Filing a VA disability claim after you're out

There's no deadline to file a VA disability claim after you leave. But when VA receives your claim affects when your benefits can start, and two separate one-year clocks are involved.

If you've already separated and haven't filed a VA disability claim, the first thing to know is a calming one. VA says there's no time limit on filing a postservice claim. It also warns that the process can get more complex the longer you wait.

What a date changes is your effective date, the day your benefits can count from. If VA receives your claim within one year of the day you left active service, the effective date can be as early as the day after you separated. File later, and unless an Intent to File came first, it's the day VA gets your claim or the day you first had the illness or injury, whichever is later. Payment generally can't begin before the first day of the month after the month your award takes effect.

Two separate one-year clocks run through this process, and they're easy to mix up. One counts from your separation date. The other starts only if you file an Intent to File, and it counts from the day VA receives it. If you're still on active duty with less than 90 days left, VA says you can file before you're discharged and it will process the claim after you separate. Our BDD claim checklist and guide to separating in under 90 days cover that stretch.

Is there a deadline?

No. What the calendar changes is your effective date. VA's claim form says: if VA received your claim before or within one year of your separation, entitlement runs from the day following your separation, as long as the disability was present at that time.

The statute sets the effective date at the day after discharge for a claim received within one year, and the regulation adds the date entitlement arose, if that's later. After the first year, it's the date VA receives your claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later.

An Intent to File changes that. VA treats a complete claim it receives within a year of the Intent to File as filed on the Intent to File date, covered below. VA's claims manual says the effective date can still be as early as the day after separation if VA gets the Intent to File within one year of separation and the completed claim within one year of the Intent to File. An accredited representative can check your dates.

VA's effective-date page gives two examples. Someone who separated September 30, 2013, with a claim received July 5, 2014, has an effective date of October 1, 2013. With a claim received November 15, 2014, it's November 15, 2014.

The tool below counts from the day you left active service, the first clock. The Intent to File year is covered next.

Payment has its own rule: with an effective date of October 1, payment generally can't start before November 1.

For presumptive conditions, VA's page says that in most cases a claim received within a year of separation dates from the day you first had the illness or injury. For these, you don't have to prove your service caused the condition, only that you meet the service requirements for the presumption. VA's own pages hold the lists, including its page on exposure to hazardous chemicals and materials and its page on conditions that appear within a year after discharge.

Intent to File, the second clock

An Intent to File, or ITF, tells VA you plan to file a claim. It isn't a claim. VA says it sets a potential start date for your benefits, and if VA approves your claim you may get retroactive payments. An ITF must name the general benefit, such as compensation. It doesn't have to name any medical condition.

The year starts when VA receives the ITF, not on your separation date. From then you have one year to file the complete claim. If VA receives a complete claim within a year of receiving the ITF, it treats the claim as filed on the date it got the ITF. If the year passes with no complete claim, the ITF lapses, and VA takes no further action unless a new claim or a new ITF arrives.

An ITF has limits. You can have only one active ITF at a time, and filing your completed claim ends it. A different benefit, such as pension, needs its own ITF and its own complete application.

You can submit an ITF in these ways:

• Online, signed in with an identity-verified account. Starting a disability compensation claim online creates an ITF automatically.
• By phone, at 1-800-827-1000 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET.
• By mail, on VA Form 21-0966, May 2026 edition, to Department of Veterans Affairs, Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444.
• In person, with a VA regional office employee.

An accredited representative can help you submit one, and VA's regulation also accepts an oral statement made to a VA employee designated to receive one. VA's filing page says that if you file for disability compensation online, you don't need a separate ITF, because your date of claim is set when you start the form, as long as you finish within 365 days. If you'll file on paper, VA says you may want to send the ITF first to avoid a later potential start date.

If you're still on active duty, VA's claims manual says an ITF submitted just before discharge generally has no effect, because of the same effective-date regulation.

How to file the claim

The form is VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. VA lists the January 2026 edition. VA names five ways to file: online, by mail, in person at a VA regional office, by fax, or with an accredited attorney, claims agent or VSO representative.

