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The VA claim process after you file your claim

Learn about what happens after you file your claim. And find out the average number of days it takes to process a VA disability claim.

How long does it take VA to make a decision?

144.9 days

Average number of days to complete disability-related claims in September 2024

The time it takes to review your claim depends on these factors:

  • The type of claim you filed
  • How many injuries or disabilities you claimed and how complex they are
  • How long it takes us to collect the evidence we need to decide your claim

What should I do while I wait?

You don’t need to do anything unless we send you a letter asking for more information. If we schedule any exams for you, be sure not to miss them. You can check the status of your claim online. The timeline listed there may vary based on how complex your claim is.

Check your VA claim status

What happens after I file a VA disability claim?

Claim received

We’ll let you know when we receive your VA disability claim.

  • If you file your claim online, you’ll get an on-screen message from us after you submit the form.
  • If you mail your application, we’ll send you a letter to let you know we have your claim. You should get this letter about 1 week, plus mailing time, after we receive your claim.

Initial review

We’ll check your claim for basic information we need, like your name and Social Security number. 

If information is missing, we’ll contact you.

Evidence gathering

We’ll review your claim and make sure we have all the evidence and information we need. If we need more evidence to decide your claim, we may gather it in these ways:

  • Ask you to submit evidence
  • Ask you to have a claim exam
    Learn about VA claim exams
  • Request medical records from your private health care provider
  • Gather evidence from our VA records

This is usually the longest step in the process.

Note: You can submit evidence at any time. But if you submit evidence after this step, your claim will go back to this step for review.

Evidence review

We’ll review all the evidence for your claim.

If we need more evidence or you submit more evidence, your claim will go back to Step 3: Evidence gathering.

Rating

We’ll decide your claim and determine your disability rating.

If we need more evidence or you submit more evidence, your claim will go back to Step 3: Evidence gathering.

Preparing decision letter

We’ll prepare your decision letter.

If you’re eligible for disability benefits, this letter will include your disability rating, the amount of your monthly payments, and the date your payments will start.

If we need more evidence or you submit more evidence, your claim will go back to Step 3: Evidence gathering.

Final review

A senior reviewer will do a final review of your claim and the decision letter.

Claim decided

You’ll be able to review and download your decision letter in the claim status tool.

We’ll also send you a copy of your decision letter by mail. It should arrive within 10 business days, but it may take longer. 

What should I do if I disagree with my VA disability claim decision?

If you disagree with a claim decision that you received on or after February 19, 2019, you can ask us to review the decision. You have 3 decision review options to choose from. 

Learn about your decision review options

More information about disability ratings and payments