How to File Your First VA Disability Claim

VA disability compensation is a monthly, tax-free payment for veterans who got sick or injured in service, or whose service made an existing condition worse. VA's eligibility page sets the rules.

You may be eligible if both of these are true:

• You have a current illness or injury that affects your mind or body, and
• You served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.

And at least 1 of these is true:

• The condition started in service,
• A condition you had before service got worse because of service, or
• A condition linked to service showed up after you left.

Notice what is missing. There is no minimum number of days. An older version of this page said you needed "at least 90 days of active duty." That was wrong. The 90-day rule (or 24 months for most who enlisted after September 7, 1980) is a Veterans Pension requirement. Pension is a different, needs-based benefit. Compensation asks only whether you served and whether a current condition is connected to that service.

Guard and Reserve. The eligibility language above includes active duty for training and inactive duty training. That is how Guard and Reserve members can be eligible. An injury on a drill weekend can be service-connected if the records show it.

Discharge status. VA says a veteran with an other than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge "may not be eligible." The options are a discharge upgrade through your service branch or a VA Character of Discharge review. If this applies to you, an accredited representative can explain both routes before you file. The path is slower but not closed.

Presumptive conditions. For some conditions VA presumes service connection without a medical link. VA's page lists chronic illnesses that appear within 1 year of discharge, illness from toxic exposure, and illness from time as a prisoner of war. The PACT Act expanded the exposure list; see the section below.

The rest of this guide is the how to file a VA disability claim process in 5 steps. The VA disability pillar guide covers the wider system.

An Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966) tells VA you plan to claim before you have everything ready. VA says it "sets a potential start date (or effective date) for your benefits." If the claim is later approved, you may get retroactive pay back to the date VA received the intent.

The rules are simple:

• You have 1 year from the intent date to file the actual claim.
• You can have only 1 active intent per benefit type. Disability compensation, pension and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) each need their own.
• You can submit it online, by phone, by mailing the form, in person at a VA office, or through an accredited representative.
• If you start VA Form 21-526EZ online, VA saves your start date automatically. A separate intent matters most if you plan to file on paper or need months to gather evidence.

Watch out: The intent protects a date, not a claim. If the year passes without a filed 21-526EZ, the date is gone. Set a reminder for 11 months out.

Every first claim is built on the same 3-part structure. It comes from 38 CFR 3.303, which defines service connection as an injury or disease "incurred coincident with service" or, if it preexisted service, "aggravated therein."

1. A current diagnosis. Something a clinician has named and documented. Symptoms alone are weaker; if you have not been seen, a visit to a VA or private provider before filing helps.
2. An in-service event, injury, illness or exposure. Service treatment records, incident reports, deployment orders, or a lay statement describing what happened.
3. A nexus. A link between 1 and 2. A medical opinion that the condition is "at least as likely as not" related to service, a presumption, or a continuity of symptoms since service. The medical nexus letters guide explains when a private opinion helps.

What "at least as likely as not" means. It is a 50% or greater probability. That standard matches 38 CFR 3.102: when the evidence for and against is in "approximate balance," VA resolves the doubt in your favor. That is a tie-goes-to-the-veteran rule, not a substitute for evidence. A second rule also helps. VA must weigh "all pertinent medical and lay evidence," so your own statement counts.

Conditions caused by a service-connected condition can be claimed too, under a separate rule; see establishing a secondary connection.

VA's evidence page lists what a claim needs. Submitting evidence with the claim is optional, and VA gives you up to 1 year after it receives the claim to send more. But a thin file means a slower claim and a weaker exam. Here is a working VA disability claim checklist.

Source: https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/evidence-needed/ and https://www.va.gov/find-forms/about-form-21-10210/, current as of September 2026.

The medical evidence requirements guide goes deeper on what makes each record useful. Many veterans write the 21-4138 statement early, while details are fresh: the event, the symptoms since, and how they affect work and daily life. Those are the same facts the DBQ asks about at the exam.

VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits, is the claim form. VA's how to file page lists the ways to submit it:

1. Online at VA.gov. The most common route. You can save and return, upload evidence, and the start date is recorded when you begin.
2. By mail. Send the completed form to Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444.
3. In person. Bring it to a VA regional office.
4. By fax. VA lists domestic and international fax numbers on the filing page.
5. With an accredited representative. A Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative, accredited attorney or claims agent can prepare and file it with you.

