TDRL vs PDRL 2026: Temporary Ratings, Reexaminations and the 5-Year Clock

September 28, 2026 | 8 min read | By Military Life Tools

You got a 50%+ DOD disability rating or a temporary 100% through the DES (Disability Evaluation System) — and then the paperwork called it temporary. Welcome to the TDRL: a list where your rating isn't final, reexaminations are scheduled whether you feel stable or not, and a 5-year clock is quietly running.

Most guides cover what TDRL is. This one covers what veterans actually ask: can they take it away, when do they try, and what do I do at each exam so the answer is no?

TDRL vs PDRL: The One-Table Version

Both lists pay like retired pay, and neither is VA compensation — that's a separate claim with separate rules (our VA pay chart covers those rates; CRDP/CRSC covers how the two systems interact).

The Reexamination Cycle: What Actually Happens

You'll be recalled at least every 18 months. The exam is essentially a fresh fitness-for-duty evaluation of the conditions that put you on the list. The examiner documents current severity, and the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) re-rates from that snapshot.

Three outcomes per reexam:

• Stay on TDRL — condition still unstable, reexam again in ≤18 months.
• Move to PDRL — condition stable at 30%+ (or 20% with 20 years). Rating usually finalized at or near the current number.
• Separate with severance — condition improved below 30%: severance pay (2 months × years of service, or your final pay × years × 2.5%, whichever is greater — our separation pay formula guide has the math) and TDRL pay stops.

The 5-year wall: no one stays on TDRL past 5 years. At that point the board must finalize: PDRL or separation. That's why the last reexam before year 5 is the most important appointment of the whole cycle.

How Ratings Get Reduced (and How They Don't)

Legitimate reduction paths: the reexam documents genuine improvement (you regained range of motion, symptoms resolved, medication no longer needed), or the original rating rested on a condition that healed.

Not legitimate: reduction because you skipped an exam, because a new examiner didn't review prior records, or because "you look fine today." A single good day at an exam is not a stable condition — and the VA's own rules on rating reductions (38 CFR 3.343, 3.345) require demonstrated sustained improvement for most mental and physical conditions to be dropped below the original level.

Protecting Your Rating at Every Exam

1. Treat the reexam like a C&P exam, not a check-up. The examiner writes what they see and hear. Describe worst days, frequency, functional loss — the same way you'd document for VA (our C&P exam guide breaks down exactly what gets recorded).

2. Bring your own evidence of stability-of-severity. A symptom log, current treatment records, a statement from your treating physician. The reexam is a 30-minute snapshot; your records are the whole movie.

3. Never miss a scheduled reexam. Miss it and pay can be suspended, and you've handed the board a reason to proceed on stale or thin evidence. If the notice didn't arrive, that's a records problem to fix loudly and immediately.

4. Update your address with DFAS and the PEBLO. A shocking number of TDRL problems start with mail that never arrived.

5. Get the DOD and VA claims moving in parallel. TDRL status doesn't file your VA claim for you. Veterans on TDRL for the same conditions can pursue VA service connection simultaneously — and the VA rating is often higher than the DOD one.

The Severance-Pay Trap Nobody Warns You About

If the final board separates you below 30%, you receive (or keep) disability severance pay — and VA recoups that severance from any future VA disability compensation, month by month, until it's recovered. It's the same offset that applies to any separation pay (38 U.S.C. § 5305), and it surprises people who assumed a medical discharge made them exempt.

The two counters: CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation) can restore recouped amounts for combat-related conditions, and a higher eventual VA rating shortens the offset period. Both paths are covered in our separation pay recoupment guide.

Frequently Asked Questions