Free VA Decision Review Kit: 20-0996, 20-0995, 10182

Your kit is built on this device. Nothing you type is sent to ClaimScope. Your answers (never your Social Security number) are saved in this browser so you can come back.

Step 1

Choose your review option

VA gives you three ways to ask for another look at a decision, and the Board has three dockets. For a Higher-Level Review or Supplemental Claim, file within one year of the date on your decision notice to keep your effective date. A Board appeal must reach the Board within one year (365 days) of that date. How to choose a review option

Higher-Level Review · VA Form 20-0996A more senior VA reviewer looks again at the same evidence. You can't add new evidence, but you can ask for an optional informal phone conference to point out errors.Supplemental Claim · VA Form 20-0995You add new and relevant evidence (records, a doctor's opinion, statements) that VA didn't have, and VA decides the issue again with it. What counts as new and relevant evidenceBoard Appeal: Direct Review · VA Form 10182A Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals reviews the same evidence VA had. No new evidence and no hearing; usually the fastest of the Board's three dockets.Board Appeal: Evidence Submission · VA Form 10182A Veterans Law Judge reviews your appeal, and you can send new evidence with the form or within 90 days after the Board receives it. No hearing.Board Appeal: Hearing · VA Form 10182You talk with a Veterans Law Judge at a hearing (virtual, by video at a VA office, or in Washington, DC), and you can send new evidence within 90 days after the hearing. Usually the longest wait.

Step 2

The issues from your decision letter

Copy each issue the way your decision letter words it, with the date on the decision notice. Choose a review option to see how many issues its form holds.

Issue, as worded in the letter

Date on the decision noticeThe condition in a few words (optional)

What kind of issue is it?

VA denied service connectionThe rating is too lowSomething else (effective date, other)

Step 3

About you

These fill in the form. VA requires your Social Security number on its forms; it stays on this device and isn't saved.

First nameMiddle initialLast name

Social Security numberDate of birthVA file number (if any)

Service number (if different from SSN)

Are you homeless or at risk of becoming homeless?

NoYes

Street addressApt or unit

CityStateZIP

PhoneEmail (optional)

Last step

Download your kit

The official VA form for your option filled in with your answers (you check it, complete the parts left blank, and sign it)
A short How to file guide: your deadlines and where to send it

Signatures, and anything the form asks that isn't covered here, are left for you to complete. ClaimScope doesn't file anything for you.

Free, and yours to file. This kit is a free self-help tool for every Veteran. It isn't legal advice and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. ClaimScope doesn't file anything or represent you: you check every answer, sign the forms and send them to VA yourself. A Veterans Service Organization can help you for free.

Want an attorney instead? ClaimScopeLaw, Gabe's separate law firm, offers a free 30-minute strategy call to every Veteran.

Ask VA to look again at your decision, on the right form.

Choose your review option

The issues from your decision letter

About you

Download your kit