Claims & Appeals Guides
Step-by-step guides on filing, evidence, C&P exams, appeals, the PACT Act, TDIU, SMC, and more. Pick the situation you're in below, search by topic, or browse all guides.
What is your situation?
I'm filing my first claim
New to this. Where do I start, what do I need, and what happens after I file?
- Intent to File — Lock In Your Effective Date Today
- Fully Developed Claims vs. Standard Claims
- Direct Service Connection — The Three Elements You Need
- Nexus Letters — The Medical Opinion That Makes or Breaks Your Claim
- C&P Exams — What to Expect and How to Prepare
- What Evidence the VA Will Request from You
- What Happens After You File
- Your Rights as a VA Claimant
I was denied or rated too low
You filed and the result was wrong. Here are your options for fixing it.
- How to Read a VA Rating Decision
- Legacy vs. AMA Appeals: Which System Applies
- Filing a Supplemental Claim with New Evidence
- Higher-Level Review: A Fresh Look at Your Evidence
- Appealing to the Board of Veterans Appeals
- Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) — Correcting Past Mistakes
- Duty to Assist Violations — When the VA Fails to Help You
- Inadequate C&P Exams and How to Challenge Them
I was exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, or other toxins
Presumptive conditions for toxic exposure. The PACT Act may make your claim much easier.
- Burn Pit Exposure and PACT Act Claims
- PACT Act Toxic Exposure Screening
- Filing a Supplemental Claim Under the PACT Act
- Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions
- Gulf War Illness and Southwest Asia Presumptions
- Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Claims
- Radiation Exposure and Atomic Veterans
- Former Prisoner of War Presumptive Conditions
My disability has gotten worse or I can't work because of it
Conditions change. Increase requests, TDIU, SMC, and secondary conditions when the current rating no longer reflects reality.
- C&P Exams for Increased Rating Claims
- TDIU — Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability
- Individual Unemployability Rating Standards
- Secondary Service Connection
- Temporary 100% Ratings — Convalescence and Pre-Stabilization
- Aggravation Ratings for Pre-Existing Conditions
- Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) Levels Overview
The VA wants to reduce my rating
You got a proposal to reduce your rating. Know your protections and how to respond.
I just separated and don't know where to start
The basics — how the system works, what to expect, and what to do first.
- Benefits Delivery at Discharge — File 180 to 90 Days Before You Separate
- How VA Disability Ratings Work — A Complete Overview
- How the VA Assigns Percentage Ratings
- Direct Service Connection — The Three Elements You Need
- Presumptive Service Connection — Conditions the VA Automatically Links
- Intent to File — Lock In Your Effective Date Today
- Benefit of the Doubt — What It Means for Your Claim
- Character of Discharge and VA Benefit Eligibility
Browse all 134 guides
- C&P Exams — What to Expect and How to Prepare
- Direct Service Connection — The Three Elements You Need
- Secondary Service Connection — Claiming Conditions Caused by Your Rated Disabilities
- How the VA Assigns Percentage Ratings — The Rating Process Explained
- How VA Disability Ratings Work — A Complete Overview
- The Combined Rating Table — How Multiple Ratings Are Calculated
- TDIU — Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability
- Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) — Extra Benefits for Severe Disabilities
- Effective Dates — When Your VA Compensation Starts
- Intent to File — Lock In Your Effective Date Today
- Presumptive Service Connection — Conditions the VA Automatically Links to Service
- How to Read a VA Rating Decision — Understanding Your Decision Letter
- Nexus Letters — The Medical Opinion That Makes or Breaks Your Claim
- The Mental Health C&P Exam — What to Expect and How to Prepare
- Your Rights as a VA Claimant — A Plain-Language Summary
- How VA Regional Offices Process Your Claim
- National Work Queue — Why Your Claim May Be Processed in Another State
- Priority Processing — When Your Claim Gets Moved to the Front
- Benefit of the Doubt — What It Actually Means for Your Claim
- VA Quality Review and Error Correction Process
- VA Fiduciary Program for Incompetent Beneficiaries
- Fraud, Forfeiture, and Penalties in VA Claims
- Appointing a Representative or Power of Attorney
- VA Duty to Notify You About Decisions and Rights
- Benefits When a Service Member Dies on Active Duty
- How VA Determines Cause of Death for Benefits
- Memorial Benefits, Headstones, and Presidential Certificates
- National Cemetery Eligibility and Burial Options
- Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA)
- DIC Payment Rates and Additional Allowances
- DIC Benefits for Dependent Parents
- DIC and Remarriage: What Happens to Your Benefits
- CHAMPVA Health Care for Dependents
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Chapter 31) — A Complete Guide
- Clothing Allowance and Other Special Benefits
- Character of Discharge and VA Benefit Eligibility
- Legacy vs. AMA Appeals: Which System Applies to You
- Filing a Supplemental Claim with New Evidence
- Higher-Level Review: A Fresh Look at Your Evidence
- Appealing to the Board of Veterans Appeals
- What Happens After You File — How the VA Establishes Your Claim
- Intent to File — How to Lock In Your Effective Date
- Fully Developed Claims vs. Standard Claims — Which Path Is Better?
