38 CFR Part 4 — 38 CFR § 4.130

Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease — VA Diagnostic Code 9312

Mental health

Diagnostic code

9312

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38 CFR § 4.130 lists Diagnostic Code 9312 as “Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease”. The line does not end with a period. It has no percentage beside it. Note 2 says ratings under diagnostic codes 9201 to 9440 will be evaluated using the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. DC 9312 is inside that span. Appendix B to Part 4 uses the same words and adds a period.

Reviewed 2026-10-05. Text checked against the eCFR versioner full-text XML for 2026-10-01 on 2026-10-05. Title 38 was up to date as of 2026-10-01 and last amended on 2026-08-27. The § 4.130 source note prints 79 FR 45100, Aug. 4, 2014.

The rating criteria at each level

General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders — diagnostic codes 9201 to 9440, including DC 9312

Rating %: 100

Criteria (verbatim). Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.

Rating %: 70

Criteria (verbatim). Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.

Rating %: 50

Criteria (verbatim). Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.

Rating %: 30

Criteria (verbatim). Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).

Rating %: 10

Criteria (verbatim). Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.

Rating %: 0

Criteria (verbatim). A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.

Rating %	Criteria (verbatim)
100	Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.
70	Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.
50	Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.
30	Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).
10	Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.
0	A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.

The formula uses the words “such symptoms as” and “such as.” Those words are part of the printed lines. The 100, 70, 50, and 30 percent lines end with a period. The 10 and 0 percent lines end with a period.

Note 2, printed under the eating-disorder table: Ratings under diagnostic codes 9201 to 9440 will be evaluated using the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. Ratings under diagnostic codes 9520 and 9521 will be evaluated using the General Rating Formula for Eating Disorders.

DC 9312 does not print its own 100, 70, 50, 30, 10, or 0 line. The lines above are the formula Note 2 names. The eating-disorder sentence in that note is not a DC 9312 line.

The opening of § 4.130 says the nomenclature employed in this portion of the rating schedule is based upon the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), and it points to § 4.125 for availability information. 38 CFR § 4.7 assigns the higher rating when the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating. Otherwise, the lower rating will be assigned. 38 CFR § 4.6 requires each element affecting the evidence to be studied so that decisions will be equitable and just.

DC 9304 is major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury. DC 8045 is residuals of traumatic brain injury. Those are different titles. DC 9305 is major or mild vascular neurocognitive disorder. DC 9310 is unspecified neurocognitive disorder. DC 9326 is the long title for another medical condition or a substance/medication-induced neurocognitive disorder. None of those titles is DC 9312.

The 2026-10-01 text of 38 CFR § 3.309 does not contain “Alzheimer.” It lists “Psychoses.” and “Other organic diseases of the nervous system.” Neither row has a diagnostic code. This page does not assign either row to DC 9312.

Source: 38 CFR § 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9312 and the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, eCFR full-text XML for 2026-10-01.

What the words mean in your records

The schedule line has no period

The § 4.130 line ends at the word “disease” and has no period there. Appendix B adds a period after that word. The apostrophe in “Alzheimer's” is the apostrophe in the regulation.

9201 to 9440

Note 2 assigns the mental formula to that span. DC 9312 is inside it. The same note assigns a different formula to DC 9520 and DC 9521.

Major or mild is one title

The schedule does not split “major” and “mild” into two diagnostic codes under 9312. Both words are in the one title.

Evidence that speaks to each level

100 through 0

What the rater needs to see. The occupational and social impairment level the formula line describes.

Where that usually lives. The mental-disorder examination and the treatment record.

The title

What the rater needs to see. A diagnosis placed on this code: major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease.

Where that usually lives. The diagnosis, read against the title. This page does not add a period the schedule line does not have.

Level	What the rater needs to see	Where that usually lives
100 through 0	The occupational and social impairment level the formula line describes.	The mental-disorder examination and the treatment record.
The title	A diagnosis placed on this code: major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease.	The diagnosis, read against the title. This page does not add a period the schedule line does not have.

VA’s public DBQ list, checked October 5, 2026, names “Mental Disorders” under Psychological. It also names “PTSD Review” as a separate form. The mental-disorders file is Mental Disorders.

The exam form

DC 9312 uses the general formula. This page does not say the form replaces those lines.

Related codes and how they interact

Nearby neurocognitive titles are not this code.

DC 9304 names traumatic brain injury. DC 9305 names vascular disease. DC 9310 says unspecified. DC 9326 names another medical condition or a substance or medication. DC 9312 names Alzheimer's disease.

Secondary conditions and presumptions

Section 3.309 does not contain “Alzheimer,” and it does not assign DC 9312. “Psychoses.” and “Other organic diseases of the nervous system.” stay family rows without a diagnostic code.

A separate question, when a presumption does not decide it, is a medical question on the facts under 38 CFR § 3.310. Paragraph (a) covers disability proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. Paragraph (b) covers increase in severity and requires a medical baseline.

Short answers

What is the VA rating for major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease?

Under 38 CFR § 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9312 uses the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The formula prints 100, 70, 50, 30, 10, and 0. Education only. VA decides on the evidence.

Does § 3.309 assign this code?

The 2026-10-01 text does not contain “Alzheimer.” “Psychoses.” and “Other organic diseases of the nervous system.” have no diagnostic code. This page does not assign either name to DC 9312.

FAQ

How does VA rate this Alzheimer neurocognitive disorder?

DC 9312 is inside diagnostic codes 9201 to 9440. Note 2 evaluates that span under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The lines are 100, 70, 50, 30, 10, and 0. Education only.

Does the schedule line end with a period?

No. The § 4.130 line does not end with a period. Appendix B adds one.

Is the eating-disorder formula used here?

No. Note 2 assigns the eating-disorder formula to diagnostic codes 9520 and 9521. DC 9312 is in the 9201-to-9440 sentence.

Next steps

Read the decision for DC 9312 or another code in 9201 to 9440, and the formula level it names.
The free worksheet is a place to write the code, the findings, and the records you already have. It does not file a claim or protect a filing date. An accredited representative is at find a VSO.
Other mental-disorder codes are on the mental-health diagnostic-code index. The category page is mental health conditions.

Education only. Not legal or medical advice. My Claim Packet is not a VA-accredited representative and does not file claims. VA decides every claim on its own evidence.

Other codes in this body system

Nearby catalog entries in Mental health, ordered by diagnostic code number. All Mental health codes

Also: DC code lookup (tools) lists the same index in a compact layout.

Source: 38 CFR Part 4, Diagnostic Code 9312 • va.gov

⚠️ Important Disclaimer

This page provides general educational information based on public VA regulations and VA.gov resources. It is not legal or medical advice, and My Claim Packet is not a VA-accredited representative. Any worksheets or draft documents produced by the tools must be reviewed for accuracy and are not filed with VA for you. Ratings and service connection are decided case-by-case from the individual record. Consult a VA-accredited VSO, claims agent, attorney, or qualified clinician for help with your situation, and verify current rules using the linked official source.