Markers: Evidence That Can Support an MST Claim When There's No Report

Many survivors never filed a report. That is why VA's rule for PTSD claims based on personal assault lets evidence from outside service records back up your account. VA must tell you about this kind of evidence, and give you a chance to send it, before it denies the claim.

• Records from police, rape crisis centers, counseling centers, hospitals, or doctors
• Pregnancy tests or tests for sexually transmitted infections
• Statements from family members, roommates, fellow service members, or clergy
• Personal diaries or journals
• Civilian police or medical reports

Changes after the event can count, even when they do not point to a clear cause. Examples from VA's rule and VA's guidance:

• A request to transfer to another duty assignment
• A drop in work performance
• Substance use, or a change in it
• Episodes of depression, panic attacks, or anxiety without a clear cause
• Unexplained changes in money habits or social life
• Changes in eating or weight, relationships, or sexual function
• Unexplained visits to a health facility

• Service treatment records, including sick-call visits and tests
• Personnel records, such as performance reviews and transfer requests
• Defense Department sexual assault or harassment reporting forms, and investigative reports, if any exist
• Civilian medical, counseling, or police records from during or after service
• Your VA claims file, which may already hold markers no one pointed out

A family member, roommate, friend, or chaplain can describe what they saw: how you acted before and after, and roughly when things changed. The statement does not need graphic detail. Plain, specific facts are most useful.

VA may send marker evidence to a medical or mental health professional for an opinion on whether it shows an assault occurred. A federal appeals court held in 2011 that a medical opinion based on an exam after service can help corroborate the event. In 2013, the same court held that the lack of a report is not evidence the assault did not happen.

The special rule in 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(f)(5) is written for PTSD. A June 2026 National Academies report found that, for conditions other than PTSD, current rules call for evidence from military and in-service medical records, and it recommended one evidence standard for all MST claims. Bills to make that change have been introduced but have not become law as of this check. VA must still give due consideration to all pertinent medical and lay evidence in every claim.

Free, confidential support is available now, whether or not you file a claim. VA provides free care for mental and physical health conditions related to MST. You do not need a disability rating, and you do not need to have reported the MST. Former service members with an Other Than Honorable discharge, or fewer than two years of service, may still qualify. If you are in crisis, contact the Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.

If VA has already decided your claim, a ClaimScope review reads the whole file for markers VA may have missed and shows which review lane fits. For a brand-new claim, a Veterans Service Organization can help for free. This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not guarantee any VA decision.