By mail, send it to Department of Veterans Affairs, Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444. VA's forms print that name, and its filing page calls the same box the Claims Intake Center.

You also choose how VA develops the claim. In a fully developed claim, or FDC, you send the form with all the evidence you have and certify there's nothing more. If you send more later, or if VA decides it needs non-federal records, VA moves the claim to the standard process. VA says an FDC doesn't change the attention it gives your claim or the benefits you're entitled to.

In a standard claim, VA gets records from federal agencies, VA medical centers and the Social Security Administration. You tell VA about records held by anyone else and give it what it needs to request them. VA says a standard claim is slower, because it needs time to gather the evidence.

If you're a military retiree, the form treats filing as a waiver of retired pay equal to the VA compensation awarded, unless you qualify for concurrent receipt. It also warns that VA compensation, if granted, may be withheld to recoup separation or severance pay from your branch of service. Our guide to separation pay and VA disability covers it.

Evidence, and who gets your records

You don't have to send any evidence to file. VA says it may schedule a claim exam, and that you have up to a year from the date it receives your claim to send evidence.

VA says you'll need to send these three things, or give VA permission to gather them:

• Your DD-214 or other separation documents
• Your service treatment records
• Any medical evidence related to your illness or injury, such as doctors' reports, X-rays and test results

You don't have to chase your service treatment records before you file. The National Archives says veterans who plan to file a claim for medical benefits with VA don't need to request a copy of their military health record first, and that after a claim is filed VA obtains the original record. For a disability claim, VA's regulation says it will make as many requests as necessary to get federal records, including service medical records. If you need a DD-214, VA's page on military service records points to the Archives' eVetRecs tool.

Private records work differently. VA makes reasonable efforts to get them with your permission, using VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a. You're still responsible for making sure VA receives them, and VA won't pay fees or postage to get records from private sources.

Statements count as evidence. Anyone who knows about your condition or related events can give one, on plain paper, a Lay or Witness Statement (VA Form 21-10210) or a Statement in Support of Claim (VA Form 21-4138).

VA's evidence page lists what an original claim has to show: a current physical or mental disability, an event, injury or disease during your active-duty service, and a link between the two. For a presumptive condition, it lists medical records that show the diagnosis and military records that show you meet the service requirements. Send records only to VA, through VA.gov, by mail to the Evidence Intake Center, or through your representative. Don't upload them anywhere else.

The claim exam

Not every claim gets an exam. VA says it asks for one only if it needs more information to decide your claim, and it can review records instead when the file has enough medical evidence.

You can't start the scheduling yourself. Staff at your local VA medical center or a VA contractor mail you a letter with the date and time, and may also call or email. Keep your address, phone number and email current with VA.

A claim exam isn't treatment. The provider won't treat you or prescribe anything, and can't tell you the results or make decisions about your claim. You request the report afterward with VA Form 20-10206. VA reimburses travel to and from an exam at a VA medical center.

To reschedule, tell the medical center or contractor at least 48 hours ahead. With a contractor you can reschedule each exam once, to a time within 5 days of the original. Missing an exam delays your claim, and VA may decide it on the evidence it already has, which VA says could affect your benefits. For an original compensation claim, the regulation says the claim is rated on the evidence of record if you miss a needed exam without good cause. VA's examples of good cause include a death in the immediate family, homelessness, hospitalization and terminal illness. To explain a miss, call VA, upload a letter in the claim status tool, or mail one to the Evidence Intake Center.

What happens after you file

VA publishes eight stages between filing and a decision.

VA says evidence gathering is usually the longest step in the process. It posts 68.4 days as the "Average number of days to complete disability-related claims in August 2026," on pages dated September 4, 2026. The page doesn't say how the days are counted or which claim types are included, so it isn't a forecast for any single claim. VA says the time depends on the type of claim, how many disabilities you claimed and how complex they are, and how long it takes VA to collect evidence.

You don't need to do anything while you wait unless VA sends a letter asking for more information. VA also mails a copy of your decision letter, which it says should arrive within 10 business days but may take longer.

