What Is a BDD Claim? Benefits Delivery at Discharge

A BDD claim, short for Benefits Delivery at Discharge, lets you file for VA disability compensation while you are still on active duty, between 180 and 90 days before your separation date. The point is to get your rating decided and payments moving shortly after you take off the uniform instead of waiting months. The VA aims to issue a decision within 30 days of your separation, and because the claim is filed before discharge, your effective date is the day after you leave active service.¹

Who Qualifies

Three conditions have to be true at the moment you file:

You are on full-time active duty, which includes National Guard, Reserve, and Coast Guard members on full-time active duty orders.
Your separation date is between 180 and 90 days away.
You will be available for VA medical exams for at least 45 days after you submit the claim.

That 45-day availability piece trips people up. If you file at day 91 and your calendar is buried under out-processing, the VA may not be able to finish your exams before you leave. Filing early in the window gives everyone room to work.²

Count From Your Separation Date, Not Terminal Leave

The 180-to-90-day window runs from the official separation date on your orders, not from the day terminal leave begins. If your orders show June 1 and you start terminal leave April 15, count backward from June 1. Some service members treat the first day of leave as their last day and miscalculate the window entirely.²

Documents to Have Ready

Assembling your paperwork before you open the application prevents delays and rejected submissions.

VA Form 21-526EZ, the main disability compensation application. Fill it out online at VA.gov or download a paper copy.
A complete copy of your Service Treatment Records from your current period of service: entrance physicals, periodic health assessments, inpatient and outpatient records, dental, behavioral health, and any traumatic brain injury documentation.
The Separation Health Assessment Part A Self-Assessment, which captures your health status at discharge and sets a baseline for future rating decisions.
Private medical records for any condition you are claiming that was treated outside a military facility.
DD Form 214, submitted once it is issued, since BDD claims are filed before discharge.

On the 21-526EZ itself, list every condition you want considered, your exact service dates, and your banking information for direct deposit. Describe each condition specifically and tie it to your service. Vague descriptions slow processing because a claims examiner has to guess what you mean.¹

Pulling Records Digitally

If your military treatment facility uses MHS GENESIS, log in, open the Health Records tab, and select what you need. Prescription history sits under the More tab, Medications.³ For anything not in MHS GENESIS, or records held by outside providers, request copies early. Civilian offices sometimes take weeks, and that lag can eat your filing window.

How to Submit the Claim

Online at VA.gov. Fastest route, immediate receipt confirmation, and starting the application locks in your intent to file date.
By mail to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444.
Through a Veterans Service Organization. A VSO representative can prepare and submit electronically on your behalf, and VSO help with VA benefit claims is free. Accredited attorneys and claims agents can also help, though they may charge fees.⁴

Filing online is worth the effort even if you are not tech-savvy. The system confirms receipt right away and lets you track status. Mailed claims can sit in transit, and you will not learn about a problem until the VA reaches out.⁵

Stationed Overseas

BDD still works from overseas, but exams are coordinated through regional offices rather than local VA facilities. Service members in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East work with the Landstuhl BDD office in Germany; those in the Pacific work through Camp Humphreys in Korea. Build in extra time if your exams require visits to more than one specialty clinic.⁶

What Happens After You File

Once the VA has your claim, it schedules Compensation and Pension exams. These decide whether each claimed condition is service-connected and how severe it is. Your rating flows directly from the exam findings, so this is the most consequential step in the process.⁷

Exams happen while you are still on active duty. A provider examines you, writes a report, and sends it to the VA. The VA reviews the report along with your STRs and any private records, and issues its final decision once your DD Form 214 confirms discharge.⁸

Do Not Miss Your C&P Exam

This is where BDD claims break more often than anywhere else. Miss a scheduled exam and the VA may decide your claim on whatever evidence it has, which usually means a lower rating or a denial. Legitimate reasons like hospitalization or a death in the immediate family will get you rescheduled. Being busy with out-processing will not. Put every exam date on your calendar the moment the notice arrives.⁷

