Intent to File: protect your start date

VA usually pays from the date it gets your claim. An Intent to File moves that date earlier, to the day VA got your intent. If gathering records takes six months, that can be six months of back pay you would otherwise lose.

• Online: start your disability claim on VA.gov. Starting the application saves an Intent to File for you automatically.
• By phone: call VA at 800-827-1000 and say you want to submit an Intent to File.
• On paper or in person: fill out VA Form 21-0966 and mail it, or bring it to a VA regional office. A free accredited VSO can submit it for you.

One Intent to File covers disability compensation claims, including new, increase and secondary claims. Pension and survivor benefits have their own. You don't have to list your conditions on it.

You have one year from the day VA gets your Intent to File to file your full claim. If you miss it, your effective date goes back to the day you actually file. Save the date in your Claim Navigator and we'll remind you before it runs out.

If you file within one year of leaving active duty, VA can pay from the day after you separated. You may not need an Intent to File at all, but it doesn't hurt.

Sign in to VA.gov and start the disability application. It shows whether you have an active Intent to File and when it expires. You can also ask by phone.

• Waiting to file the Intent to File until all your records are in. File it first.
• Letting the year run out. Put the date on a calendar.
• Thinking it's a claim. It only saves your date. You still have to file VA Form 21-526EZ.