ClaimScope for Veterans, home page
← All guides

ClaimScope field guides

FIELD GUIDE

The Review Options Playbook

Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim or the Board: how to pick, what each one can and cannot fix, and how to keep your effective date through all of it.

Written by Gabe, a VA-accredited attorney and Afghanistan infantry Veteran.

Free, with the other three guides

A 21-page PDF. Leave your email and we'll send a download link for all four guides and the Claim Organizer Kit, yours to keep.

Has VA decided your claim yet? (required)

We'll email your download link and occasional free help from ClaimScope. Unsubscribe anytime. We keep your email, your answer and whether you've downloaded the guides until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop, then 90 days. Never shared with or uploaded to an ad platform. Privacy

Look inside: 21 pages

These are real pages from the PDF you download, not mockups. Select a page to read it full size.

Page 1 of The Review Options Playbook: the title, "How to use this playbook", and the start of "The three lanes on one page". (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 1 of 21
Page 2 of The Review Options Playbook: a table comparing Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim and Board appeal by who decides, whether you can add evidence, deadline, typical wait and what each can fix, with citations. (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 2 of 21
Page 8 of The Review Options Playbook: "Higher-Level Review, step by step": eligibility, the no-new-evidence rule, what the reviewer can do, and duty-to-assist errors to look for. (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 8 of 21
Page 16 of The Review Options Playbook: the end of "Mistakes that cost Veterans the most" and the start of the printable "Deadline worksheet", with blanks for the letter date, the issues decided and the one-year date. (opens the full-size page in a new tab)
Page 16 of 21

Contents of The Review Options Playbook

Every section in the guide, with the page it starts on. 21 pages in all.

  1. How to use this playbookpage 1 of 21
  2. The three lanes on one pagepage 1 of 21
  3. The rule that beats all others: keep your effective datepage 3 of 21
  4. Choose by the kind of mistakepage 5 of 21
  5. Higher-Level Review, step by steppage 8 of 21
  6. Supplemental Claim, step by steppage 10 of 21
  7. Board appeal, step by steppage 12 of 21
  8. Mistakes that cost Veterans the mostpage 15 of 21
  9. Deadline worksheetpage 16 of 21
  10. When to get a person involvedpage 17 of 21
  11. Sourcespage 19 of 21

What it covers

  • The three lanes compared on one page
  • When new evidence helps and when it hurts
  • Deadlines, continuous pursuit and the one-year clock
  • Filling in VA Forms 20-0996, 20-0995 and 10182

What this guide is

This is general education about the VA claims process, written for any Veteran. You don't upload anything to get or read it. It isn't legal advice or representation. The tools that work with your own claim, like the deadline check and the free decision check, are free.

Read a free sample →

Have your VA decision letter in hand?

Run the free decision check first: your issues and deadlines. Sitting with your paper letter on a phone? Take photos of each page (up to 25), or email yourself a link to upload a PDF from your computer.

Check my decision free

The free decision check is separate from the guides.

Guides are general education, not legal advice. See every guide.