How to Appeal a VA Claim Denial: 3 Options, Forms and Deadlines

To appeal a VA claim denial, you ask VA for one of three decision reviews: a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, or a Board Appeal. For most VA benefits, the Higher-Level Review and the Board Appeal must be requested within 1 year of the date on your decision letter, while a Supplemental Claim can be filed at any time, though VA recommends filing it within that same year to keep your effective date.1 The option that fits depends on why the Department of Veterans Affairs said no, and free help is available for every one of them.

In This Guide

• How to Appeal a VA Claim Denial: Start With the Letter
• Option 1: File a VA Supplemental Claim
• Option 2: Request a VA Higher-Level Review
• Option 3: Request a Board Appeal
• The Three VA Decision Review Options Side by Side
• Which Option Fits the Reason VA Denied Your Claim?
• How Long You Have to Appeal a VA Claim Denial
• If the Review Also Says No
• Free Help and When Someone May Charge
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

How to Appeal a VA Claim Denial: Start With the Letter

A denial letter can feel like the end of the road, especially when the claim was for a parent's VA Aid and Attendance or a widow's Survivors Pension. A VA denial isn't the end. VA gives claimants who disagree with a decision three ways to ask for another look, and the letter itself is the map for choosing between them.

Two things in the letter matter most. The first is the date printed on it, because the deadlines VA sets for a Higher-Level Review and a Board Appeal run from that date. The second is the reason VA gives for the decision, because that reason tells you which review is likely to help.

Read the deadline carefully rather than assuming it's a year. VA says that for most VA benefits a claimant has 1 year from the date on the decision letter to request a Higher-Level Review or a Board Appeal, but certain types of VA benefits have time limits of less than 1 year, and the decision letter will tell you the deadline.1 One shorter limit applies to contested claims, where you and someone else are both claiming a benefit only one person can receive: VA requires a Board Appeal on a contested claim within 60 days of the date on the decision letter.4

This guide covers the three reviews for any VA benefit decision, including the Veterans Pension, Aid and Attendance, Survivors Pension and VA disability compensation. For whether a claim should qualify in the first place, our guides to the Veterans Pension, Aid and Attendance and the broader guide to VA benefits for seniors are the place to start.

Option 1: File a VA Supplemental Claim

A VA Supplemental Claim asks VA to decide the claim again with evidence it didn't have the first time. On VA's Supplemental Claims page, it may be an option for a Veteran or other beneficiary of a VA benefit when VA decided the claim in the past and the claim isn't a contested claim, and when the claimant either has new and relevant evidence to submit or is asking for review based on a change in law, such as the PACT Act.2

The phrase "new and relevant" has a specific meaning. Under the federal rule at 38 CFR 3.2501, new evidence is evidence that wasn't previously part of the record VA's adjudicators had, and relevant evidence is information that tends to prove or disprove a matter at issue in the claim, including evidence that raises a theory of entitlement VA didn't address before.2 You don't have to gather everything yourself, either: VA says it can help gather new evidence you identify, and under 38 CFR 3.2501 a substantially complete VA Supplemental Claim triggers VA's duty to assist in gathering evidence.2

How you file depends on the benefit. VA's online Supplemental Claim form accepts only disability compensation claims. For other types of claims, such as a VA pension or survivor benefit, you file by mail, in person, or with the help of a Veterans Service Organization, using Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995), sent to the address VA lists for your benefit type.2

If VA's Supplemental Claim decision still goes against you, VA lists three next steps: request a Higher-Level Review, request a Board Appeal, or file another Supplemental Claim if you have more new and relevant evidence.2

Option 2: Request a VA Higher-Level Review

A VA Higher-Level Review is the option for when you believe VA made a mistake with the evidence it already had. VA says you or your accredited representative can request a new review of your case by a higher-level reviewer, who will determine whether an error or a difference of opinion changes the decision, and that you can't submit new evidence with a Higher-Level Review.3 Under 38 CFR 3.2601, the reviewer is an experienced adjudicator who didn't take part in the earlier decision, and the record is limited to the evidence VA had when it issued the decision under review.3

