In this guide11 sections
- Key takeaways
- What the PDRS is
- Which schedule applies to your injury
- How a rating is calculated, step by step
- From percentage to payments
- A hypothetical example
- Rules that can change the rating
- Common problems in rating reports
- Getting a DEU rating
- Frequently asked questions
- Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
The Permanent Disability Rating Schedule (PDRS) is the state formula that turns a doctor’s findings about your lasting impairment into a permanent disability percentage. That percentage sets how many weeks of permanent disability payments you receive and whether you qualify for a life pension. For most injuries since 2013, the rating starts with a whole person impairment under the AMA Guides, multiplied by 1.4, then adjusted for your occupation and age.
Key takeaways
- California still uses the 2005 PDRS, with changes for injuries on or after January 1, 2013; older injuries may be rated under the 1997 schedule.
- For 2013-and-later injuries, the doctor’s whole person impairment is multiplied by 1.4, then adjusted for occupation and age, and multiple impairments are combined with the PDRS chart.
- Apportionment to non-work causes can lower the final rating, but it must be supported by the doctor’s explanation of causation.
- The final percentage converts to weeks of payments under Labor Code §4658, generally paid at $160 to $290 a week for injuries since 2014.
What the PDRS is
The PDRS is adopted by regulation (8 CCR §9805). It took effect January 1, 2005, applies to injuries on or after that date, and incorporates the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition. Raters at the state’s Disability Evaluation Unit (DEU), judges, insurers and attorneys all use it to convert medical reports into a rating.
The schedule doesn’t decide what is medically wrong with you. Your doctors do that. The PDRS takes the impairment a doctor assigns and applies fixed adjustments, so the quality of the medical report largely drives the result. For what a rating is worth in dollars and how it fits into a settlement, see our guide to permanent disability rating values.
Which schedule applies to your injury
| Date of injury | Rating rules |
|---|---|
| Before January 1, 2005 | The 1997 PDRS can apply, depending on whether a medical report indicating permanent disability was issued, or a Labor Code §4061 notice was required, before 2005. Otherwise the 2005 PDRS applies. |
| January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2012 | The 2005 PDRS, including the future earning capacity (FEC) ranks 1 through 8. |
| January 1, 2013 and later | The 2005 PDRS as changed by Labor Code §4660.1: the FEC ranks are replaced by a flat 1.4 multiplier. |
The DEU explains these rules in its rating FAQ. Most workers filing claims today are rated under the 2013-and-later rules.
How a rating is calculated, step by step
- Whole person impairment (WPI). Your primary treating physician, a qualified medical evaluator (QME) or an agreed medical evaluator (AME) measures your impairment under the AMA Guides, 5th Edition, and states it as a WPI percentage. Our guide to whole person impairment goes deeper.
- Future earning capacity adjustment. For 2013-and-later injuries, the WPI is multiplied by 1.4 and rounded to the nearest whole number.
- Occupational adjustment. Your job is assigned to an occupational group, and the PDRS tables raise or lower the rating depending on how the injured body part affects that kind of work.
- Age adjustment. The rating is then adjusted for your age on the date of injury, using the PDRS age tables.
- Combining impairments. If you have more than one impairment, they are combined using the Combined Values Chart in the PDRS, not the chart in the AMA Guides. Combining is not simple addition, so two 10% ratings produce less than 20%.
- Apportionment. Under Labor Code §4663, the doctor must estimate what percentage of the permanent disability was caused by the work injury and what percentage by other factors, and the rating is reduced accordingly. See our explainer on apportionment.
A rating is written as a string. The DEU gives this example: 15.03.01.00 – 8 – [1.4]11 – 340G – 13 – 15 PD. In plain terms, that is a spine impairment code from the AMA Guides, an 8% WPI, multiplied by 1.4 to 11, adjusted for occupational group 340 and variant G to 13, then adjusted for age to a final 15% permanent disability.
