The short answer
- You need three things: a current diagnosis, an in-service event, injury, or illness, and a link (nexus) between them. Presumptive conditions skip the link.
- File an Intent to File first if you need time. It can protect your effective date for up to a year.
- The claim form is VA Form 21-526EZ. Filing it costs nothing.
Step 1: Check that you're eligible
To get VA disability compensation, you generally need:
- Service on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training
- A discharge other than dishonorable. Some veterans with other-than-honorable discharges can still qualify through a character-of-discharge review.
- A current illness or injury that affects your mind or body
- A connection to service: it started in service, an existing condition got worse in service, or it appeared later but is linked to service
Some conditions are presumptive. VA assumes they're connected to service based on when and where you served, such as burn pit and Agent Orange conditions under the PACT Act and certain chronic diseases that show up within a year of discharge. See our PACT Act conditions list.
Step 2: File an Intent to File
An Intent to File (ITF) tells VA you plan to claim. If you file the full claim within one year, VA can pay you back to the ITF date. You can submit it online at VA.gov, on VA Form 21-0966, or by calling 800-827-1000. It's one of the most valuable things you can do for your back pay.
Step 3: Gather your evidence
VA has a duty to help gather records, but claims built with the right evidence up front tend to go more smoothly. Collect:
| Evidence | What it proves |
|---|---|
| DD-214 or other separation documents | Your service and discharge |
| Service treatment and personnel records | The in-service injury, illness, or event |
| VA and private medical records | A current diagnosis and how severe it is |
| A medical opinion (nexus letter) | The link between your condition and service, when it isn't obvious from the records |
| Personal statement (VA Form 21-4138) | When symptoms started and how they affect work and daily life |
| Buddy statements (VA Form 21-10210) | What fellow service members, family, or friends saw |
VA says you don't have to submit evidence with the claim, and you have up to a year after it receives the claim to send more. But late evidence can send a pending claim back to the evidence-gathering step and add time.
Step 4: List every condition clearly
Name each condition separately and say how it's related to service. For example, write "lower back strain from a 2009 vehicle accident in Iraq" instead of "back problems." Include secondary conditions caused or worsened by conditions you're already rated for. Vague or missing conditions are one of the most common reasons veterans end up underrated.
Our free claim review checks your conditions, evidence, and timing.
Step 5: Choose how to file
VA accepts VA Form 21-526EZ in five ways:
- Online at VA.gov. You get an on-screen confirmation, and you can save and come back. VA keeps the date you started as long as you finish within 365 days.
- By mail to: Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444.
- In person at a VA regional office. In Arkansas, that's the Little Rock VA Regional Benefit Office at 2200 Fort Roots Drive, North Little Rock.
- By fax, using the numbers listed on VA.gov.
- With an accredited representative: a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative, an accredited claims agent, or an accredited attorney. Check anyone first in VA's accreditation search.
Step 6: What happens after you file
- Track it in the VA.gov claim status tool or the VA mobile app. Claims move through eight steps. See how long a VA claim takes.
- Attend your C&P exam. It often carries more weight than anything else in the file. Use our C&P exam prep guide.
- Answer VA letters quickly, especially requests for evidence.
- Read the decision letter closely, including favorable findings, ratings, and effective dates.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Filing without an Intent to File and losing months of back pay.
- Missing or rescheduling a C&P exam.
- Downplaying symptoms ("I'm fine") at the exam.
- Leaving off secondary conditions or nerve symptoms.
- Paying an unaccredited "consultant" for help with an initial claim. That's what people call a claim shark.
- Sharing your VA.gov login with anyone.
- Waiting more than a year after a denial to act, which can cost you your effective date.
What filing costs
Filing a VA claim is free. VSOs never charge. Accredited claims agents and attorneys can't charge for help with a claim before VA's first decision on it. Fees are allowed only for later work, like reviews and appeals, under a written agreement filed with VA. At Advocates for Benefits, our claim review is free. For VA reviews and appeals, our fee is 20% of past-due benefits, and you only pay if we win. See Fees.
If VA denies or underrates you
You'll have three options: a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, or a Board appeal. Act within one year to protect your effective date. Compare them in HLR vs. Supplemental Claim vs. Board, or read Denied? What Now.
Sources
VA: How to file a disability claim · VA: Eligibility · VA: Intent to File · VA: Evidence needed · VA: Benefits Delivery at Discharge · VA OGC: Accreditation search
This article is general information, not legal advice. VA and SSA rules change; verify current rules with VA.gov or SSA.gov or talk to an accredited representative.