When Payments Start and How Much

Federal law sets your effective date as the day after discharge when the VA receives your disability claim within one year of separation. BDD claims are filed before discharge, so that condition is met automatically. Benefits start accruing the day after you leave active duty.⁹

The VA aims to deliver a BDD decision within 30 days of your separation, with the first payment typically arriving within a few weeks after. If processing runs long, back pay covers every month since the day after discharge, so a delayed decision produces a larger retroactive check rather than lost money.¹⁰

Payments are monthly and scale with the rating. For 2026, a single veteran with no dependents receives $180.42 per month at 10%, $1,132.90 at 50%, and $3,938.58 at 100%. Higher ratings with dependents pay more.¹¹ VA disability compensation is not subject to federal income tax; the IRS excludes it from taxable income.¹²

Adding Dependents

A combined rating of 30% or higher qualifies you for additional monthly compensation for a spouse, children, and dependent parents. You can include dependent documentation with your initial BDD filing rather than waiting. Submit birth certificates for your spouse and dependent children with the claim package, along with VA Form 21-686c, the Application Request to Add and/or Remove Dependents.¹³ If you have children between 18 and 23 in school, add VA Form 21-674. Including these upfront means dependent pay can start as soon as your rating is final, instead of waiting on a separate request.¹⁰

When BDD Is Not the Right Track

Some situations do not fit BDD even inside the 180-to-90-day window:

Service members who are seriously ill, seriously injured, have lost a body part, or are terminally ill go through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), which coordinates between the VA and DoD.
Claims involving pregnancy are excluded from BDD and handled through other claim types.
Current hospitalization, or extensive medical records that are not yet available, also disqualifies a claim from BDD.

In any of these situations, the Fully Developed Claim program or the Standard Claim process remains available. The timeline is slower, but the benefits are the same.¹⁴

Fewer Than 90 Days Left

With fewer than 90 days remaining on active duty, you cannot file a BDD claim or add new conditions to one already filed. File a fully developed or standard claim instead, either before or after your discharge date. As long as the VA receives it within one year of separation, your effective date is still the day after discharge.²

If You Disagree With the Decision

A BDD decision goes through the same review options as any other VA disability decision. If a condition is denied or the rating is lower than you expected, you have three paths:

A Supplemental Claim, where you submit new and relevant evidence the VA did not have before. Use this when you have additional medical records, a private medical opinion, or new test results.
A Higher-Level Review, where a senior reviewer looks at the same evidence again for errors in how VA policy was applied. No new evidence allowed. The VA’s goal is an average of 125 days.¹⁵
A Board Appeal to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Most thorough, slowest.

Filing a Supplemental Claim or Higher-Level Review within one year of the original decision protects your effective date. Wait longer than a year and a successful appeal may carry a new effective date rather than the original one tied to your discharge.¹⁶

1
Veterans Affairs. Benefits Delivery at Discharge Program
2
Veterans Affairs. Pre-Discharge Claim
3
TRICARE. How Do I Get a Copy of My Medical Records
4
Veterans Affairs. Get Help From a VA Accredited Representative or VSO
5
Veterans Affairs. How to File a VA Disability Claim
6
Veterans Affairs. File a Pre-Discharge Claim While Overseas
7
Veterans Affairs. VA Claim Exam (C&P Exam)
8
Veterans Benefits Administration. a href=”https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/benefits-delivery-discharge-program.asp” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Benefits Delivery at Discharge Program
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 U.S. Code 5110 – Effective Dates of Awards
10
Veterans Benefits Administration. Benefits Delivery at Discharge Program
11
Veterans Affairs. Current Veterans Disability Compensation Rates
12
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income
13
Veterans Benefits Administration. VA Form 21-686c – Application Request to Add and/or Remove Dependents
14
TRICARE. BDD Fact Sheet
15
Veterans Affairs. Higher-Level Reviews
16
Veterans Affairs. VA Decision Reviews and Appeals