How to Fill Out and Submit VA Form 20-0996: Sections, Deadline, and Filing

To fill out VA Form 20-0996, you enter your identifying information, pick one benefit type, decide whether you want an informal conference with the reviewer, and list each issue you want reviewed exactly as it appears on your VA decision letter — then sign in ink and submit within one year of the date on that decision. The form itself is the entire submission. Because a Higher-Level Review is based only on evidence already in your file, you do not attach medical records, statements, or anything new.¹ There is no filing fee.

Before You Open the Form

Make sure Higher-Level Review is the right lane for what you want. A higher-level reviewer takes a fresh look at the record that existed when the VA made its decision and owes no deference to the original rater, but cannot consider anything new.² If you have new evidence — a recent medical opinion, treatment records the VA never saw, a buddy statement — a supplemental claim on VA Form 20-0995 is the better path. You also cannot use this form to challenge a decision that already went through a Higher-Level Review or a Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision on the same issue, and it is not available for contested claims where more than one claimant is competing for the same benefit.³

Have these items in front of you before you start filling in fields:

Your VA decision notification letter. You need the date printed at the top of the letter and the exact wording of each issue you want reviewed.
Your full legal name, Social Security number, VA file number if different, date of birth, mailing address, phone number, and email.
The name and contact information for your representative, if you have one. A valid VA Form 21-22 (for a Veterans Service Organization) or 21-22a (for an accredited attorney or claims agent) must already be on file or included with your submission.⁴

The current version of the form is dated March 2024. You can download the PDF from VA.gov or, for disability compensation claims, complete the request online.⁵

Filling In the Form Section by Section

Veteran and Claimant Identification

The top of the form collects identifying information: name, Social Security number, VA file number, date of birth, insurance number if applicable, mailing address, phone, and email. If the person requesting the review is not the veteran — a surviving spouse or other claimant, for example — complete the separate claimant fields as well. The form instructions warn that without this information the VA cannot identify the claimant and will be unable to process the request.⁴

Section III: Benefit Type

Choose one benefit type: compensation, pension, education, insurance, loan guaranty, or another category listed on the form. You can only mark one box. If you want to challenge decisions in two categories, say compensation and education, you must fill out and submit a separate Form 20-0996 for each.

Section IV: Informal Conference

This section is optional and it is where you decide whether to request a phone call with the higher-level reviewer assigned to your case. To opt in, check the box at Item 16A and enter a phone number where you or your representative can be reached. The VA will make two attempts to call at that number to schedule the conference; if both attempts fail, the review proceeds without the call. Requesting a conference adds time to the overall process, which the VA states directly.³

The purpose of the call is narrow: to point out errors of fact or law in the decision under review. You cannot submit new evidence during the conference, but you can draw the reviewer’s attention to evidence already in the record that was overlooked or mischaracterized. Have the decision letter and a short list of specific errors ready before the call.

Section V: Issues for Review

List each issue you want reviewed exactly as it appears on your decision letter, and enter the date of the VA decision for each one. If the letter denied service connection for tinnitus and assigned a 10 percent rating for a lumbar strain, and you only want to challenge the rating, list only the lumbar strain issue with its decision date. Word-for-word matching keeps the reviewer focused on what you actually dispute and avoids processing delays.

Signature

Sign and date the form in ink. Forms signed in pencil may be returned. If the veteran cannot sign, an alternate signer can complete the form with an attached VA Form 21-0972 (Alternate Signer Certification). An accredited representative with a valid VA Form 21-22 or 21-22a on file may sign on the veteran’s behalf.⁴

The One-Year Deadline

The completed form must reach the VA within one year of the date the agency issued notice of the decision you want reviewed.² Use the date printed at the top of the decision letter, not the day you opened the envelope. Filing inside that year keeps your claim in continuous pursuit, so any resulting increase in benefits can reach back to the effective date of the original claim.

If the year lapses, you are not shut out of the VA system, but the options change. You can still file a supplemental claim with new and relevant evidence; the effective date, however, resets to the date the VA receives that filing.⁶

How to Submit the Form

Four submission methods are available:

Online, through VA.gov’s Higher-Level Review request page, for disability compensation claims. This is generally the fastest route because it skips mail scanning.⁵
By mail to: Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444. Certified mail with a return receipt is worth the small cost; the tracking number is your proof of timely filing if the one-year deadline is ever disputed.³
By fax to (844) 531-7818.⁷
In person at a VA regional office, available for claims that are not related to health care benefits.³

Confirm the VA received your submission. Online filings show a confirmation in your VA.gov account. For mail or fax, watch for an acknowledgment letter. If you requested an informal conference, a separate notification will follow with scheduling details.

What Happens Next

The VA’s internal goal is to complete Higher-Level Reviews within an average of 125 days.⁸ Complexity, informal conference scheduling, and regional workload can push individual cases longer. Three outcomes are possible: the reviewer changes the decision in your favor, leaves it as it stands, or identifies a duty-to-assist error — for instance, a required exam that was never scheduled — and returns the file for the VA to gather the missing evidence.⁹

If the review is unfavorable, you cannot file another Higher-Level Review on the same issue. You have one year from the Higher-Level Review decision letter to file a supplemental claim (VA Form 20-0995) with new and relevant evidence, or to take the issue to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals using VA Form 10182, and still preserve your original effective date.³

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5104B – Higher-Level Review by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction
2
eCFR. 38 CFR 3.2601 – Higher-Level Review
3
Veterans Affairs. Higher-Level Reviews
4
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 20-0996 – Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review
5
Veterans Affairs. Request a Higher-Level Review
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.2500 – Review of Decisions
7
Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 20-0996
8
Department of Veterans Affairs OIG. VA Developed Reporting Metrics for Appeals Modernization Act Decision Reviews but Could Be Clearer on Some Veterans’ Wait Times
9
Veterans Affairs. VA’s Duty To Assist