In this guide11 sections
- Key takeaways
- What a permanent disability rating is
- How the rating is calculated, step by step
- Occupation and age adjustments
- Combining more than one impairment
- Apportionment: when part of your disability isn’t from work
- Who decides your rating
- How to dispute a permanent disability rating
- From rating to dollars
- Frequently asked questions
- Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
In California, a permanent disability rating is calculated by taking your doctor’s whole person impairment (WPI) under the AMA Guides, multiplying it by 1.4 for injuries on or after January 1, 2013, adjusting it for your occupation and your age at the time of injury, combining ratings for separate body parts, and then reducing it for any apportionment to causes other than work. The result is a percentage from 0% to 100%, and that percentage decides how many weeks of permanent disability benefits you receive.
Key takeaways
- For injuries since 2013, the formula is WPI × 1.4, then occupation and age adjustments (Labor Code §4660.1).
- Separate body parts are usually combined with the Combined Values Chart, so 20% and 10% become 28%, not 30%. That default can sometimes be rebutted.
- Apportionment can cut a rating more than any other step, but the doctor must explain it (Labor Code §§4663, 4664).
- Each rating point adds weeks of payment at $160 to $290 a week for injuries since 2014; 70% or more adds a life pension, and 100% is paid for life.
- You can challenge a low rating through a QME or AME, a supplemental report or deposition, or a hearing before a workers’ comp judge.
What a permanent disability rating is
Permanent disability is the part of your work injury that doesn’t go away. Once your condition stops improving, your doctor finds you at maximum medical improvement (MMI), also called permanent and stationary, and measures what you’ve lost.
California law says the rating must account for the nature of the physical injury or disfigurement, your occupation, and your age at the time of injury (Labor Code §4660.1(a)). The “nature of the injury” comes from the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition, which the statute adopts by name.
A rating isn’t a measure of whether you can still work. Many workers with a rating return to their old job or a modified one. A 100% rating is different: it means permanent total disability, paid for life (Labor Code §4659(b)). See our permanent total disability guide.
How the rating is calculated, step by step
For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, the rating is built in the same order every time, using the state’s Permanent Disability Rating Schedule (PDRS).
| Step | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Impairment | The doctor assigns a WPI percentage for each injured body part or system | AMA Guides, 5th ed.; Labor Code §4660.1(b) |
| 2. 1.4 adjustment | Each WPI is multiplied by 1.4 | Labor Code §4660.1(b) |
| 3. Occupation | The rating is adjusted for how that impairment affects your type of job | Labor Code §4660.1(a), (d); PDRS |
| 4. Age | The rating is adjusted for your age on the date of injury | Labor Code §4660.1(a), (d); PDRS |
| 5. Combining | Ratings for separate body parts are combined, usually with the Combined Values Chart | PDRS |
| 6. Apportionment | Any share caused by something other than this injury is subtracted | Labor Code §§4663, 4664 |
The WPI does the most work. The doctor measures range of motion, strength, nerve findings, imaging and other criteria, then applies the AMA Guides chapter for that body part. See our whole person impairment guide.
Older injuries follow different rules. For injuries from 2005 through 2012, the 2005 PDRS uses a “future earning capacity” (FEC) adjustment instead of the flat 1.4 multiplier (Labor Code §4660). Some injuries before 2005 may still be rated under the 1997 schedule, according to the Disability Evaluation Unit. If you see an FEC step in a rating for a 2013-or-later injury, something is wrong.
Here is a hypothetical. Maria, a warehouse worker injured in 2025, has 10% WPI for her shoulder. Step 2 makes it 10 × 1.4 = 14%. The occupation and age steps then move it up or down based on her job group and age. If her final rating comes out at 15%, she is owed 50.5 weeks of permanent disability under Labor Code §4658(e).
Occupation and age adjustments
The same injury doesn’t affect every worker the same way. A knee impairment limits a roofer more than a receptionist. The PDRS assigns your job to an occupational group and adjusts each impairment based on how much that body part matters in that group. Physically demanding jobs generally produce a higher adjustment for back, arm and leg injuries.
The schedule also adjusts for your age on the date of injury. Older workers generally receive a higher adjustment than younger workers with the same impairment.
Two mistakes are common at this step:
- Wrong occupation. The rater picks a job title that doesn’t match what you actually did. A “supervisor” who still lifts and climbs all day shouldn’t be rated as an office worker.
- Wrong date of injury. For a cumulative trauma claim, the date of injury can change both the age adjustment and which formula applies.
Combining more than one impairment
If more than one body part is injured, the ratings are combined into one number. The default method is the Combined Values Chart (CVC), which uses the formula A + B × (1 − A). It treats the second impairment as affecting only the “remaining” part of you. A 20% rating and a 10% rating combine to 20 + 10 × 0.80 = 28%, not 30%.
