standard. This distinction — outcome-determinative legal error versus reweighing of evidence — is often the central battleground in these disputes.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →When a grant was based on secondary service connection, note that 38 CFR 3.310 has two distinct paths: subsection (a) covers a condition proximately caused by a service-connected disability, while subsection (b) covers aggravation of a nonservice-connected condition by a service-connected one (which does require some evidence of a baseline level of severity before aggravation). If the original decision could be sustained on a causation theory rather than an aggravation theory, that is a legitimate point to raise, since the VA is generally required to consider all theories reasonably raised by the record, including in a CUE review.
Outcomes in these severance disputes vary widely depending on the specific facts, medical evidence, and how clearly the original decision documented its reasoning; broad case-outcome statistics from appealed decisions are not a reliable predictor for any individual severance action, since severance proposals are reviewed under a different, higher CUE standard than ordinary appealed denials.
The concrete next step is to request a pre-determination hearing in writing within 30 days of the notice and, before that hearing, submit a detailed response with supporting medical evidence addressing both the CUE standard and any alternative theory of service connection the original decision may have relied on.
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