A deferred decision means the VA has decided some parts of your claim but needs more time, evidence, or information before it can rule on one or more specific issues, such as sleep apnea. It is not a denial. The VA will typically issue a rating decision that grants and rates the issues it is ready to decide (in your case, the combined 70 percent rating) while listing the deferred issue separately with an explanation of what is still needed.
Common reasons a claim gets deferred include: the need for an additional Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam, missing medical records (private treatment records, sleep study results, or a nexus letter), a request for more information from the veteran, or the need for the rating activity to route the file to a different team, such as when a sleep apnea claim requires review of the actual sleep study data and CPAP compliance records to properly rate under 38 CFR § 4.97, Diagnostic Code 6847.
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 →After a deferral, the VA will usually send a letter explaining what evidence or action is needed. Sometimes this happens automatically, such as scheduling another C&P exam. In other cases, you may need to submit outstanding medical records or respond to a request for information within a specified time period, often 30 days, though extensions are possible. You can also proactively upload any missing sleep study reports, CPAP prescription and usage data, or private treatment records through the VA's eBenefits portal or by mailing them to the appropriate regional office.
If you do not hear anything or the deferred status sits unresolved for an extended period, you can contact the VA to check the status of that specific issue, since deferred claims sometimes take longer to fully resolve than the rest of the decision. Once the VA completes its review, it will issue a follow-up rating decision addressing only the deferred issue, either granting service connection and assigning a rating, or denying it, at which point you would have the standard appeal rights, including filing a Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995), a Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996), or a Notice of Disagreement (VA Form 10182) if you disagree with that later decision.
As a next step, check your claim status on VA.gov or call the VA to find out specifically what evidence is being requested for the sleep apnea issue, and submit any outstanding sleep study or CPAP records as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delay.
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