The CVC isn’t the last word. In a 2024 en banc decision, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board held that the CVC can be rebutted and the ratings added instead. To do that, the medical evidence must show how each impairment affects your activities of daily living, and either that there is no overlap between those effects or that the overlap amplifies their impact. A doctor simply using the word “synergy” isn’t enough.
Add-on ratings have their own limits. For injuries since 2013, a physical injury generally can’t increase the rating for sleep dysfunction, sexual dysfunction or a psychiatric disorder that results from it (Labor Code §4660.1(c)). The only exception is for a psychiatric disorder, whose rating can still be increased if the injury was catastrophic or you were the victim of, or directly exposed to, a significant violent act. You can still get treatment for all of these conditions.
Apportionment: when part of your disability isn’t from work
Under Labor Code §4663, apportionment is based on causation. Every doctor’s report on permanent disability must address it, giving an approximate percentage caused by the work injury and an approximate percentage caused by other factors, such as earlier injuries or degenerative changes.
Your employer is liable only for the percentage directly caused by the work injury (Labor Code §4664(a)). If you received a prior permanent disability award, the law conclusively presumes that the earlier disability still exists (§4664(b)), which can reduce what this employer owes.
An apportionment opinion must be explained, not just stated. If a report blames 40% of your back on “degeneration” without explaining how and why, it can be challenged. See our guide to Labor Code §4663 apportionment.
Who decides your rating
- Your primary treating physician. At MMI, your treating doctor usually writes a permanent and stationary report with WPI, work restrictions and apportionment.
- A qualified or agreed medical evaluator. If either side disputes the treating doctor’s findings, the dispute goes to a panel QME or, in represented cases, an AME both sides agree on. See QME versus AME.
- The Disability Evaluation Unit. If you don’t have a lawyer, the state must calculate your rating within 20 days of receiving the QME’s report and serve it on you and the employer (Labor Code §4061(e)).
- A workers’ comp judge. If the parties can’t agree, a judge decides the rating based on the medical evidence. A dispute over permanent impairment generally can’t be set for hearing until you’ve been evaluated by a treating physician and a QME or AME (Labor Code §4061(i)).
How to dispute a permanent disability rating
- Get every report. Ask for the full treating, QME or AME report and any rating. Read the WPI tables, the job description and the apportionment section.
- Check the formula. Confirm the date of injury, the 1.4 multiplier for a 2013-or-later injury, your occupation and your age.
- Look at how body parts were combined. If your injuries affect different daily activities, or make each other worse, ask whether the CVC can be rebutted.
- Challenge weak apportionment. An unexplained apportionment opinion may not be substantial medical evidence.
- Ask for a supplemental report or deposition. The evaluator can be sent new records or questions, or be questioned under oath. See how to dispute a QME or AME report.
- Ask a judge to decide if the issue isn’t resolved.
From rating to dollars
The rating sets the number of weeks under Labor Code §4658(e). The weekly rate is two-thirds of your average weekly earnings, between $160 and $290 for injuries on or after January 1, 2014.
| Final rating | Weeks | Total at $160/week | Total at $290/week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 30.25 | $4,840 | $8,772.50 |
| 15% | 50.5 | $8,080 | $14,645 |
| 25% | 100.75 | $16,120 | $29,217.50 |
| 50% | 271.25 | $43,400 | $78,662.50 |
| 70% | 433.25, then a life pension | $69,320 | $125,642.50 |
For the full chart, see how much permanent disability pays, or run your own numbers in our workers’ comp calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 1.4 multiplier apply to my injury?
It applies to injuries on or after January 1, 2013. Injuries from 2005 through 2012 are generally rated under the 2005 schedule with a future earning capacity adjustment instead.
Can my final rating be higher than my WPI?
Often, yes. The 1.4 multiplier and the occupation and age adjustments usually raise the number. Apportionment can lower it, and the Combined Values Chart keeps combined ratings below simple addition unless it’s rebutted.
Can I get a rating if I go back to work?
Yes. The rating measures permanent impairment, not whether you’re working. Returning to work can affect when some payments are made and whether you receive a job displacement voucher, but not the rating itself.
What if I had an earlier injury to the same body part?
If you received a prior permanent disability award, the law presumes that disability still exists (Labor Code §4664(b)), and the new rating may be reduced by it. Without a prior award, the doctor must explain any apportionment to earlier conditions.
How long does it take to get a rating?
A rating can be done only after you reach MMI. For unrepresented workers, the state must calculate it within 20 days of receiving the QME report. In represented cases, timing depends on the medical-legal process and any disputes.
Talk to a California workers’ comp lawyer
Employees First Labor Law represents workers exclusively, including injured workers checking their permanent disability ratings. We offer free virtual consultations to review your reports and whether your rating was calculated correctly. 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.
