VA Intent to File (Form 21-0966): Lock In Your Back Pay Date

Every month spent gathering records for an aging veteran's pension, disability or survivor claim can be a month VA never pays for, unless a VA intent to file is on record first.1,2 Under federal rule 38 CFR 3.155(b), if the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) receives the complete claim within 1 year of receiving an intent to file, VA treats the claim as filed on the date the intent to file arrived.2 VA's form page says an intent to file can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive, and that protection reaches Aid and Attendance, which VA adds to a monthly pension or compensation award.2,3

In This Guide

• What a VA Intent to File Does for Your Effective Date
• Which VA Claims an Intent to File Covers
• How to File a VA Intent to File
• Starting the Application Online Instead
• What Counts as an Intent to File, and What Doesn't
• If the Year Runs Out
• Using Your Year Well
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What a VA Intent to File Does for Your Effective Date

Every VA award has an effective date, the date from which benefits can be paid. Without anything earlier on record, the general rule in 38 U.S.C. 5110 is that the effective date of an award of VA compensation, DIC, or pension can't be earlier than the date VA receives the application, and 38 CFR 3.400 sets it at the date VA receives the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later.1 Both rules carry exceptions, but where none applies, the practical meaning is that time spent gathering paperwork before VA hears from you is time VA won't pay for.

An intent to file changes that. VA's page for VA Form 21-0966 describes it as the way to start the filing process when you're still gathering information, and says submitting one can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive.2 The rule behind that is 38 CFR 3.155: if VA receives a complete application form, appropriate to the benefit you're seeking, within 1 year of receiving your intent to file, VA considers the complete claim filed as of the date the intent to file was received.2

It helps to be clear about what an intent to file doesn't do. It isn't a claim, and it doesn't make VA approve anything. VA still decides the claim on its merits once the full application arrives. What the intent to file protects is the starting line for payment if the claim is approved.

Which VA Claims an Intent to File Covers

VA's form page lists four kinds of claims an intent to file can be used for: disability compensation, Veterans Pension, Survivors Pension, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).2 That takes in VA disability compensation for service-connected conditions, the needs-based Veterans Pension for wartime veterans, the Survivors Pension for surviving spouses and children, and DIC.

Aid and Attendance isn't a separate claim type on that list. VA describes Aid and Attendance as benefits that will be added to your monthly compensation or pension, and it's applied for with VA Form 21-2680, so an intent to file for pension (or compensation) is the one that protects it.3 Our Aid and Attendance guide covers who qualifies and how much it pays.

One VA intent to file per benefit

A VA intent to file is tied to one benefit. Under 38 CFR 3.155(b)(2), an intent to file must identify the general benefit, such as compensation or pension, though it doesn't need to name a medical condition.2 VA's intent-to-file page says that if you submitted an intent to file for one type of claim, like disability compensation, and you plan to file for another benefit type, like pension, you must submit a new intent to file for the second benefit type.4

So a veteran who filed an intent to file for disability compensation last spring has not protected a pension or Aid and Attendance start date. If the family now plans a pension claim, it needs its own intent to file today.

The regulation also limits how many you can have going for the same benefit. Under 38 CFR 3.155(b)(6), VA won't recognize more than one intent to file at a time for the same benefit, and a second one for the same benefit, sent within a year of an earlier one that was never followed by a complete claim, has no effect.2 Filing a fresh intent to file for the same benefit every few months doesn't restart the clock.

How to File a VA Intent to File

Filing a VA intent to file takes minutes, and VA offers four routes. VA's intent-to-file page says you can submit the intent to file form online, call VA at 800-827-1000 (TTY: 711) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET, or notify VA in person or by mail.4 The paper form is VA Form 21-0966, Intent to File a Claim for Compensation and/or Pension, or Survivors Pension and/or D.I.C., and VA says you can submit it online instead of filling out and mailing the paper version.4

The VA phone route works because 38 CFR 3.155(b)(1) accepts an oral intent to file when it's given to a VA employee designated to receive it, who records the date VA received it in the claimant's records.4 If you call, write down the date and time of the call and the name of the person you spoke with, for your own records.

