How to Fill Out and Submit VA Form 20-0995: Supplemental Claim

VA Form 20-0995 is the form you file to request a Supplemental Claim when you disagree with a VA decision and have new evidence to support your case. Complete its five sections, attach or identify evidence the VA has never seen that speaks to why you were denied, sign it, and submit it online (for disability compensation), by mail to the Claims Intake Center, by fax, or in person at a VA regional office. As of February 2026, the VA is completing supplemental claims in roughly 61 days on average, well under its 125-day target.¹

Is 20-0995 the Right Form for Your Situation

The VA’s modernized review system offers three lanes after an unfavorable decision: a Supplemental Claim (Form 20-0995), a Higher-Level Review (Form 20-0996), and a Board Appeal (Form 10182). Each exists for a different situation.²

Form 20-0995 is the right choice when you have evidence the VA has never considered: a new medical opinion linking your condition to service, private treatment records you didn’t submit before, or buddy statements from people who witnessed your injury or illness. It is also the only option if your prior decision is more than one year old, because the other two lanes require filing within that window.

If the evidence already in your file should have been enough and you think the rater misread it, that’s a Higher-Level Review, not a supplemental claim. You cannot submit new evidence with a Higher-Level Review.³ You can work different lanes on different issues at the same time, but not the same issue in two lanes at once.⁴

The New and Relevant Evidence Standard

The single most important requirement for filing 20-0995 is submitting evidence that is both new and relevant. “New” means the VA has never seen it before in any prior decision on the issue. “Relevant” means it tends to prove or disprove something that matters to your claim. Evidence that raises a theory of entitlement the VA never previously considered also counts as relevant.⁵

Read your denial letter carefully. It tells you exactly why you lost, and your new evidence needs to speak to whatever the VA said was missing. Common gaps and what fills them:

No medical nexus. The VA acknowledged your current diagnosis and your in-service event but found no medical opinion connecting the two. A private nexus letter from a qualified provider addressing that link is the classic supplemental claim evidence.
No current diagnosis. You claimed a condition but no medical record confirmed you have it now. Updated treatment records or a new diagnostic evaluation fill that gap.
No in-service event. The VA found no evidence the triggering injury or exposure happened during service. Buddy statements, newly located service records, or unit histories can help.
Insufficient severity. For rating increases, the VA found your condition hadn’t worsened enough. A recent examination documenting current symptoms and functional limitations addresses that.

If your claim involves a condition that recently became presumptive under the PACT Act or another change in law, the change itself satisfies the new and relevant requirement. You still need medical evidence of your diagnosis and its severity and you need to meet the service requirements for the presumption, but you do not need to prove service caused the condition.¹

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

Download the current version of VA Form 20-0995 from VA.gov, or file directly online if your claim involves disability compensation.⁶ The form has five main sections.

Sections I and II: Identifying Information

Enter your full legal name, Social Security number, VA file number, date of birth, mailing address, phone number, and email. If you are a non-veteran claimant such as a surviving spouse, Section II collects the same identifying details for you while tying the claim to the veteran’s record. The VA has stated that as long as you provide a last name plus either a Social Security number or VA file number, the agency can locate your file, so missing an address or phone number won’t make the form incomplete.² Leaving out contact information still means the VA cannot reach you to schedule exams or ask questions, so fill in everything you can.

Section III: Homeless Status

If you are currently homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, complete this section. The VA expedites processing for homeless veterans.

Section IV: Issues for Review

List every specific issue you want the VA to reconsider. Only the issues you write here will be reviewed. Anything you leave off is not reopened.² For each issue, include the exact condition name as it appeared on your decision letter and the date of that decision. Matching the VA’s language prevents intake staff from having to guess which denied issue you mean. If you are filing within one year of a federal court decision, include that court decision date and attach a copy.

Section V: Evidence Submission

Tell the VA what new evidence supports your claim and where it is. You have two approaches and can use both:

Evidence you already have. Attach private medical records, nexus letters, buddy statements, or other documents directly to the form. Write your name and VA file number on every page.
Evidence you want the VA to obtain. If relevant records exist at a VA Medical Center, a Department of Defense facility, or another federal agency, list the facility name, approximate treatment dates, and the condition treated. The VA will retrieve federal records you identify. For non-federal records from private doctors, hospitals, or employers, provide enough identifying information and submit the appropriate authorization form so the VA can request them on your behalf.²

Item 22A includes checkboxes for the type of facility where you received treatment: private healthcare provider, VA Vet Center, Community Care (paid for by VA), VA Medical Center or outpatient clinic, and DoD military treatment facility. Check all that apply and provide dates if you have them.

