How to File a VA Supplemental Claim: Form 20-0995 and Evidence

To file a VA supplemental claim, submit VA Form 20-0995 within one year of the date on your decision letter and include new and relevant evidence the VA hasn’t already seen that speaks to the reason your claim was denied or underrated. The supplemental claim is one of three review options created by the Appeals Modernization Act of 2017, and as of early 2026, the VA resolves these claims in about 61 days on average, making it the fastest route to a changed decision when you have additional documentation.¹ The two things that decide whether a supplemental claim succeeds are the quality of the evidence you attach and whether you file it in time.

File Within One Year to Protect Your Effective Date

You have one year from the date on your VA decision letter to file. This is the single most consequential deadline in the process because the effective date determines how far back the VA calculates any disability payments you’re owed. File within the window and the VA treats the supplemental claim as a continuation of the original application, so back pay reaches all the way to your initial filing date.²

Miss that one-year mark and the math changes. A supplemental claim filed after the deadline can still reopen a previously denied claim with no outer time limit, but your effective date resets to the date the VA receives the new filing.² For a veteran whose original claim was filed years ago, that lost back pay can amount to tens of thousands of dollars. The claim itself isn’t dead after a year, but the financial cost of missing the deadline is steep.

What Counts as New and Relevant Evidence

Federal law requires the VA to reconsider a claim when a veteran presents or secures “new and relevant” evidence.³ The regulation breaks that into two parts. “New” means the evidence wasn’t in the file when the previous decision was made. “Relevant” means it tends to prove or disprove something the VA relied on when it denied or underrated you.⁴ Evidence that simply repeats what the VA already reviewed will not get you anywhere.

The practical test: read your denial letter and identify the exact reason the VA said no. If the denial cited a missing link between your condition and your service, a nexus letter from a qualified physician addressing that specific gap is both new and relevant. If the VA said there was no evidence of an in-service event, a newly discovered service record or a buddy statement from a fellow service member describing the event fills the hole. Match the evidence to the reason for denial and the standard is met.

Common types of evidence that meet this standard:

Nexus letters. A written medical opinion from a qualified provider linking your current diagnosis to your military service. The VA weighs the provider’s credentials, so a letter from a board-certified specialist in the relevant field carries more authority than one from a general practitioner.
Private treatment records. Medical notes, imaging results, or lab work from non-VA providers that the agency didn’t have before.
Buddy statements. Written accounts from fellow service members describing events, injuries, or symptoms they personally witnessed.
Updated diagnoses. If your original claim was denied for lack of a current diagnosis, a formal diagnosis from a specialist directly addresses that gap.

Evidence that raises a new theory of entitlement the VA never previously considered also qualifies as relevant, even if the underlying condition was denied before.⁴

PACT Act Presumptive Conditions Change the Evidence Rule

If your condition is now classified as presumptive due to a change in law, you don’t need a nexus letter or proof that your service caused the illness. You only need medical evidence documenting the diagnosis and its severity.¹ The VA presumes the service connection for you.

The PACT Act made dozens of conditions presumptive for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other hazards. Covered conditions include respiratory illnesses such as chronic bronchitis, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and asthma diagnosed after service, along with cancers affecting the brain, kidneys, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, and reproductive system, among others. Vietnam-era veterans also gained presumptive coverage for high blood pressure.⁵ If the VA previously denied your claim for one of these conditions and it’s now presumptive, filing a supplemental claim citing the change in law is the path to reversing that decision.

Filing VA Form 20-0995

Every supplemental claim starts with VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim. You have four ways to submit it:

Online. The VA accepts supplemental claims for disability compensation through its website. This is the fastest method and gives you immediate confirmation of receipt.¹
Mail. For disability compensation claims, send the completed form to Department of Veterans Affairs, Compensation Intake Center, P.O. Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547.⁶
Fax. For compensation claims, fax to (844) 531-7818.⁶
In person. Deliver the form directly to your regional VA office.

Pension, survivors, education, and fiduciary claims use different mailing addresses listed on the form itself. As of 2026, only disability compensation supplemental claims can be filed online.

