STANDARD CLAIMS AND APPEALS FORMS UPDATE

Disabilities determined by VA to be related to your military service can lead to monthly non-taxable compensation, enrollmentin the 

VA health care system, a 10-point hiring preference for federal employment and other important benefits. Ask your VA 

representative or Veterans Service Organization representative about Disability Compensation, Pension, Health Care, Caregiver

Program, Career Services, Educational Assistance, Home Loan Guaranty, Insurance and/or Dependents and Survivors’ Benefits.

VA WANTS TO MAKE CLAIMS FILING FASTER AND EASIER

VA wants to make it as fast and easy as possible for Veterans and Survivors to file their claims for 

compensation, pension and survivors benefits and receive a timely and accurate decision on their 

claims. As of March 24, 2015, VA required Veterans and Survivors to use standardized forms when 

filing their claims and appeals. The standardized forms enable claimants to clearly identify the 

symptoms or conditions for which they are seeking while helping to ensure VA receives the

information needed to process their claims. Veterans Service Organizations, state and county 

agencies, and other stakeholders are vital partners in the benefit claims process, providing assistance 

to Veterans and survivors in submitting their claims, both online and in paper form.

ANYONE SUBMITTING A CLAIM IS NOW REQUIRED TO USE A FORM

These forms are designed to capture the specific information VA needs to process 

compensation, pension, and other benefit claims.

 Veterans may file disability compensation claims online through eBenefits, or by submitting

VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Benefits.

 Wartime Veterans may file for needs-based pension using VA Form 21-527EZ, Application for 

Pension.

 Survivors filing claims for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), survivors’

pension, and accrued benefits must complete VA Form 21-534EZ, Application for

DIC, Death Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits. 

 Veterans and Survivors who need additional time to gather the information needed to support 

their claims may use the optional intent to file process. Submission of the new VA Form 21-

0966, Intent to File a Claim for Compensation and/or Pension, or Survivors Pension and/or 

DIC, protects the claimant’s effective date while allowing the claimant up to 1 year to collect

supporting information and submit the appropriate application form. (see our fact sheet on 

the intent to file process)
Compensation Service – March 2015 

Standardized notice of disagreement forms now required as the first step in the process 

of appealing a VA compensation decision

Veterans wishing to initiate appeal of a VA disability compensation decision issued after March 24, 

2105, are now required to express their disagreement through submission of VA Form 21-0958, 

Notice of Disagreement. Veterans and their representatives previously used the form on an optional 

basis. Veterans must now use this form whenever VA provides it to them along with the decision on 

their disability claim. Veterans and Survivors are not required to use a standardized notice of 

disagreement form for pension or survivors benefits at this time. 

HOW WILL USE OF STANDARDIZED FORMS HELP VETERANS?

 Standardization of the filing process will lead to faster claim decisions and less uncertainty 

when filing claims and appeals. Use of standard forms will enable Veterans to more clearly 

identify the benefit they are seeking, making the filing process much more efficient.

 Submission of the required forms will help to ensure VA receives the information it needs to 

process the claim. The forms clearly identify what the Veteran must provide to support their 

claims – no more guessing games. 

 VA encourages Veterans to file their compensation claims online through the eBenefits web 

portal. eBenefits guides claimants through the application process with a series of questions 

that elicit the information that would otherwise be captured on the paper standard claim form. 

Veterans who cannot file online, or choose not to file online, can work with a Veterans Service 

Organization or state or county representative that can file the information online through the 

Stakeholder Enterprise Portal. Veterans may also download the forms from 

www.va.gov/vaforms/ or call 800-827-1000 to have the correct form sent to their home. 

Completed forms may be mailed or faxed back to VA.

 Standardized forms are a key component of VA’s claims transformation and will help achieve 

the Department’s goal of eliminating the claims backlog by the end of this year.