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 — How It Sets an Earlier Date for Your VA Claim
- 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, How to Prepare and How to Get Your Report
- VCAA and Development Letters — What VA Must Tell You and How to Respond
- What Happens After You File — How VA Develops and Decides Your Claim
- 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) — Revising a Final VA Decision
- Duty to Assist Violations — When the VA Fails to Help You
- When VA Must Give You a C&P Exam, and How to Challenge an Inadequate One
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 — What to Expect, How to Prepare and How to Get Your Report
- TDIU — Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability
- Secondary Service Connection
- Temporary 100% Ratings — Hospital Stays, Convalescence and Prestabilization
- Aggravation Ratings for Pre-Existing Conditions
- Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) — Every Level From K to T
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
- VA Disability Ratings Explained — How the VA Assigns Your Percentage
- Direct Service Connection — The Three Elements You Need
- Presumptive Service Connection — Conditions the VA Automatically Links
- Intent to File — How It Sets an Earlier Date for Your VA Claim
- Benefit of the Doubt — What It Means for Your Claim
- Character of Discharge and VA Benefit Eligibility
Browse all 102 guides
- C&P Exams — What to Expect, How to Prepare and How to Get Your Report
- Direct Service Connection — The Three Elements You Need
- Secondary Service Connection — Claiming Conditions Caused by Your Rated Disabilities
- TDIU — Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability
- Effective Dates — When Your VA Compensation Starts
- Intent to File — How It Sets an Earlier Date for Your VA Claim
- 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
- 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
- Service-Connected Death — How VA Decides the Cause of Death
- National Cemetery Burial, Headstones and Memorial Items — Who Is Eligible
- Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA)
- 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
- VA Clothing Allowance — For Clothing Damaged by a Device or Skin Medication
- 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 VA Develops and Decides Your Claim
- 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
- VCAA and Development Letters — What VA Must Tell You and How to Respond
- Time Limits for Submitting Evidence — The VA Deadlines in One Place
- Service Records for a VA Claim — How VA Gets Them and What Happens If They Are Missing
- Private Medical Records and VA Forms 21-4142 and 21-4142a
- Obtaining Social Security Administration Records
- What Happens When You Miss a C&P Exam
- When VA Must Give You a C&P Exam, and How to Challenge an Inadequate One
- DBQs, Private Medical Opinions and Independent Medical Opinions
- VA Reexamination Schedules and Future Exams
- Rating by Analogy: When Your Condition Is Not Listed
- Staged Ratings: Different Percentages for Different Periods
- The Pyramiding Rule: No Double-Counting Symptoms
- Aggravation Ratings for Pre-Existing Conditions
- Rating Reductions and Your Protections
- Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) — Revising a Final VA Decision
- 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 (SMC) — Every Level From K to T
- 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 (SAH) and Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) Grants
- VA Pension vs. Disability Compensation
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) — Who Qualifies and What It Pays
- Survivors Pension for Spouses and Dependents
- VA Burial Allowances — Burial, Plot and Transportation Benefits
- Protected Ratings — Understanding the 5, 10, and 20-Year Rules
- Proposed Rating Reductions — How to Respond and Protect Your Benefits
- Temporary 100% Ratings — Hospital Stays, Convalescence and Prestabilization
- 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