When filling out the form, keep your decision notification letter in front of you and copy each issue exactly as the VA listed it. In Item 21, identify each specific condition or rating you want reconsidered along with the decision date. Only issues you list will be reviewed, so leaving one off means the VA won’t touch it.⁶ If you want the VA to retrieve records on your behalf, include the provider’s name and address, treatment dates, and a signed release authorization.¹

Attaching your evidence directly to the form rather than relying on the VA to track it down is almost always the better move. It eliminates delays from records requests and ensures the reviewer sees exactly what you intend them to see. An accredited VSO representative, claims agent, or attorney can help you prepare and file the claim if you’d rather not navigate the process alone.¹

What Happens After You File

The C&P Exam

After the VA receives your supplemental claim, it may schedule a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam if your new evidence suggests a medical evaluation would help decide the claim. This isn’t guaranteed. If the records you submitted are detailed enough, the VA may use its Acceptable Clinical Evidence process and decide on the file alone.⁷

When an exam is scheduled, the VA or its contractor will mail you a letter with the date, time, and location, and may also call or email. A few things trip veterans up regularly:

Location. Contractors try to schedule exams within 50 miles of your home, or within 100 miles for specialists like mental health or dental providers. The VA must ask your permission before sending you farther.⁷
Rescheduling. You need to give at least 48 hours’ notice. With a contractor, you can only reschedule once, and the new appointment must fall within five days of the original.⁷
Missing the exam. If you miss a C&P exam on a reopened claim without good cause, the VA will deny the claim outright. Good cause includes situations like hospitalization, homelessness, or a death in the immediate family.⁷
Provider requests. You can request a male or female examiner for reproductive health, breast, rectal, or mental health exams, and for any condition linked to military sexual trauma.⁷

The C&P exam is often the most influential piece of evidence in the file. Describe your worst days, not just your average ones.

The VA’s Duty to Assist

The VA has a legal obligation to help you gather evidence. If you identify existing records, the VA must assist you in obtaining them whether they’re held by a federal agency or a private provider.³ For federal records like military service files or VA medical center records, the agency must make as many requests as necessary. For private records, the VA must make at least an initial request and one follow-up.⁸ If you asked the VA to retrieve records and it never did, that’s a correctable error, not a reason your claim should have been denied.⁹

The Decision

The VA will mail you a new decision notice explaining its findings. Supplemental claims for disability compensation are being resolved in roughly 61 days on average as of early 2026.¹ Your actual timeline may be shorter or longer depending on whether records must be requested, a C&P exam scheduled, or complex medical questions resolved. If the decision grants your claim or increases your rating, the VA calculates back pay based on the effective date.

If the VA Denies Again

An unfavorable decision on a supplemental claim isn’t the end. You have three options, and the right one depends on whether you have more evidence to submit:

File another supplemental claim if you have additional new and relevant evidence the VA still hasn’t seen. There’s no limit on how many you can file for the same issue, as long as each one brings something new.
Request a Higher-Level Review if you believe the VA made an error interpreting the evidence already in the file. A more senior reviewer looks at the same record with fresh eyes. You cannot submit new evidence in this lane, and you must file within one year of the supplemental claim decision. You also cannot request a Higher-Level Review if you already had one on the same issue.¹⁰
Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, where a Veterans Law Judge reviews your case. This lane allows new evidence or a hearing but takes significantly longer, currently averaging anywhere from roughly 500 days for direct review to over 700 days for the hearing lane.

The choice usually comes down to a simple question: did the VA get the facts wrong, or did it have the wrong facts? If the evidence in your file should have led to an approval but the rater misread it, a Higher-Level Review makes sense. If the file is missing something that would change the outcome, another supplemental claim or a Board appeal with new evidence is the better path.¹⁰ Whichever lane you choose, filing within one year of the decision keeps your effective date intact.²

1
Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5110 – Effective Dates of Awards
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5108 – Supplemental Claims
4
eCFR. 38 CFR 3.2501 – Supplemental Claims
5
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits
6
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 20-0995 Decision Review Request Supplemental Claim
7
Veterans Affairs. VA Claim Exam (C&P Exam)
8
eCFR. 38 CFR 3.159 – Department of Veterans Affairs Assistance in Developing Claims
9
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA’s Duty to Assist
10
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Higher-Level Reviews