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Stages of a VA Disability Claim

A claim goes through various steps on its way to becoming completed. Do know that the a claim can and will often go back and forth between stages. This may be due to the VA determining they need more evidence, need something clarified, the status website being buggy, to cause you increased anxiety, etc.

To check the stage your claim is currently in click HERE.

NOTE:

  • There are a total of 8 steps formally in a claim. Some people may find their tracker is currently only showing 5 steps, there is an ongoing update underway to show all steps. In short, the 5 step tracker simply combines steps 3-6 into a single step.

0. Intent to File

While not technically a step. When you go Online and start a claim, before it is formally submitted. It is treated as an intent to file, giving you a year to gather evidence to strengthen your claim.

For more information on how to file a claim click HERE.

1. Claim Received

VA has received your claim. 👏👏 Congratulations!

You have taken a large step forward, and we are proud you gathered the strength and courage to get the compensation and recognition you deserve.

2. Initial Review

In this stage, a Veteran Service Representative (VSR) reviews your claim. They help separate the wheat from the chaff. If you messed something up really bad and they are unable to continue to process your claim they will close your claim and send you a letter explaining why and what you need to do.

Otherwise, they will determine what your claim needs and you are moved onto the next step.

3. Evidence Gathering

The VA is getting evidence for your claim.

  • Military medical records, if you did not include them;

  • Getting other medical records you told them to get;

  • Requesting Compensation & Pension Examinations (C&P);

  • Requesting clarification on a piece of evidence;

  • etc.

NOTE:

  • For more information about types of evidence you should submit, how to get it to the VA, etc. click HERE.

4. Evidence Review

After a set amount of time (usually 30 days), the VA checks the claim to see if it has obtained everything it has requested. If there is still something missing, the claim can be sent back to step 3.

However, if the VA decides your claim has all the evidence it needs, they send the claim to a Rating Veteran Service Representative (RVSR) the 'Rater'.

5. Rating

Most of this stage will be spent waiting in line to get before a rater. It is not uncommon to have to wait several months before getting to a rater's desk.

In this step the rater works their magic and Rates your claim. They will consider all the evidence of record and write out narratives explaining their ratings decisions.

However, if the rater is unable to make any decisions due to missed claim development, things will go back to step 3!

6. Preparing Decision Letter

The decision letter is created. This letter includes things like notice of your disability rating(s), amount of your monthly payments, and the date your payments will start.

As with the other steps, if it needs to go back to a previous stage to fix issues, the claim will go back.

7. Preparation for Decision Notification (Final Review)

A senior reviewer will do a final look over of your claim and the decision letter. If everything looks good, the claim is dolled up and the decision letter is readied into an envelope to be sent to you. Know that VA only uses the finest and fastest French racing snails the VA and US Postal Service could find at the nearest French restaurants by their Regional Offices.

NOTE:

  • If the rater made a partial decision, the claim will be sent to stage 3 to develop the deferred issues.

8. Complete (Claim Decided)

Congratulations! You should receive a decision letter in 2 weeks or so. The decision letter will explain in detail what ratings you got and why.

Inpatient? It can take a few business days, but Va.gov will populate with the decision before the snail arrives with your letter.

Alternatively, you can view your decision online HERE.

Priority Processing

Certain Veterans are eligible to have their claim processed quicker. Click HERE to learn more.

Requests

When you check your claim status, you may see a series of requests. For more information on requests click HERE.

Supplemental Claim Status

Currently claim trackers will either show your Supplemental claim status as:

  • "We don't know your status"; or

  • "A reviewer is examining your new evidence".

Either of these statuses will remain till the claim is actually closed out.

Frequently Asked Questions

    • The VA CANNOT consider your claim formally till the day AFTER you separate from active duty.

  • Claim completion time varies from a few weeks to over a year. Depending on several factors:

    • The type of claim(s) you filed.

    • How many injuries or disabilities you claimed and how complex they are.

    • How long it takes the VA to collect the evidence needed to decide your claim.

    To find out the current average time for claim completion click HERE.

    • You can check the status of your claim HERE. However, this is not recommended as your claim can and will go back and forth in the steps. It is recommended that you try and take up a hobby to fill up your time and head instead of constantly checking and worrying about your claim.

    • If you disagree with your claim's decision you can Appeal the decision. You have up to one year to appeal the decision and still preserve the initial "intent to file" effective date of the claim.

    • Read and re-read the decision letter. It will often tell you exactly what you need to do for your claim to be successful on appeal.

References