From percentage to payments
Labor Code §4658 converts the final percentage into weeks of payments, and the number of weeks per percentage point rises as the rating rises. For injuries on or after January 1, 2014, permanent disability is generally paid at two-thirds of your average weekly earnings, with a minimum of $160 and a maximum of $290 a week (Labor Code §4453(b)).
| Final rating | Weeks of payments | Total at $160/week | Total at $290/week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 30.25 | $4,840 | $8,772.50 |
| 20% | 75.5 | $12,080 | $21,895 |
| 30% | 131 | $20,960 | $37,990 |
| 50% | 271.25 | $43,400 | $78,662.50 |
| 70% | 433.25 | $69,320 | $125,642.50 |
Ratings from 70% up to 100% also carry a life pension after the permanent disability weeks run out, and a 100% rating means permanent total disability paid for life (Labor Code §4659). To estimate your own numbers, try our workers’ comp benefits calculator.
A hypothetical example
Tony, a 52-year-old delivery driver earning well above $435 a week, injures his lower back unloading freight in 2024. The QME finds an 8% WPI. Multiplied by 1.4, that becomes 11%. Suppose the occupational adjustment for his job group and the age adjustment bring the final rating to 15%, as in the DEU’s example above.
If the QME then apportions 20% of the disability to a prior back condition, the rating drops. A few percentage points can change Tony’s award by thousands of dollars, which is why the apportionment explanation deserves close review.
Rules that can change the rating
- Psychiatric, sleep and sexual dysfunction add-ons. For 2013-and-later injuries, impairment ratings for these conditions generally can’t be added when they arise from a physical injury. The exceptions are a violent act or a catastrophic injury, such as loss of a limb, paralysis, a severe burn or a severe head injury. You can still receive treatment for them (Labor Code §4660.1(c)).
- Alternative ratings within the Guides. The law doesn’t lock a doctor into the single most literal method. Labor Code §4660.1 preserves a 2010 Court of Appeal decision allowing a physician to use another chapter, table or method within the AMA Guides when a strict rating doesn’t accurately reflect the impairment and the doctor explains why. The DEU provides both ratings when this applies.
- Combining or adding impairments. In a 2024 en banc decision, the Appeals Board held that impairments may be added instead of combined in limited situations, such as when they affect different activities of daily living or when their overlap makes the disability greater.
- Conclusive total disability. Certain injuries, such as loss of both hands or their use, or practically total paralysis, are conclusively presumed to be total (Labor Code §4662).
Common problems in rating reports
- The doctor misapplies a table or uses the wrong chapter of the AMA Guides.
- The report leaves out ongoing pain, weakness or job-specific limits you described.
- The report declares you permanent and stationary before treatment has run its course.
- Apportionment is based on age or “degeneration” without explaining how and why those factors caused part of the disability.
If a report has problems, the usual remedies are asking the doctor for a supplemental report, deposing the doctor, or objecting and seeking a new evaluation within the deadlines that apply. Our guide to QMEs and AMEs explains who writes these reports.
Getting a DEU rating
The DEU issues three kinds of ratings: summary ratings for unrepresented workers who haven’t filed an application, based on a QME or treating physician report; consultative ratings for represented workers; and formal ratings issued on a judge’s instructions after a hearing. If you are unrepresented and find a factual error in a summary rating, the DEU FAQ explains how to ask for a correction.
Frequently asked questions
Is my permanent disability rating the same as my WPI?
No. WPI is the doctor’s starting number. The final rating applies the 1.4 multiplier, occupation and age adjustments, combining rules and apportionment.
Does my job affect my rating?
Yes. The occupational adjustment reflects how the injured body part affects the kind of work you did, so the same impairment can rate differently for a laborer and an office worker.
Can I challenge a low rating?
Often, yes. Options include supplemental reports, a deposition of the doctor, an alternative rating within the AMA Guides, and objections to unsupported apportionment. Deadlines are short, so act quickly.
Will a new PDRS replace the 2005 schedule?
Labor Code §4660.1 lets the state amend the age and occupational modifiers. Until a new schedule is adopted, injuries on or after January 1, 2013 are rated under the 2005 PDRS with the 1.4 multiplier.
What if I get a low rating and can’t return to my job?
If you were injured in 2013 or later and your employer doesn’t offer qualifying work, you may receive a $6,000 supplemental job displacement voucher and may qualify for a one-time $5,000 Return-to-Work Supplement.
Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
Employees First Labor Law represents workers exclusively, including injured workers reviewing permanent disability ratings and medical-legal reports. We offer free virtual consultations to look at your rating and your options. Contact us online or call (310) 853-3461.
This article is general information about California law as of 2026, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