VA's Higher-Level Review has three requirements, and you must meet all of them: you're requesting it within 1 year of VA's decision on your initial claim or Supplemental Claim (counting from the date on the decision letter), you don't have new evidence to submit, and the claim isn't a contested claim.3 VA also says you can't request a Higher-Level Review after a previous Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal on the same issue.3

The form is Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996). VA's online Higher-Level Review process accepts only disability compensation claims, so a VA pension or survivor benefit claimant requests one by mail, in person, or with the help of a VA-accredited attorney, claims agent, or VSO representative. VA Form 20-0996 covers one benefit type at a time, so a separate form is needed for each benefit type, and each form lists every issue you disagree with and the VA decision date for each issue.3

The optional informal conference

On the VA Form 20-0996, you can ask for an informal conference, which VA describes as a call with the higher-level reviewer assigned to your case, where you or your representative point out the factual or legal errors in VA's decision. VA says you can have only 1 informal conference for each Higher-Level Review, it isn't a formal hearing, you can't submit new evidence during it, and it may take VA longer to decide your case if you have one.3 The reviewer makes 2 attempts to reach you or your representative, and if those fail, VA decides the Higher-Level Review without the conference. VA suggests a written statement describing the errors as an alternative that can help it decide faster.3

What a VA Higher-Level Review can decide

VA lists three possible outcomes. The reviewer may decide the previous decision was correct, may disagree with it and decide in your favor, or may find that VA didn't help you get all the evidence you needed, which VA calls a duty-to-assist error. In that last case, VA gathers the missing evidence and decides your case based on it.3 If you disagree with the Higher-Level Review decision, VA says your next options are a Board Appeal or a Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence.3

Option 3: Request a Board Appeal

A VA Board Appeal sends your case to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals in Washington, D.C.4 VA says a Board Appeal may be an option if you submit your request within 1 year of the decision on your initial claim, Supplemental Claim, or Higher-Level Review, counting from the date on the decision letter. You can request a VA Board Appeal only after a decision on an initial claim, a Supplemental Claim, or a Higher-Level Review, and you can't request 2 Board Appeals in a row for the same claim.4

The form is Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), VA Form 10182. Use that exact form: under 38 CFR 20.202, the Board won't accept a disagreement sent in any other format, including on a different VA form.4 VA lists 5 ways to request a Board Appeal: online, by mail, in person at a VA regional office, by fax, or with the help of an accredited attorney, claims agent, or VSO representative.4

The three types of Board Appeal

When you fill out VA Form 10182, you choose one of three types of Board Appeal. A Veterans Law Judge reviews all of them, but they differ in whether you can add evidence or speak to the judge.4

1. Direct Review. The judge decides your Board Appeal on the evidence already in your case. You can't submit new evidence, and you can't have a hearing.4
2. Evidence Submission. The judge considers new evidence along with what was already in your case. You must submit the new evidence with your Board Appeal or within 90 days of the date VA receives your request.4
3. Hearing. You meet with a Veterans Law Judge, and you may, but don't have to, add new evidence at the hearing or within 90 days after it. The hearing can be a virtual tele-hearing, a videoconference hearing at a VA location near you, or an in-person hearing at the Board in Washington, D.C., where you pay any travel costs.4

The same three choices appear in the federal rule for a Board of Veterans' Appeals Notice of Disagreement at 38 CFR 20.202, including the 90-day windows for additional evidence.4

The Three VA Decision Review Options Side by Side

Every entry in the table above comes from VA's decision review pages and the federal rules behind them.2,3,4,1

Which Option Fits the Reason VA Denied Your Claim?

Match the review to the reason in your letter. Matching them is a way of thinking it through, not a rule VA applies, and a free accredited representative can help you weigh it for your own case.

• VA said evidence was missing. If the letter points to a missing medical record, a missing statement, or anything else you can now supply, VA's decision review guidance points to a Supplemental Claim, which exists for new and relevant evidence.2 If the letter says countable net worth or income was too high, our guide to the VA pension net worth limit and look-back explains how VA counts both.
• VA had the evidence but got it wrong. If you believe VA misread the file or misapplied a rule, and you have nothing new to add, a Higher-Level Review is built for that: VA says the reviewer determines whether an error or a difference of opinion changes the decision.3
• You want a judge to decide. If you want a Veterans Law Judge to review the case, possibly with new evidence or a hearing, choose a Board Appeal and pick the type that matches what you want to add.4

