A VA supplemental claim is a formal request asking the Department of Veterans Affairs to reconsider a previously decided benefit claim based on new and relevant evidence. You file one using VA Form 20-0995, and it is the only post-decision review option that lets you add evidence the VA has not seen before. It applies to nearly any earlier decision, including service connection denials, requests for a higher disability rating, and effective date disputes.
When to Choose This Review Instead of the Other Two
The Appeals Modernization Act created three review lanes, and each does something different. A supplemental claim is right when you have new evidence. A Higher-Level Review asks a more senior reviewer to look at the same evidence already on file. A Board Appeal sends your case to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
The supplemental claim lane is also the most flexible on the back end. You can file one after a Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal decision, which is not true in reverse. You cannot ask for a Higher-Level Review of a prior Higher-Level Review on the same issue.
The New and Relevant Evidence Standard
To trigger a fresh review, your evidence must be both new and relevant. New means it was not part of the record when the VA made its earlier decision. Relevant means it tends to prove or disprove something at issue in your case, including evidence that raises a theory the VA has not previously considered. This replaced the older “new and material evidence” test, and the current standard is intentionally no harder to meet than the old one.1eCFR. 38 CFR 3.2501 – Supplemental Claims
If you file without new and relevant evidence, the VA will not readjudicate the claim on the merits. It will issue a decision saying there was not enough evidence to reopen the case.
Evidence that commonly meets the standard includes:
- Private medical records, such as treatment notes, imaging, or test results from non-VA providers.
- Updated VA treatment records the VA did not have when it decided the earlier claim.
- Buddy statements from fellow service members, family, or friends, submitted on VA Form 21-10210.2Veterans Affairs. Evidence Needed for Your Disability Claim
- A medical nexus letter from a qualified provider linking your current condition to your military service. The strongest letters state that the condition is “at least as likely as not” connected to service, meaning a 50 percent or greater probability.
- Service records, personnel files, deployment orders, or unit histories you did not include before.
After you file, the VA may schedule a Claim and Pension exam if it needs more information, but this is not automatic. If your file already contains enough medical evidence, the VA can decide without one.3Veterans Affairs. VA Claim Exam (C&P Exam) Attend any exam that is scheduled. Missing it can result in a denial for insufficient evidence.
Deadlines and Effective Dates
You can file a supplemental claim at any time. There is no absolute deadline. But the date you file drives the effective date if the claim is granted, so timing changes how much back pay you receive.
Filing Within One Year of the Decision
File within one year of the date on your VA decision letter and the effective date ties back to the date of your original claim. You would receive retroactive payments covering the entire period since you first applied.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 US Code 5110 – Effective Dates of Awards The statute treats your claim as continuously pursued when you file within that one-year window.5Veterans Affairs. Decision Reviews FAQs
Filing After One Year
You can still file. But the effective date resets to when the VA receives your new filing. If your original claim was denied two years ago and you file today, any awarded benefits would only run from today, not from the original application date.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 US Code 5110 – Effective Dates of Awards That gap can cost months or years of retroactive compensation.
Intent to File
If you need time to gather evidence but want to lock in an earlier effective date, submit an Intent to File on VA Form 21-0966. This sets a potential start date for benefits and gives you up to one year to complete and file the supplemental claim itself. If the claim is later approved, benefits may be backdated to the Intent to File date rather than the date you submitted the completed form.6Veterans Affairs. Submit an Intent to File Intent to File is available for disability compensation, pension, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation supplemental claims.7Veterans Affairs. Your Intent to File a VA Claim
How to File
File on VA Form 20-0995, “Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim.” The form asks for your identifying information, the specific issues you want reconsidered, and where the VA can find your new evidence, including facility names and treatment dates.8Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims The VA has a legal duty to help you gather evidence, including obtaining records from federal facilities and private providers you identify, so you do not need to collect every document yourself before filing.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5103A – Duty to Assist Claimants
You have several ways to submit:
- Online through VA.gov, but only for disability compensation claims. Other benefit types do not currently support online filing.10Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 20-0995
- By mail. For disability compensation claims, send to Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444.8Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims
- In person at your local VA regional office.
- Through an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative at no cost. Accredited attorneys and claims agents can also help, though they may charge for their services.11Veterans Affairs. Get Help From a VA Accredited Representative or VSO
How Long It Takes
The VA’s stated goal is to complete supplemental claims that are not related to health care benefits within an average of 125 days. Recent processing has run faster: the VA reported an average of 68 days for disability compensation and pension supplemental claims as of January 2026.8Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims Your timeline can vary with the complexity of the case, whether a C&P exam is needed, and how quickly the VA can obtain records you identified.
When the VA finishes its review, it issues a new rating decision. If the new evidence resolved the earlier gaps, the decision spells out revised benefits and the effective date. If the evidence fell short, the letter explains why and lays out your options for further review.
Supplemental Claims and the PACT Act
The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, signed into law on August 10, 2022, expanded the list of conditions the VA presumes are connected to service for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. If you were previously denied service connection for a condition that is now presumptive under the PACT Act, a supplemental claim is the most direct way to get that decision reversed.
The law added more than 20 presumptive conditions for Gulf War era and post-9/11 veterans, spanning several cancers, respiratory illnesses such as asthma diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, COPD, constrictive bronchiolitis, emphysema, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis, along with chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, granulomatous disease, and pleuritis. It also added two Agent Orange presumptives: high blood pressure and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.12Veterans Affairs. The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits For these presumptive conditions, the change in law itself can serve as the new and relevant evidence supporting the claim, since it establishes a connection to service that the VA did not previously recognize.
If Your Supplemental Claim Is Denied
A denial does not close the case. You have three options after an unfavorable decision:8Veterans Affairs. Supplemental Claims
- File another supplemental claim, at any time, as long as you have additional new and relevant evidence. There is no limit on how many you can file on the same issue.
- Request a Higher-Level Review within one year of the supplemental claim decision. A senior reviewer examines the existing record for errors. You cannot add new evidence.13Veterans Affairs. Higher-Level Reviews
- Request a Board Appeal using VA Form 10182 within one year of the decision. A Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals reviews the case.14Veterans Affairs. Board Appeals
The one-year clock for a Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal runs from the date on the supplemental claim decision letter. Missing that window does not prevent you from filing another supplemental claim with new evidence, but it does close off the other two lanes for that decision. If you are unsure which option fits, a VSO representative can review your decision letter and help you choose at no cost.11Veterans Affairs. Get Help From a VA Accredited Representative or VSO