Denied? Your three review lanes

Your deadlines count from the date printed on your decision letter, not the day it arrived. Write it down. A Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal must be filed within one year of that date.

Use this when you have new and relevant evidence: something VA didn't have before that helps prove what was missing. A medical opinion that links your condition to service is a common example.

• You can file it any time. File within one year to keep your original effective date.
• It's usually the fastest lane. VA's goal is about 125 days.
• VA must help you get records you tell it about.

Use this when VA made a mistake with the evidence it already had. A more senior reviewer looks at your file again.

• You can't add new evidence.
• You can ask for an informal conference: one phone call where you or your representative point out the errors. Keep it short and specific.
• If the reviewer finds a duty-to-assist error (for example, VA didn't get records you told it about, or used an inadequate exam), VA must go back and fix it.
• You can't use it on a decision that already came from a Higher-Level Review or the Board.
• VA's goal is about 125 days.

A Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals decides your case. You pick one of three dockets:

• Direct Review: no new evidence, no hearing. Goal about 1 year.
• Evidence Submission: add new evidence with your appeal or within 90 days. Goal about 1.5 years.
• Hearing: talk to the judge by video, at a VA office, or in Washington, D.C. Add evidence at the hearing or within 90 days after. Goal about 2 years.

• New evidence → Supplemental Claim (or the Board's Evidence Submission or Hearing docket if you want a judge).
• VA got it wrong with what it had → Higher-Level Review.
• You want a judge, or you already tried a Higher-Level Review → Board Appeal.
• Not sure → our review lane chooser asks a few questions and explains why.

You can only have one review going on the same issue at a time. If VA decided several conditions, you can pick a different lane for each one.

As long as you file the next review within one year of each decision, VA keeps your original effective date. This is called continuous pursuit. It protects your back pay even if it takes more than one try.

If the Board says no, you can file a Supplemental Claim within one year, or appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims within 120 days of the Board decision date. Court appeals are legal work: get an accredited attorney or claims agent. The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program may help for free.

A free accredited VSO can read your letter with you, help you pick a lane and file it. They never charge to file a claim or review. Find free help.