- How the VA Determines Jurisdiction Over Your Claim
- Your VA Claims File (C-File) — What Is In It and How to Get a Copy
- How the VA Handles Duplicate or Overlapping Claims
- What Happens When the VA Loses Your Records
- What Development Means and Why It Matters for Your Claim
- VCAA Letters — The VA's Duty to Notify You
- What Evidence the VA Will Request from You
- Time Limits for Submitting Evidence — When Do You Run Out of Time?
- How to Respond to a VA Development Letter
- How the VA Gets Your Service Treatment Records
- What to Do When Your Service Records Are Missing
- How to Help the VA Get Your Private Medical Records
- VA Form 21-4142 and 21-4142a — Medical Records Authorization Explained
- Obtaining Military Personnel Records
- Obtaining Social Security Administration Records
- Obtaining Federal Hospital and Treatment Records
- How VA Decides Whether to Order a C&P Exam
- When VA Must Provide Medical Opinions
- What Happens When You Miss a C&P Exam
- Inadequate C&P Exams and How to Challenge Them
- Types of C&P Exams by Condition
- Disability Benefit Questionnaires (DBQs) Explained
- What Counts as Sufficient Medical Evidence
- Independent Medical Opinions (IMOs)
- How to Review Your C&P Exam Results
- ACE Exams: When VA Decides Without Seeing You
- C&P Exams for Increased Rating Claims
- VA Reexamination Schedules and Future Exams
- General Principles of VA Disability Rating
- Rating by Analogy: When Your Condition Is Not Listed
- Staged Ratings: Different Percentages for Different Periods
- The Pyramiding Rule: No Double-Counting Symptoms
- Extraschedular Ratings: Beyond the Standard Schedule
- Temporary Total Disability Ratings
- Individual Unemployability Rating Standards
- Aggravation Ratings for Pre-Existing Conditions
- Rating Reductions and Your Protections
- Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) Claims
- How to Read Your Rating Decision Letter
- VA Duty to Maximize Your Benefits
- Special Rating Provisions for Combat Veterans
- Herbicide Agent (Agent Orange) Presumptive Conditions — Complete List
- Gulf War Illness and Southwest Asia Presumptions
- Burn Pit Exposure and PACT Act Claims — Complete Guide to Presumptive Conditions
- Radiation Exposure and Atomic Veterans Claims
- Former Prisoner of War Presumptive Conditions
- Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Claims — Disability Benefits and the Justice Act
- How VA Authorizes Disability Payments
- Retroactive Pay and Back Pay Explained
- Withholdings, Offsets, and Recoupments
- Adding Dependents to Increase Your Compensation
- Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP)
- VA Dependency Claims Overview
- School-Age Child Dependency Benefits
- Permanently Disabled (Helpless) Child Benefits
- Dependent Parent Benefits for Veterans
- Aid and Attendance and Housebound Benefits
- Special Monthly Compensation Levels Overview
- SMC-K: Loss of Use of a Creative Organ and More
- SMC-S: The Housebound Rate
- SMC-L: Aid and Attendance Compensation
- Higher SMC Levels: L½ Through R and T
- Automobile and Adaptive Equipment Allowances
- Specially Adapted Housing and Home Modification Grants
- VA Pension vs. Disability Compensation
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for Survivors
- Survivors Pension for Spouses and Dependents
- VA Burial Benefits and Allowances
- Service-Connected Death Benefits
- Protected Ratings — Understanding the 5, 10, and 20-Year Rules
- Proposed Rating Reductions — How to Respond and Protect Your Benefits
- Temporary 100% Ratings — Convalescence and Pre-Stabilization Benefits
- Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) — Correcting Past VA Mistakes
- Duty to Assist Violations — When the VA Fails to Help You
- Extra-Schedular Ratings — When the Rating Schedule Falls Short
- Deferred Ratings — What It Means When the VA Postpones a Decision
- Aid and Attendance for Surviving Spouses — Extra DIC Benefits Explained
- Substitution Claims — Continuing a VA Claim After a Veteran Dies
- Contested Claims — When Two People Claim the Same VA Benefit
- Accrued Benefits — Collecting Unpaid VA Benefits After a Veteran Dies
- PACT Act Toxic Exposure Screening — What It Is and Why It Matters
- Filing a Supplemental Claim Under the PACT Act — Revisiting Previously Denied Claims
- The 48-Month Rule — Using More Than One GI Bill Program
- The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) — A Complete Guide
- Monthly Enrollment Verification — Why Your GI Bill Housing Payment Stopped
- GI Bill Overpayments and School-Created Debt — Who Actually Owes the Money
- Total and Permanent Disability Student Loan Discharge — What Disabled Veterans Need to Know
- Benefits Delivery at Discharge — Filing Your Disability Claim Before You Separate
- VR&E Subsistence Allowance — Chapter 31 Rates and the Post-9/11 BAH Rate
- VR&E Retroactive Induction — Getting Spent GI Bill Months Back
- VR&E Denied or Stalled — Appeals, Plan Disputes, and Escalation