Sign and date the form. An unsigned form will be returned.

How to Submit the Form

You have four ways to get the completed form to the VA. Filing online is the fastest.

Online (disability compensation only). File directly through VA.gov at the Supplemental Claim portal. You can upload supporting evidence through the VA’s claim status tool while your claim is pending, or use the QuickSubmit tool through AccessVA for additional documents.¹⁷
Mail. Send the signed form and all attached evidence to: Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444. Use a shipping method with tracking or return receipt. Proof of the date the VA received your packet matters for preserving your effective date.⁸
Fax. Fax to 844-531-7818 from inside the United States, or 248-524-4260 from outside the country.⁸
In person. Deliver the form to your local VA regional office. Staff will date-stamp the document, which creates an official record of receipt even though the regional office does not process the claim on-site.

For pension and other non-compensation supplemental claims that cannot be filed online, mail, fax, or in-person delivery are your options.

The One-Year Deadline and Your Effective Date

File within one year of the date on your decision notice and, if the VA ultimately grants the benefit, your effective date ties back to the original claim rather than the date you filed the supplemental. This is the continuous pursuit rule. The VA treats a claim as continuously pursued when the claimant files an appropriate review option within one year of each successive decision.⁴ That distinction directly affects how much back pay you receive.

If you miss the one-year window, you can still file a Supplemental Claim. There is no absolute deadline. But the effective date resets to whenever the VA receives your new filing.⁵ The difference can mean months or years of lost compensation.

The continuous pursuit chain works across lanes. If your Supplemental Claim is denied, filing a Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal within one year keeps the chain alive. If a Higher-Level Review denies you, filing another Supplemental Claim or a Board Appeal within a year continues the pursuit. The chain only breaks when more than a year passes between a decision and your next filing.

What Happens After You File

The VA sends an acknowledgment notice confirming your supplemental claim is in the system, then reviews your new evidence alongside the existing record.

Unlike a Higher-Level Review, a supplemental claim triggers the VA’s duty to assist. Federal law requires the VA to make reasonable efforts to help you obtain evidence that could substantiate your claim, including retrieving relevant records from VA facilities, other federal agencies, and, with proper authorization, private medical providers. The duty to assist also means the VA must provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion when the evidence shows you have a current disability or recurring symptoms that may be connected to service, but the file does not contain enough medical evidence to decide the claim.⁹

Not every supplemental claim triggers a Compensation and Pension exam. If your new evidence already provides enough detail for a decision, such as a thorough private nexus opinion with a supporting rationale, the VA may decide without scheduling one. If it still needs to verify your diagnosis, assess current severity, or evaluate the connection to service, expect a scheduling notice from one of the VA’s contract exam providers. Missing that appointment without rescheduling can result in a denial based on the existing record, so watch your mail and voicemail closely after filing.

The VA’s goal for supplemental claims unrelated to healthcare benefits is 125 days, and recent averages have run well below that.¹ The decision arrives as a new rating decision letter detailing which evidence was considered and the legal reasons for the outcome.

If the result is another denial, you are not out of options. You can file another Supplemental Claim with additional new evidence, request a Higher-Level Review if you believe the rater made an error on the existing record, or appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Filing within one year of the new denial keeps your effective date chain intact.

Getting Help With Your Claim

Veterans Service Organizations like the VFW, DAV, and American Legion provide free assistance with supplemental claims. To authorize a VSO to access your file and act on your behalf, submit VA Form 21-22.¹⁰ A good VSO representative can help you identify what evidence is missing, review your denial letter, and check the form before you submit it.

Accredited attorneys and claims agents can also handle supplemental claims. They file VA Form 21-22a instead of 21-22. Accredited representatives cannot charge fees for initial claims by law, but they can charge for supplemental claims and other decision reviews. Fees are capped at 20 percent of any back pay awarded, calculated before other withholdings such as military retired pay offsets.¹¹ The VA withholds the attorney’s fee directly from your award and pays it to the representative, so you typically do not pay anything out of pocket unless the claim is granted.

1
Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims
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Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 20-0995 Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim
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Veterans Affairs. Higher-Level Reviews
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.2500 – Review of Decisions
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.2501 – Supplemental Claims
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Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 20-0995
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Veterans Affairs. Upload Evidence To Support Your Disability Claim
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Veterans Affairs. How To File A VA Disability Claim
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5103A – Duty to Assist Claimants
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Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-22
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VA News. Here’s How To See Attorney and Agent Fees Paid by VA