Can I file myself, and what does a VSO cost? You can file on your own; a representative is not required. A VSO costs nothing. VA says an accredited VSO representative's services "are always free." Attorneys and claims agents can charge, but under 38 CFR 14.636 only for work after VA issues notice of an initial decision. A fee up to 20% of past-due benefits is presumed reasonable; one over 33 1/3% is presumed unreasonable. For a first claim, a VSO is the usual choice. Anyone who asks for money to help you file an initial claim is not operating under VA's accreditation rules.

The form asks for each condition by name, with the body part and side where it applies. It does not ask for a rating; the rater assigns that after the evidence is in. Each condition listed gets its own decision, and a condition that is not listed is not decided.

VA's after you file page shows the claim moving through 8 status steps: claim received, initial review, evidence gathering, evidence review, rating, decision letter preparation, final review, and claim decided. Evidence gathering is usually the longest stage, and it is where VA schedules the exam.

The C&P exam. A VA claim exam is also called a compensation and pension (C&P) exam. It is how VA documents the diagnosis, severity and service link when the file does not already show them. A VA provider or a VA contractor runs it. The examiner records findings on a DBQ; a rater at the Veterans Benefits Administration decides the rating. Missing the exam without good cause is the most costly mistake in the process. The C&P exam preparation guide covers what the examiner measures and what happens if you cannot attend.

Timeline. VA publishes a rolling average.

Source: https://www.va.gov/disability/after-you-file-claim/, figures as posted for July 2026.

That average covers all disability-related claims; a first claim with several conditions, missing private records or a second exam takes longer. VA says you do not need to do anything after filing unless it contacts you. Watch the claim status tool on VA.gov and answer any request quickly.

The decision letter. It states each condition, whether it was service-connected, the rating, the effective date and the monthly amount. Pay runs from the effective date, which is why the Intent to File in Step 1 matters. If more than 1 condition is rated, VA combines them with its own formula, not simple addition; the understanding VA disability ratings guide and the combined rating calculator explain how. Current payment amounts are in the 2026 rates table.

If a condition is denied or rated lower than the evidence supports, you have 1 year from the date on your decision letter to use 1 of VA's 3 review options. The VA disability appeal guide compares them.

Fully Developed Claim (FDC). The FDC program is the same 21-526EZ with a promise attached. You submit all the evidence you have, certify there is nothing more VA needs to request, and attend any exam. VA still pulls your service records and federal records. The aim is a faster decision. There is no penalty for trying: if VA finds it needs more records, it simply moves the claim to standard processing.

Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD). Still serving? The BDD program lets you file 180 to 90 days before you leave the military. You must be available for VA exams within 45 days of submitting and include a completed Separation Health Assessment, Part A. VA gets your service treatment records for you if you file online. With fewer than 90 days left, BDD is closed, but you can still file a pre-discharge claim that VA processes as a standard or fully developed claim after separation.

PACT Act presumptives. The PACT Act added more than 20 presumptive conditions tied to burn pits, Agent Orange and other exposures, and more presumptive locations. VA's rule for any presumptive condition: "you don't need to prove that your service caused the condition. You only need to meet the service requirements for the presumption." For a listed condition in a covered location and era, the presumption replaces the nexus element, which is usually the hardest part of a claim.

• Waiting to file until everything is perfect. An Intent to File protects the date while evidence is gathered. The date is worth money.
• Repeating the 90-day myth. Short service, training injuries and Reserve drill injuries can all be service-connected.
• Filing without a current diagnosis. A current diagnosis is the first element VA looks for. A claim for symptoms with no record behind them often ends in a denial that then has to be reviewed.
• Leaving conditions off. Each condition on the form gets its own decision. A condition that is not on the form is not decided.
• Skipping the lay statement. A 21-4138 in your own words and a 21-10210 from a witness are free, fast and count as evidence under 38 CFR 3.303.
• Missing the C&P exam. Missing it without good cause means VA decides on the file it has, which is usually the file that was not enough.
• Paying someone to file. VSO help is free, and attorney or agent fees are limited by 38 CFR 14.636 to work after an initial decision.
• Ignoring mail from VA. Requests for evidence and exam letters have short windows. Update your address on VA.gov.

Your VA rating does more than set a federal check. Most states tie property-tax exemptions to a rating threshold, and many waive vehicle registration, hunting and fishing license fees, or state park fees at set percentages. Several offer tuition waivers for dependents of veterans rated at 100%. Many counties also have accredited veteran service officers who can help you file the claim itself. Pick your state to see what your rating could add.