A DEU rating in California workers’ comp is the permanent disability percentage calculated by the Disability Evaluation Unit, a branch of the Division of Workers’ Compensation. That single number controls almost every dollar figure in your case: how many weeks of permanent disability payments you receive, how much each weekly check pays, whether you qualify for a life pension, and whether you’re owed a retraining voucher. Knowing how the number is built, what shrinks it, and how to challenge it gives you real leverage over the final outcome.
How the Percentage Is Built
Every rating starts with a doctor’s whole person impairment finding under the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition. That raw medical number describes how much your injury limits overall function, but on its own it ignores your job, your age, and the economic reality of returning to work. The rating schedule layers adjustments on top of it to reach the final percentage.
For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, the whole person impairment is first multiplied by 1.4.1California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 4660.1 The Legislature added that multiplier because AMA impairment numbers alone understated the earnings losses California workers actually experienced.
An occupational modifier comes next, based on your job on the date of injury. A warehouse worker with a bad shoulder gets a larger adjustment than a data entry clerk with the same impairment, because the shoulder matters more to the warehouse job. An age modifier follows the same logic, since older workers face steeper barriers returning to work with a disability.2California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 4660 Those factors combine into the final percentage that reflects both the medical injury and its economic impact on your earning capacity.3Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 8 10165.5 – Notice of Options Following Disability Rating
Apportionment Can Shrink It
If you had a pre-existing condition before the work injury, your employer is only on the hook for the share of disability the job actually caused. The physician preparing your impairment report has to assign a percentage of the disability to the industrial injury and a percentage to other causes, including prior injuries, degenerative conditions, or non-industrial factors.4California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 4663
This is where cases get contested. A doctor might assign 60% of your back disability to the work injury and 40% to pre-existing degenerative disc disease, and your rating then applies only to that 60%. The report has to explain how and why the pre-existing condition contributes, not just drop a number on the page.
The Three Types of DEU Ratings
Which rating applies to your case depends on where things stand procedurally.
A summary rating is the most common. It’s issued for unrepresented workers after a qualified medical evaluator completes an impairment report. Labor Code section 4061 requires the DEU to calculate and serve the rating once it receives the evaluation, and it becomes the baseline for resolving the claim without litigation.5California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 4061
A consultative rating is requested by attorneys, insurance adjusters, or judges during settlement talks. It’s advisory, not binding, and helps everyone understand what a formal rating would look like.
A formal or judicial rating is ordered by a Workers’ Compensation Administrative Law Judge when the parties can’t agree. The judge uses it to issue a final award after trial.
Represented workers generally skip the summary rating process. Their attorneys request consultative ratings or move straight to litigation.
Requesting a Summary Rating Without an Attorney
If you’re handling the claim on your own, the DEU needs a specific package of documents:
- DWC-AD Form 101, the Request for Summary Rating Determination, which collects employer, insurance claim number, and evaluating physician details.
- DWC-AD Form 100, the Employee’s Disability Questionnaire, which gathers information about your work limitations.
- The medical evaluation report from the Qualified Medical Evaluator, including your impairment rating, date of injury, job title at the time of injury, and the apportionment determination.6New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. California Code of Regulations 8 CCR 10160 – Summary Rating Determinations, Comprehensive Medical Evaluation of Unrepresented Employee
Both forms are posted on the California Department of Industrial Relations website.7Division of Workers’ Compensation. Disability Evaluation Unit Packages missing Form 101 get sent back, so check before you mail.8Division of Workers’ Compensation. How to Serve Your Report on DEU and Be EAMS Compliant Send the package to the DEU office associated with your residence.
The DEU has 20 days to issue the summary rating once the request is complete and any factual correction period has passed.9Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations 8 CCR 10159 – Time Period for Issuing a Summary Rating Determination Heavy caseloads can push it longer, but 20 days is the regulatory target. The rating is served on you and the insurance carrier at the same time, and that service date starts the clock on your right to object.
What the Rating Pays
Your final percentage converts into a set number of weeks of permanent disability payments. Higher ratings earn disproportionately more weeks per percentage point, and the tiers stack rather than apply a single flat rate. For injuries on or after January 1, 2013:10California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 4658
- 0.25% to 9.75%: 3 weeks per percentage point
- 10% to 14.75%: 4 weeks per percentage point
- 15% to 24.75%: 5 weeks per percentage point
- 25% to 29.75%: 6 weeks per percentage point
- 30% to 49.75%: 7 weeks per percentage point
- 50% to 69.75%: 8 weeks per percentage point
- 70% to 99.75%: 16 weeks per percentage point
Each weekly check equals two-thirds of your average weekly earnings at the time of injury, subject to statutory floors and ceilings. For injuries in 2026, the minimum weekly permanent disability payment is $160 and the maximum is $290.11Department of Industrial Relations. DWC Workers’ Compensation Benefits Those caps run noticeably below temporary disability rates, which catches people off guard. A worker earning $900 per week has two-thirds earnings of $600, but the permanent disability check tops out at $290.
Life Pension at 70% and Above
When the final rating lands between 70% and 99.75%, you qualify for a life pension that begins after the scheduled permanent disability payments run out. The pension pays a smaller weekly amount for the rest of your life. A 100% rating is treated separately as permanent total disability, which pays lifetime benefits at the full permanent disability rate rather than the reduced life pension amount. The gap between 69% and 70% matters: that threshold unlocks both the 16-weeks-per-point tier and the ongoing pension.
The $6,000 Retraining Voucher
If your injury causes any permanent partial disability and your employer doesn’t offer modified or alternative work within 60 days of receiving the doctor’s permanent-and-stationary report, you’re entitled to a Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit in the form of a $6,000 non-transferable voucher.12California Legislative Information. California Labor Code LAB 4658.7 It covers education, retraining, and skill enhancement at accredited schools or training programs. The employer must offer it within 20 days after the deadline to offer modified work expires, and the voucher is good for two years from the date it’s furnished or five years from the date of injury, whichever is later. Workers who settle often fold the voucher value into the settlement amount, so don’t leave it on the table.
If You Think the Rating Is Wrong
You have 30 days from receiving the summary rating to request reconsideration. Complete DWC-AD Form 103, Request for Reconsideration of Summary Rating by the Administrative Director, and attach the summary rating determination, the QME report, and any supporting documentation.13Division of Workers’ Compensation. How to Object to Your Summary Rating A copy also goes to the insurance company with a proof of service.
One important limit: disagreeing with the doctor’s medical conclusions is not a valid basis for reconsideration. The grounds that work are procedural. The evaluator failed to address an injured body part. The evaluator didn’t follow required procedures. The DEU specialist miscalculated the rating from the medical report. If you believe the medical findings themselves are wrong, you have to challenge the report through the QME dispute process, not through a rating objection.
Effect on Social Security Disability
If you receive both workers’ comp and Social Security Disability Insurance, the combined total can’t exceed 80% of your average earnings before the disability. When it does, Social Security reduces your SSDI benefit by the excess.14Social Security Administration. How Workers’ Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits The offset continues until you reach full retirement age or your workers’ comp payments stop, whichever happens first.
Lump-sum settlements can trigger the same reduction. Social Security spreads the lump sum across the period it’s meant to cover and reduces SSDI accordingly. Settlement agreements can include language allocating part of the lump sum to future medical costs rather than disability indemnity, which can minimize the offset. The way a compromise and release is structured can preserve thousands in SSDI benefits, which is one of the strongest reasons to have an attorney review any lump-sum offer before you sign.