VA claim denied or rating too low: what to do next

Read your decision letter first

Make a separate note for each issue you disagree with. Copy the date, reason, and list of evidence. Under “Favorable findings,” note the facts VA accepts. Keep the page explaining how to disagree with the decision. Ask whether the rating was wrong when VA decided it, or the condition got worse later. Those use different filing steps. Keep the full letter so a representative can see the context.

Supplemental Claim: add new and relevant evidence

A Supplemental Claim uses VA Form 20-0995 and lets you submit or identify new and relevant evidence. Start with the Supplemental Claim guide if a missing record or medical explanation may address the reason for the prior decision.

Higher-Level Review: ask VA to check evidence it already had

Higher-Level Review uses VA Form 20-0996. A more senior reviewer checks whether an error or a different reading of evidence VA already had should change the decision. You cannot add new evidence to HLR. Read the HLR guide before choosing this route.

Board Appeal: request a judge’s review

A Board Appeal uses VA Form 10182 to request review by a Veterans Law Judge. The Board review option you select, called a docket, affects whether you can submit evidence or have a hearing. The Board overview introduces those choices. These three routes are described in VA’s review-option guide.

Compare the review options at a glance

Use VA’s review-option guidance and your latest decision to confirm which options are available. Choose based on what is missing or wrong in your own decision. Someone else may have had different evidence or a different kind of decision.

Check the deadline and your benefit start date

VA says most benefits allow one year from the decision-letter date to request HLR or a Board Appeal, with exceptions. Supplemental Claims can be filed later, but timing can affect the benefit start date, called the effective date. Use the deadline in your letter and VA’s deadline guidance; ask an accredited representative to review an uncertain date.

Gather the paperwork before you choose

• The complete decision and earlier decisions on the same issue.
• The sentence you think is wrong and the document and page that explain why.
• Which records were already submitted, with receipts where available.
• New or missing evidence and where it can be obtained.

Keep one note per issue. For example, a disagreement about the rating percentage is a different question from whether VA recognizes the condition as connected to service.

Use tools and accredited help for the next step

The decision-review questions use your decision details to show preparation steps and official filing instructions. The evidence checklist helps you gather records. VetOps provides education and is not VA or a VSO. VA-accredited representatives can help with individual review requests. If someone suggests “clear and unmistakable error” (CUE), ask an accredited representative to check it. It is a special challenge to a final decision, not simply another name for disagreeing.

More help reading your decision letter

Use Decision-letter scenarios to compare letter and exam patterns. If the letter identifies a duty-to-assist error, continue to the HLR DTA evidence guide. For an upcoming appointment, use C&P exam preparation.

Frequently asked questions