The examiner has limited time and may not have read your whole file. What you bring into that room fills the gaps. Your part is to gather every item below at least a few days before the exam, so you are not scrambling the morning of and nothing important gets left at home.

The examiner writes down what you say, and the rater reads only what the examiner wrote. A rushed or modest answer can cost you a full rating level. Your part is to describe your worst days honestly, in plain and specific terms, and to say it out loud even when it feels uncomfortable.

Court decisions and VA rules set what a proper exam must cover. When the examiner skips them, the exam is inadequate and the rating can be challenged. Your part is to know these rights going in, so you can tell afterward whether your exam met the standard or fell short of it.

The hours after the exam are when your memory is sharpest, and that memory is evidence. If the report comes back wrong, your notes are how we prove it. Your part is to write everything down the same day, then request the report and compare it line by line.