How Long You Have to Appeal a VA Claim Denial

A VA Supplemental Claim has no filing deadline, but waiting can move your effective date later. VA says you can file a Supplemental Claim at any time, but recommends filing within 1 year from the date on your decision letter to keep your effective date.1 The federal rule explains why. Under 38 CFR 3.2500(h)(2), when VA receives a Supplemental Claim more than one year after it issued notice of a decision, the effective date is based on the date entitlement arose but can't be earlier than the date VA received the Supplemental Claim.1

After a decision review, the one-year clock still controls your choices. VA says that if you disagree with a decision review within 1 year, you have options to request another review, submitted within 1 year from the date on that decision letter. If more than 1 year has passed since the date on a VA decision review letter, VA says your only option is to file a Supplemental Claim.1

One VA decision review at a time

While one VA decision review is pending on an issue, you can't file a different type of review on the same issue. Under 38 CFR 3.2500(b), a claimant who has filed for one review may not, while that review is pending, file for review under a different option. VA also asks that if you requested a decision review and haven't heard back yet, you don't request another review.1

Switching to a different VA decision review option

You can change course before VA decides. Under 38 CFR 3.2500(d), a claimant may withdraw a Supplemental Claim or a Higher-Level Review request at any time before VA decides the issue.1 To switch, VA says to send a signed letter saying you want to withdraw your original decision review request, then submit a new request for the review option you want. VA says you can switch to a Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal if you're still within 1 year from the date on your decision letter, and to a Supplemental Claim at any time, though VA recommends switching within that year to keep your effective date.1

VA says you can switch out of a Board Appeal if both of these are true: you haven't submitted new evidence or had a hearing, and the Board hasn't decided your case. And once VA has completed a Higher-Level Review for your case, you can't request another Higher-Level Review, just as a completed Board Appeal rules out a second Board Appeal.1

If the Review Also Says No

A second no doesn't have to be the last word either. After a VA Supplemental Claim or Higher-Level Review decision, the next steps listed under each option above still apply. After a Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, 38 CFR 3.2500(c) allows two routes: a new VA Supplemental Claim, or an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.1

The court step works differently from everything above. VA says you can appeal a Board of Veterans' Appeals decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims within 120 days from the date on your decision letter, and that the Court Appeal is filed with the Court, not with VA.4 Under 38 U.S.C. 7266(a), a person adversely affected by a final Board decision must file a notice of appeal with the Court within 120 days after the date notice of the Board decision is issued.4 The 120-day window for a Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims appeal is much shorter than the one-year window for the VA decision reviews, so mark it on the calendar the day the Board decision arrives.

Free Help and When Someone May Charge

You don't have to do any of this alone, and you don't have to pay for help. VA accredits three kinds of helpers for VA benefit claims: representatives of VA-recognized Veterans Service Organizations, claims agents, and attorneys. VA's Pension Poaching FAQ says VA-recognized VSOs and their representatives always provide their services on benefit claims free of charge.5 You can check that any helper is accredited on the VA Office of General Counsel's searchable list of accredited representatives, agents and attorneys.5

A VA decision review is also the point where paid help becomes lawful. Under 38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(1), a VA-accredited agent or attorney can't charge for work done before the claimant receives notice of VA's initial decision, with a narrow exception for VA home-loan cases.5 After that decision, VA's Veterans Benefits Administration says only VA-accredited attorneys and claims agents may charge a fee to advise claimants seeking review or appealing, collect evidence for a Supplemental Claim or an appeal, prepare and file a Supplemental Claim, submit a Higher-Level Review request, or submit an appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.5

Two protections come with paid help on a VA decision review. Under 38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(2), an agent or attorney representing a VA claimant after the initial decision must file a copy of any fee agreement with VA, and under 38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(3)(A), VA may review a filed fee agreement on its own or at the claimant's request and order the fee reduced if VA finds it excessive or unreasonable.5 Anyone who asks for money to file your original VA pension claim, or who isn't on VA's accreditation list, deserves a second look; our guide to free VA claims help and pension poaching walks through the warning signs.

Learn More

Holding a VA denial letter for yourself or a parent and not sure which review to choose? Get personalized help sorting out your next step 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.