Before you file a single form, understand the three doors you have to walk through to qualify for VA disability compensation.
I have watched too many veterans talk themselves out of filing because they assumed they did not qualify. Most of them were wrong. Eligibility comes down to three doors, and if you can walk through all three, you have a claim worth building.
Door 1: Your discharge
Compensation generally requires a discharge that is other than dishonorable. Many veterans with a general or even an other-than-honorable discharge still qualify or can seek a discharge upgrade or a character-of-discharge determination. Do not assume the worst, the label on your DD-214 is not always the final word.
Door 2: A current disability
The VA pays for a condition you have now, not one that healed decades ago. You need a current diagnosis or current, measurable symptoms in the record.
Door 3: A connection to service
Under 38 CFR § 3.303, you must link the current condition to something that happened in service, an injury, an illness, an exposure, or a stressor. That link is the nexus, and it is where most claims are won or lost.
If you can see yourself in all three doors, stop guessing and start documenting. The system rewards the veteran who builds the file, not the one who waits.
The entire framework governing VA disability compensation is codified in Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations, with the rating schedule at 38 CFR Part 4 and the service-connection standards at §3.303 (direct), §3.310 (secondary), and §3.306 (aggravation). Raters adjudicate claims using the procedures in M21-1, the VA's internal manual that tells them exactly what evidence to develop, what exams to order, and how to apply the rating schedule. Under Gilbert v. Derwinski, when the evidence is in approximate balance, every doubt must be resolved in your favor. Under Caluza v. Brown, service connection requires three elements: a current disability, an in-service event, and a medical nexus linking the two, miss any one, and the claim fails.
