VA questioned your PTSD exam report: what to check

Find why VA questioned the first PTSD report

Copy the decision’s explanation for questioning or setting aside the report. Record the exact report title, clinician, date, and the issue being decided. Keep the report beside that explanation.

Write down the difference you found. For example, did VA say a question was unanswered even though you can find an answer on a particular page?

Compare your private exam report with VA’s next decision

If you submitted a private Review DBQ with a Supplemental Claim, compare the reasons in the earlier and later decisions. Check whether VA listed the report and explained why it still denied the claim.

Keep the submission receipt with the report. A quick denial does not tell you why VA denied it. Read the reason in the letter and compare it with the report.

Understand what the form title can tell you

VA’s public DBQ page lists PTSD Review and identifies Initial PTSD as unavailable for public use because of regulatory limitations or specialized training. It also explains that VA may need an additional examination.

Check whether the report answers the question VA asked. Ask your representative and clinician: “What exactly is missing, and which report or record would answer it?” Do this before paying for another report.

Prepare if another exam is scheduled

Use the C&P preparation guide for records and appointment preparation. Keep the new notice with the disputed report so you can ask the scheduler about the examination requested.

Follow VA’s examination and scheduling instructions. Describe your actual experience and contact the scheduler if you cannot attend; a private DBQ is not permission to skip a scheduled exam.

Check whether you need to add a record

If the record VA already had shows the error you want checked, read the Higher-Level Review guide. If information needed to address the decision is new, read the Supplemental Claim guide. Mark each document as already submitted or new before discussing your options.

If someone suggests “clear and unmistakable error” (CUE), a special challenge to a final decision, take the question to an accredited representative with the complete decisions and reports.

Related guides and tools

Browse the decision-letter scenarios or answer the decision-review questions to find preparation steps based on your own decision. The C&P tool below contains condition guidance; the claims checklist helps identify records to gather.

Common questions