VA Forms Library
Every form the VA claims and appeals process uses, what it does, how it fits your case, and whether to file it online or by mail, explained in plain English, right here. When a form is best filed online, we point you to the exact VA.gov page. When a call is faster, we give you the number.
File online, usually fastest
Most claim and appeal forms can be filed directly at VA.gov. You get an instant confirmation the VA received it, and you can upload your evidence in the same session. New to the site? See our step-by-step guide.
Mail or upload a PDF
Prefer paper? Every form can be downloaded, printed, and mailed to the VA, or scanned and uploaded to your VA.gov account. Keep a copy of everything you send, and note the date.
When in doubt, call the VA
Some things are just easier by phone. For general benefits and claim questions, call 1-800-827-1000. Not sure who to ask? MyVA411 at 1-800-698-2411 routes you anywhere, 24/7.
Start & Support a Compensation Claim
These forms open a disability claim and protect your effective date. If you file only one thing today, file the Intent to File, it can save a year of back pay. After the Intent to File, you have one year to submit the full claim, and the evidence forms below are what turn a claim from a request into a proven case. Your part is to file the Intent to File first, then build the claim with records before the year runs out.
VA Form 21-526EZ
Application for Disability Compensation
The core initial claim form. This is what opens a disability compensation claim and puts your conditions on the record. It is the single most important form in the process.
VA Form 21-0966
Intent to File
Files your Intent to File and locks in your effective date for up to a year while you gather evidence. Filing this first can protect a year of back pay you would otherwise lose.
VA Form 21-4138
Statement in Support of Claim
The all-purpose statement form. Use it to tell the VA anything in your own words, how a condition affects you, a timeline of symptoms, or a response to a VA letter.
VA Form 21-8940
Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability
The core TDIU form. Documents your work history and how service-connected conditions keep you from holding substantially gainful employment, pays at the 100% rate.
Appeal a VA Decision
When the VA gets it wrong, these are the three decision-review lanes plus the CUE challenge. Choosing the right lane is half the battle, each linked guide explains when to use which. Each lane has its own rules about new evidence and its own deadline, usually one year from the decision letter. Your part is to read the decision letter closely, find the exact reason for denial, and pick the lane that fixes that reason.
VA Form 20-0995
Supplemental Claim
Files a Supplemental Claim under 38 CFR §3.2501 when you have new and relevant evidence after a denial. Often the fastest lane to reverse a wrong decision.
VA Form 20-0996
Higher-Level Review
Requests a senior adjudicator re-examine your existing record under 38 CFR §3.2601. Best when the VA made a legal or duty-to-assist error, no new evidence needed.
VA Form 10182
Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement)
Takes your case to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Choose Direct Review, Evidence Submission, or a Hearing docket depending on your case.
VA Form 21-4138
CUE / Statement to Reopen
A Clear and Unmistakable Error challenge under 38 CFR §3.105(a) is filed in writing, typically on a 21-4138, identifying the exact undebatable error in a final decision.
Representation & Evidence
These forms bring an accredited advocate onto your case and get the right evidence into your file, private records, stressor statements, and buddy statements. The VA has a duty to assist under 38 CFR 3.159, but it only goes looking for what you tell it exists. Your part is to sign the release forms for every private provider and get specific, signed statements from people who saw what happened.
VA Form 21-22a
Appointment of Individual as Representative
Authorizes an accredited agent or attorney to represent you before the VA. This is the form that lets us formally step in and fight your case.
VA Form 21-4142
Authorization to Disclose Information (Private Records)
Gives the VA permission to request your private medical records directly from your doctors and hospitals, paired with the 21-4142a listing each provider.
VA Form 21-0781
Statement in Support of Claim for PTSD
Documents the in-service stressor behind a PTSD claim. The 2023 combined version also covers stressors tied to personal assault and MST.
VA Form 21-10210
Lay / Witness Statement
The buddy-statement form. Lets a fellow service member, family member, or friend put firsthand observations of your condition on the record.
Real Veterans. Real Claims. Real Outcomes.
Every case on this desk belongs to someone who served. These are the veterans this practice represents, across every era, branch, and condition: the Vietnam vet who was told it was too late, the Gulf War vet the system called a mystery, the young veteran who walked out of a five minute exam with a zero. Different stories, same fight. The record decides the claim, so we build the record.
Veteran Representation
Veteran Representation
Veteran RepresentationDependents, Pension & Survivor Benefits
Compensation is not the only benefit on the table. These forms add dependents to your award and open pension, survivor, and aid-and-attendance benefits. Dependents can raise a monthly award once you are rated 30% or higher, and many veterans never add them. Your part is to list every eligible spouse, child, or parent, and keep marriage and birth records ready in case the VA asks for proof.
VA Form 21-686c
Add or Remove Dependents
Adds a spouse, child, or dependent parent to your award once you are rated at 30% or higher, which increases your monthly payment.
VA Form 21P-527EZ
Veterans Pension
Applies for the needs-based VA pension for wartime veterans with limited income, separate from disability compensation.
VA Form 21P-534EZ
DIC, Survivors Pension & Accrued Benefits
The survivors’ application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) after the death of a service-connected veteran.
VA Form 21-2680
Aid & Attendance / Housebound
Supports a claim for the higher Aid and Attendance or Housebound rate when you need help with daily activities, completed with your physician.
VA Health Care & Access
Enrolling in VA health care connects you to the providers whose records become the medical evidence behind your claim. These are the forms that get you in the door. Treatment records show the condition is real, ongoing, and getting worse, which is exactly what a rater looks for. Your part is to enroll, keep your appointments, and tell every provider about every symptom so it lands in the record.
VA Form 10-10EZ
Application for VA Health Care
Enrolls you in VA health care. Enrollment is what connects you to VA providers, whose records become the medical evidence behind your claim.
VA Form 21-0845
Authorization to Release to a Third Party
Lets the VA discuss your claim with a person you name, useful when a family member helps you manage the process.