Filing for a parent who can't do it themselves

If your parent can't handle the paperwork, a family member may be able to file for them. Under 38 CFR 3.155(b), an intent to file can come from the claimant, a duly authorized representative, a Member of Congress, or someone acting as next friend of a claimant who is not of full age or capacity.4 A service organization, attorney, or agent filing for a represented claimant needs a power of attorney in place: VA won't accept their written intent to file if the power of attorney wasn't executed when it was written, and will take an oral one from them only if a power of attorney is already on record.4

VA says that if you need help submitting an intent to file, you can work with an accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative.4 According to VA, VA-recognized VSOs and their representatives always help on benefit claims free of charge, and VA's page on getting help from an accredited representative explains how to find one.5 Federal law, 38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(1), bars accredited agents and attorneys from charging a fee for work done before VA's initial decision on the claim.5 Our guide to free VA claims help and pension poaching explains how to tell the difference.

Starting the Application Online Instead

There's a second way to lock in the date without a separate form. VA's intent-to-file page says that if you sign in with an identity-verified account and start a disability compensation claim, a Supplemental Claim for disability, or a pension application online, VA is automatically notified of your intent to file, and you don't need to call or submit a separate intent to file form.4 The regulation reads differently on one of those three: 38 CFR 3.155 states that its intent-to-file rules in paragraph (b) do not apply to supplemental claims, so a family filing a Supplemental Claim after a denial shouldn't count on an intent to file to hold that date.2 VA's form page agrees for disability: if you file your disability claim online, you don't need a paper intent to file form.4

For pension, VA's own pages don't match. The VA Form 21-0966 page says that if you apply online for pension benefits, you still need to submit an intent to file form (it prints the form number as 21-0996).4 When two VA pages disagree about something this important, the simple fix is to do both: submit a standalone intent to file for pension, by phone, online, or on Form 21-0966, whatever you do with the application itself. A signed, dated intent to file on the prescribed form is one of the three kinds the regulation accepts, so it counts either way.4

A survivor filing for DIC should also use the standalone route, since DIC isn't among the three online applications VA names as filing an intent to file automatically.4

What Counts as an Intent to File, and What Doesn't

Federal rule 38 CFR 3.155(b)(1) lists exactly three ways an intent to file can be made, and 38 CFR 3.155(b)(4) says that if an intent to file isn't submitted in one of those forms, VA won't take further action unless a new claim or a new intent to file is received.4,2 Under that rule, a letter to VA saying your father plans to apply, or an email, is not one of the three ways and doesn't hold a date.2

If the Year Runs Out

If you file an intent to file and don't get a complete claim to VA within 1 year of its receipt, 38 CFR 3.155(b)(4) says VA won't take further action unless it receives a new claim or a new intent to file.2 The protected date is gone, and a claim filed afterward generally falls back to the ordinary rule: under 38 U.S.C. 5110(a)(1) and 38 CFR 3.400, VA's effective date can't be earlier than the date VA receives the claim, unless a specific exception applies.1 One example of those exceptions is VA disability compensation, which 38 U.S.C. 5110(b)(1) makes effective the day after discharge when the application arrives within a year of discharge.1

If the deadline is close, put your effort into getting the complete application form to VA before the year ends, because 38 CFR 3.155(b) ties the protected date to VA receiving a complete application form within 1 year of the intent to file.2 If the year has already passed, file a new one today so the next date is protected.

If VA has already denied a claim, the decision-review deadlines work differently. Our guide on how to appeal a VA claim denial covers the three review options and how each affects your effective date.

Using Your Year Well

An intent to file buys time, and the year goes faster than most families expect. A workable order:

For the claim itself, our guides to the VA Veterans Pension, Survivors Pension, and DIC walk through eligibility and the application, and the guide to VA benefits for seniors shows how the programs fit together.

Learn More

Getting a VA claim started for a parent and not sure which benefit to protect first? Find personalized help planning your VA intent to file and claim 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.