The date on the decision starts the review year. VA offers three review options: a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review and a Board Appeal. A Higher-Level Review or a Board appeal has to be requested within one year of the decision. A Supplemental Claim can be filed at any time, but VA's regulation keeps your original effective date only if you pursue the issue within a year of the decision. Our guide to VA decision review options covers the choice.

Free help, and how to find it

A VA-accredited VSO representative can help you file, and VA says what they do on your VA benefit claims is always free. VA doesn't assign you one automatically. Its claim form also suggests contacting an accredited VSO and your state office of veterans affairs.

To find a representative, use VA's Office of General Counsel Accreditation Search. You can search by type (VSO representative, attorney or claims agent) and by name, city, state or postal code. A separate search lists VA-recognized VSOs.

You appoint a VSO on VA Form 21-22 and an individual attorney or claims agent on VA Form 21-22a. You and the representative both sign, and either of you can submit it through AccessVA QuickSubmit, by mail or in person.

Attorneys and claims agents are different. VA says they can charge only after VA has decided your initial claim, you've both signed a fee agreement, and VA has your VA Form 21-22a. Our guide to who can charge for VA claim help has the details.

If someone who isn't accredited tries to help you prepare or present your claim, VA says you can file a complaint. VA's Office of General Counsel takes complaints about accredited representatives too, and answers questions about the process at 202-461-7699.

Who can file, including Guard and Reserve

VA's two basic requirements are a current illness or injury that affects your mind or body, and service on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training. Your type of discharge can matter too. VA's eligibility page says that with an other than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge you may not be eligible for VA disability benefits, and it points to a discharge upgrade or a Character of Discharge review. Our guide to discharge type and VA benefits covers that. If you left through a medical evaluation board, read our guide to medical separation as well.

Guard and Reserve members meet the same test, with an extra rule about the kind of duty. By law, active duty for training counts if you were disabled by a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. Inactive duty training counts for an injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, or for a heart attack, cardiac arrest or stroke during the training.

VA's Guard and Reserve page says members serving on federal Title 10 orders or full-time Title 32 duty may qualify for many VA benefits, and traditional members may qualify for some. For a fully developed claim, the form's instructions ask you to identify where your Guard or Reserve personnel and treatment records are. With more than one period of service, VA's claims manual allows the day-after date, for a claim received within a year of your latest discharge, only when active duty continued without a break from the time the disability began or got worse. Otherwise it's generally the date VA receives the claim. A VSO representative can look at your orders.

One example, start to finish

Example (fictional) Marcus Reyes is a 29-year-old Army sergeant who left at the end of his enlistment. His separation date is March 31, 2026, and he hasn't filed a claim. He plans to mail a paper VA Form 21-526EZ.

On October 13, 2026, a Tuesday, Marcus calls 1-800-827-1000 and submits an Intent to File for compensation. He wants a VSO representative to look over his claim before he mails it, so he finds one in VA's Accreditation Search and signs VA Form 21-22. It costs him nothing.

He gives VA permission to gather his service treatment records, and he signs VA Forms 21-4142 and 21-4142a so VA can ask a private clinic for its records. VA receives his completed paper claim on November 10. It reached VA within a year of the Intent to File, so VA treats it as filed on October 13, and the Intent to File ends.

Both dates fall within one year of March 31, 2026. If VA grants any part of the claim, the effective date can be as early as April 1, 2026, for a disability that was present then, and payment generally can't start before May 1. His Intent to File ended when VA got the claim, so its October 13, 2027 end date never arrives. His separation year, a different clock, ends March 31, 2027.

He keeps his exam appointment. Suppose his decision letter is dated January 26, 2027. That date starts a one-year clock to request a Higher-Level Review or a Board appeal, and to keep his effective date with a Supplemental Claim.

This is general information, not advice on your claim. It doesn't say which conditions to claim or what rating to expect. For help with your own claim, an accredited VSO representative can help, and a VSO representative's help on a VA claim is always free. You can check anyone in VA's Accreditation Search, and VA's own line is 1-800-827-1000 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.