**§20.608 Rule 608. Withdrawal of services by a representative.**

\(a\) *Withdrawal of services prior to certification of an appeal*. A
representative may withdraw services as representative in an appeal at
any time prior to certification of the appeal to the Board of Veterans'
Appeals by the agency of original jurisdiction by complying with the
requirements of §14.631 of this chapter.

\(b\) *Withdrawal of services after certification of an appeal*.

\(1\) *Applicability*. The restrictions on a representative's right to
withdraw contained in this paragraph apply only to those cases in which
the representative has previously agreed to act as representative in an
appeal. In addition to express agreement, orally or in writing, such
agreement shall be presumed if the representative makes an appearance in
the case by acting on an appellant's behalf before the Board in any way
after the appellant has designated the representative as such as
provided in §§20.602 through 20.605 of this part. The preceding sentence
notwithstanding, an appearance in an appeal solely to notify the Board
that a designation of representation has not been accepted will not be
presumed to constitute such consent.

\(2\) *Procedures*. After the agency of original jurisdiction has
certified an appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals, a representative
may not withdraw services as representative in the appeal unless good
cause is shown on motion. Good cause for such purposes is the extended
illness or incapacitation of an agent admitted to practice before the
Department of Veterans Affairs, an attorney-at-law, or other individual
representative; failure of the appellant to cooperate with proper
preparation and presentation of the appeal; or other factors which make
the continuation of representation impossible, impractical, or
unethical. Such motions must be in writing and must include the name of
the veteran, the name of the claimant or appellant if other than the
veteran (e.g., a veteran's survivor, a guardian, or a fiduciary
appointed to receive VA benefits on an individual's behalf), the
applicable Department of Veterans Affairs file number, and the reason
why withdrawal should be permitted, and a signed statement certifying
that a copy of the motion was sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid,
to the appellant, setting forth the address to which the copy was
mailed. Such motions should not contain information which would violate
privileged communications or which would otherwise be unethical to
reveal. Such motions must be filed at the following address: Office of
the Senior Deputy Vice Chairman (012), Board of Veterans' Appeals, 810
Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. The appellant may file a
response to the motion with the Board at the same address not later than
30 days following receipt of the copy of the motion and must include a
signed statement certifying that a copy of the response was sent by
first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the representative, setting forth
the address to which the copy was mailed. (Authority: 38 U.S.C.
5901--5904, 7105(a))

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number
2900- 0085)

\[57 FR 4109, Feb. 3, 1992, as amended at 61 FR 20450, May 7, 1996; 65
FR 1544, Jan. 11, 2000; 69 FR 21069, Apr. 20, 2004; 73 FR 29879, May 22,
2008\]

**Supplement *Highlights* references**: 14(3), 62(4), 83(3).

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