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FIELD GUIDE

C&P Exam Prep

What the examiner is scoring, how to describe a bad day without exaggerating, and what to do the week after.

A chapter for your exam:

  • PTSD and mental health · p. 9
  • Tinnitus and hearing loss · p. 12
  • Sleep apnea · p. 14
  • Migraines · p. 15
  • Joints and back · p. 17
  • Hypertension · p. 19

Written by Gabe, a VA-accredited attorney and Afghanistan infantry Veteran.

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Look inside: 31 pages

These are real pages from the PDF you download, not mockups. Select a page to read it full size.

Page 1 of C&P Exam Prep: the title, marked second edition, October 2026; "How to use this guide" (general education; tell the truth about your symptoms, without inflating or shrinking them); and what the second edition adds: six condition chapters and four fillable worksheets. (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 1 of 31
Page 10 of C&P Exam Prep: from the PTSD and mental health chapter, what the exam form covers and a table of VA's General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, 0 to 70 percent, with the impairment each level describes and some of its example symptoms. (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 10 of 31
Page 23 of C&P Exam Prep: Worksheet 1, the two-week symptom and flare-up log, days 1 to 7, with fillable boxes for symptoms, worst level from 0 to 10, how long, a flare-up check box, what it limited, and what helped. A note says these are your own notes, not a statement to VA or a medical opinion. (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 23 of 31
Page 26 of C&P Exam Prep: Worksheet 3, the exam-day card, with fillable boxes for the exam details, an optional what-to-bring list (VA says you don't need to bring anything), today compared with a bad day, the four facts about flare-ups, functional loss, and notes. (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 26 of 31

Contents of C&P Exam Prep

Every section in the guide, with the page it starts on. 31 pages in all.

  1. How to use this guidepage 1 of 31
  2. What a C&P exam is and isn'tpage 2 of 31
  3. How a DBQ turns your words into a ratingpage 3 of 31
  4. Before the exam: a one-week prep planpage 4 of 31
  5. At the exam: describing a bad day honestlypage 6 of 31
  6. After the exam: the week afterpage 7 of 31
  7. Reading the condition chapterspage 9 of 31
  8. PTSD and mental health examspage 9 of 31
  9. Tinnitus and hearing loss examspage 12 of 31
  10. Sleep apnea examspage 14 of 31
  11. Migraine and headache examspage 15 of 31
  12. Joint and back exams: range of motion, flare-ups and functional losspage 17 of 31
  13. Hypertension examspage 19 of 31
  14. Checklistpage 21 of 31
  15. Worksheet 1: Two-week symptom and flare-up logpage 23 of 31
  16. Worksheet 2: Worst, typical and best daypage 25 of 31
  17. Worksheet 3: Exam-day cardpage 26 of 31
  18. Worksheet 4: After-the-exam notes and the exam reportpage 27 of 31
  19. When to get a person involvedpage 28 of 31
  20. Sourcespage 28 of 31

What it covers

  • How DBQs turn your words into a rating
  • Flare-ups, functional loss and the questions that matter
  • Chapters on six common exams: PTSD and mental health, tinnitus and hearing loss, sleep apnea, migraines, joints and back, and hypertension, with how VA's rating rules read for each
  • Four fillable worksheets: a two-week symptom and flare-up log, a worst, typical and best day sheet, an exam-day card, and after-the-exam notes
  • Bringing a witness, taking notes, requesting the report
  • What to do when the exam went wrong

What this guide is

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