Every claim, every condition

Filing Guide

The paperwork sequence is identical no matter what you're claiming: get a verified VA.gov account, lock in your effective date with an Intent to File, then submit the claim inside the one-year window. Get this right and the condition-specific work has something solid to sit on.

VA.gov account & identity verification Login.gov vs. ID.me, which IDs each accepts, and what to do when online verification fails. The Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966) The one-page form that can be worth months of back pay. File it before you have any evidence at all. The claim application (VA Form 21-526EZ) The five ways to file a standard initial claim, what evidence to include, and what representation costs.