Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions: VA List, Locations, How to File

If the veteran in your family served in Vietnam or Thailand and now has Parkinson's, bladder cancer or high blood pressure, VA lists that illness among its Agent Orange presumptive conditions.1 For a veteran who has one of these Agent Orange presumptive conditions and served in a place and time on VA's list, the Department of Veterans Affairs presumes his service caused the condition, so he doesn't have to prove the link to claim VA disability compensation. VA's Agent Orange list also includes prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes.1

In This Guide

• What Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions Mean for Your Family
• The VA Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions List
• What If His Condition Isn't on the List?
• Did He Serve Where and When VA Presumes Exposure?
• Gulf War and Post-9/11 Veterans: The PACT Act Burn Pit List
• How to File, Starting With an Intent to File
• If VA Denied the Claim Before
• If Your Veteran Has Died: DIC for Survivors
• VA Health Care Now, Even Without a Claim
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions Mean for Your Family

A new diagnosis in an aging parent is a lot to take in, and hearing "that might be from Vietnam" can add a second worry on top of the first. The good news is that for a specific list of conditions, VA has already made the hardest decision for you.

VA calls these presumptive conditions. On its Agent Orange disability compensation page, VA says it considers a condition presumptive when it's established by law or regulation, and that a veteran diagnosed with one doesn't need to prove that it started during, or got worse because of, military service.1 VA still decides each claim on its own facts, and the Agent Orange presumption applies only when the veteran has a listed condition and also meets VA's service requirements.

The rule comes from federal law. Under 38 U.S.C. 1116, a listed disease that shows up as the statute specifies in a veteran who performed covered service is treated as incurred in or aggravated by that service, even with no record of the disease during service.1 The presumption can be rebutted: 38 CFR 3.309(e) makes the listed diseases service-connected only if the regulation's rebuttable presumption provisions are also satisfied.1

The VA Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions List

Here is the full list as VA publishes it on its Agent Orange page, grouped the way VA groups it, as cancers and other illnesses.1

For three conditions, VA notes that under its rating regulations the condition must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure: chloracne, early-onset peripheral neuropathy and porphyria cutanea tarda.1 The statute, 38 U.S.C. 1116, also lists several cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as presumptive once they become manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more.

Two details help families read the list correctly. First, VA's regulation at 38 CFR 3.309(e) says that, for its purposes, ischemic heart disease does not include hypertension or peripheral manifestations of arteriosclerosis such as peripheral vascular disease or stroke.1 High blood pressure is on VA's list separately, as its own condition. Second, the order the conditions arrived matters if VA said no in the past. VA says it added hypertension and MGUS based on the PACT Act, and added bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and parkinsonism in 2021.1

What If His Condition Isn't on the List?

It can feel like a door closing when your parent's diagnosis isn't in the table. It isn't. VA says a veteran with a cancer or illness that's not on its presumptive list, who believes Agent Orange caused it, can still file a claim for VA disability benefits, but will need to submit more evidence.1

For a condition that isn't on VA's Agent Orange presumptive list, VA asks for at least one of two kinds of extra evidence: evidence that the problem started during, or got worse because of, military service, or scientific or medical evidence stating that Agent Orange causes the condition.1 His doctors may be able to help with the second kind.

VA's published Agent Orange list names Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism, and it does not name Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.1 If memory loss is what your family is facing, our guide to VA benefits for veterans with dementia and Alzheimer's covers the other ways VA can help.

Did He Serve Where and When VA Presumes Exposure?

The second requirement is where he served. VA calls the service requirement a presumption of exposure to Agent Orange, and a veteran has a presumption of exposure if he meets at least 1 of VA's service requirements, listed below.1 His discharge papers can help answer this question: VA asks for discharge or separation papers that show the veteran's time and location of service, which may include a DD214.1

VA lists two more ways to qualify that aren't tied to a map. A veteran who served in an Air Force unit location where a C-123 aircraft with traces of Agent Orange was assigned, and had repeated contact with the aircraft through flight, ground or medical duties, qualifies, and so does a veteran who was involved in transporting, testing, storing or other uses of Agent Orange during service.1

The Thailand rule covers the whole base. Under 38 U.S.C. 1116(d), covered service in Thailand at any United States or Royal Thai base from January 9, 1962, through June 30, 1976, counts without regard to where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty he performed.1 For a veteran with covered service, 38 U.S.C. 1116 presumes exposure to an herbicide agent containing dioxin or 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid unless there is affirmative evidence that he was not exposed.1

Gulf War and Post-9/11 Veterans: The PACT Act Burn Pit List

Agent Orange isn't the only exposure the PACT Act addressed. On its PACT Act benefits page, VA says it added more than 20 burn pit and other toxic exposure presumptive conditions, expanding VA benefits for Gulf War era and post-9/11 veterans.2

VA's burn pit list of presumptive cancers covers brain cancer, glioblastoma, kidney cancer, melanoma and pancreatic cancer, plus gastrointestinal, head, neck, reproductive, respiratory and lymphoma cancers of any type.2 VA's list of presumptive illnesses includes asthma diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, COPD, emphysema, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, constrictive or obliterative bronchiolitis, granulomatous disease, interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis.2 The law behind the list is 38 U.S.C. 1120.

