📝 Step 1: Filing Your VA Claim

Your claim officially begins when you file VA Form 21-526EZ — but if you’re not quite ready, submit an Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966) to lock in your effective date.

🔗 File online or download the form

📬 How to File

• ✅ Online via VA.gov
• ✅ By mail (Form 21-526EZ)
• ✅ With a VA-accredited representative

🛠️ Optional: Fully Developed Claim

If you have all your evidence up front, consider the FDC route for a potentially faster decision.

🔍 Step 2: The VA’s Duty to Assist

The VA is required by 38 U.S.C. § 5103A to help gather records and schedule exams, but they won’t build your case for you.

🧾 What the VA Must Do

• 📁 Retrieve federal and VA medical records
• 🩺 Schedule a C&P exam, if needed
• 📢 Notify you of what’s missing

📎 What You Must Submit

• Private doctor records
• Nexus letters
• Lay statements (family, friends, coworkers)

🔗 How to Request Your VA C-File

🩺 Step 3: Compensation & Pension (C&P) Exam

This exam helps the VA determine if your condition is service-connected and how severe it is.

📆 What to Expect

• Contact from QTC, LHI, or VES
• In-person, phone, or video exam
• Questions about symptoms, limitations, history

🛡️ How to Prepare

• Be honest and specific
• Describe your worst days
• Explain how your condition limits you

🔗 C&P Exam Guide

📂 Step 4: Claim Review and Decision Letter

After exams, a VA rater evaluates your file and decides your claim based on all evidence submitted and gathered.

📋 What They Review

• Your application (Form 21-526EZ)
• Service and VA medical records
• Private medical records
• Lay statements and buddy letters
• Your C&P exam results

You’ll receive a decision packet in the mail that includes:

• 🟢 What was granted or denied
• 📊 Your disability rating (per condition and combined)
• 📆 Effective dates for each condition
• 📄 “Reasons for Decision” explaining the outcome
• 📁 “Evidence Reviewed” — what the VA considered

⚠️ Common Mistakes Veterans Make (and How to Avoid Them)

The VA claims process isn’t just about what you do — it’s about what you don’t do. These are the top errors veterans make, and how you can avoid them.

❌ 1. Waiting Too Long to File

You lose potential backpay with every day you delay.

✅ Fix: File an Intent to File now to protect your effective date.

❌ 2. Submitting Incomplete Evidence

Claims are often denied simply because the VA doesn’t have enough documentation to connect your condition to service.

✅ Fix: Include treatment records, buddy letters, and a Nexus Letter if needed.

❌ 3. Skipping the C&P Exam

Missing the exam may result in an automatic denial.

✅ Fix: Attend your exam, or call immediately to reschedule if you can’t make it. Document everything.

❌ 4. Trusting the VA to “Figure It Out”

The VA has a Duty to Assist, but they don’t build your argument. If it’s unclear, they’ll deny it.

✅ Fix: Be specific. Use lay statements. Submit clear, complete evidence that connects the dots.

❗ What Happens If You’re Denied?

A denial doesn’t mean the end — it means it’s time to respond strategically. You have multiple appeal options. Each one has a deadline and serves a different purpose.

🔍 Start by Reading Your Decision Letter

• 📄 Reasons for Decision – Understand the VA’s logic
• 📁 Evidence Reviewed – Make sure your records were considered
• 🧾 Effective Dates – Ensure backpay dates are accurate

📄 Supplemental Claim

If you have new and relevant evidence (records or statements the VA hasn’t seen):

• File within 1 year of the decision
• Use VA Form 20-0995
• 🔗 Submit a Supplemental Claim

📞 Higher-Level Review (HLR)

If you believe the VA made a clear error, but you don’t have new evidence:

• No new evidence allowed
• Optional: request a phone call with the reviewer
• Use VA Form 20-0996
• 🔗 Request HLR

⚖️ Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Take your case to a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). Choose from:

• Direct Review (no new evidence)
• Evidence Submission (within 90 days)
• Hearing (with a VLJ)
• Use VA Form 10182
• 🔗 Appeal to the Board

🤝 Getting Help with Your VA Claim

You don’t have to do this alone — but the help you get must be legal, ethical, and effective. Some people are trained and VA-accredited. Others are claim sharks out to profit off your pain.

✅ Who Can Help You

• ✔ VA-accredited attorneys
• ✔ Accredited claims agents
• ✔ Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) from groups like DAV, VFW, American Legion

🔗 Search VA-Accredited Representatives

⚠️ Watch Out for Claim Sharks

Some companies illegally charge fees or take a cut of your backpay. These are red flags:

• 🚩 They offer to file for a % of your retroactive pay
• 🚩 They’re not listed on the VA’s accreditation site
• 🚩 They pressure you to sign binding contracts without explanation

🔒 Protect yourself: You have the right to verify anyone’s credentials before sharing personal info.

🔗 OGC – Accreditation Search (va.gov)

🧭 When Should You Ask for Help?

• ❓ You’ve been denied and don’t understand why
• ❓ You’re appealing to the Board
• ❓ You need a Nexus Letter or IMO
• ❓ Your claim involves TDIU, secondary conditions, or SMC

✅ What to Do Next: Your VA Claim Game Plan

Whether you’re filing for the first time or trying to recover from a denial, this checklist will help you take confident action:

🔗 Related Resources