VA presumes burn pit exposure for a veteran who served on or after August 2, 1990, in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia or the United Arab Emirates, or on or after September 11, 2001, in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan or Yemen, including the airspace above any of those locations.2

How to File, Starting With an Intent to File

If your family is ready to act, the first step can take minutes. An intent to file tells VA that a claim is coming. VA says an intent to file sets a potential start date (or effective date) for benefits, and if VA approves the claim, the veteran may be able to get retroactive payments for the time between when VA processed the intent to file and when it approved the claim.1

• How to submit an intent to file: VA says a claimant can submit the intent to file form online, notify VA by phone, or notify VA in person or by mail with VA Form 21-0966. Starting a VA disability compensation claim online while signed in with an identity-verified account also notifies VA automatically.1
• The 1-year clock: after notifying VA of an intent to file, the claimant has 1 year to complete and file the claim, and VA allows only 1 active intent to file at a time.1
• What the regulation adds: under 38 CFR 3.155(b), if VA receives a complete application for the benefit within 1 year of receiving the intent to file, VA treats the claim as filed on the date the intent to file was received.1

Then comes the claim itself. For an Agent Orange presumptive condition that hasn't been claimed yet, VA says a new claim can be filed online, by mail, in person, or with the help of a trained professional.1 VA asks for a medical record showing the Agent Orange-related condition and military records showing how the veteran was exposed during service.1

You don't have to pay anyone to do this. VA says that VA-recognized Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and their representatives always provide their services on benefit claims free of charge, and under federal law an accredited agent or attorney can't charge a fee for work done before VA's first decision on the claim.3 You can find an accredited representative through VA, and our guide to accredited VA helpers and pension poaching explains the warning signs of paid "helpers."

If VA Denied the Claim Before

Many families have an old denial letter in a drawer from before these conditions were on the list. That letter may not be the final word.

• Bladder cancer, hypothyroidism or parkinsonism: VA says it added these three conditions in 2021, and if it denied a claim for any of them in the past, it will automatically review the case again and send a letter, with no new claim needed.1
• Any other condition that's now presumptive: VA says a veteran whose disability claim it denied in the past, for a condition it now considers presumptive, can file a Supplemental Claim and VA will review the case again.1 VA's Supplemental Claim form is VA Form 20-0995, and VA lists a change in law such as the PACT Act as a reason a Supplemental Claim may be an option.4

Our guide to appealing a VA claim denial walks through all three of VA's review options if you're weighing which one fits.

If Your Veteran Has Died: DIC for Survivors

If you've lost your husband or father to one of these conditions, it may be hard to think about paperwork right now. When you're ready, know that there may be a monthly benefit meant for exactly this.

VA's PACT Act page says a surviving spouse, dependent child or parent of a veteran who died from a service-connected disability may qualify for a monthly Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payment.2 Under 38 U.S.C. 1310, VA pays DIC to the survivors of a veteran who died from a service-connected or compensable disability, using the same service-connection standards as the disability compensation chapter that holds the Agent Orange presumption, and that presumption applies to a death resulting from herbicide exposure as well as a disability.2

VA DIC also has its own relationship and other eligibility requirements, and the veteran generally must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.2 Our DIC survivor's guide explains who qualifies and how to apply.

If VA denied a DIC claim in the past, VA's PACT Act page says the survivor can submit a new DIC application, and doesn't need to wait for VA to make contact before reapplying.2 VA's page also lists a one-time accrued benefits payment for the survivor of a veteran whom VA owed unpaid benefits at death, and the VA Survivors Pension for the surviving spouse or child of a veteran with wartime service.2

VA Health Care Now, Even Without a Claim

Your veteran doesn't have to finish a disability claim to get care. Under the PACT Act, beginning March 5, 2024, all veterans who meet the basic service and discharge requirements and who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving are eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits.5 VA's priority group 6 includes veterans exposed to toxins or other hazards during military service at home or abroad.5 Our guide to VA health care enrollment and priority groups covers how to apply.

Learn More

Find personalized help sorting out which VA benefits fit your veteran's diagnosis at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.