Upon receipt of a request for withdrawal of a claim, first determine which of the above factors apply to the request. Then follow the instructions in the table below. Step Action 1 Did VA receive the request before issuing a decision notice regarding the claim? If yes, proceed to the next step. If no, use the Letter Creator tool to generate the letter titled Untimely Claim Withdrawal Notification send the letter to the claimant clear an end product (EP) 400, and take no further action. Reference: For information about accessing and using the Letter Creator tool, see the web page on Compensation Service’s intranet. 2 Does the claimant wish to withdraw the claim in its entirety (all contentions associated with the claim)? If yes, follow the instructions in M21-1, Part III, Subpart ii, 2.G.3.a. If no, follow the instructions in M21-1, Part III, Subpart ii, 2.G.3.b. 3. Processing a Timely Received Request That VA Associates With the Claims Folder Before Issuing a Decision Notice Introduction This contains instructions for processing a timely received request for withdrawal of a claim that VA associates with the corresponding claims folder before issuing a decision notice, including processing a request for withdrawal of a claim in its entirety processing a request for withdrawal of a claim when the request does not apply to all contentions, and notifying a claimant that VA has processed his/her request. Change Date November 30, 2015
5 Disregard the remaining step in this table. 6 Clear the EP associated with the withdrawn claim. Important: Select Claim Withdrawn as the reason for clearing the EP. References: For more information processing a request to withdraw a in the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), see the , or the Veterans Service Network (VETSNET), see the , and clearing an EP in Share, see the . b. Processing a Request for Withdrawal of a Claim When the Request Does Not Apply to All Contentions Follow the instructions in the table below when a claimant requests withdrawal of a claim with multiple contentions the claimant is not withdrawing the claim in its entirety and has differentiated between which contentions are still active and which contentions he/she wishes to withdraw, and VA associates the request with the claims folder before it generates a decision notice regarding the claim. Step Action 1 Is VA processing the claim in a paperless environment? If yes, proceed to the next step. If no, proceed to Step 4. 2 Add the following text to the name of each contention listed in VBMS that the claimant withdrew: (withdrawn the month, day, and year VA received the request for withdrawal.]) Example: back condition (withdrawn 05/22/2015) Reference: For more information about editing contentions in VBMS, see the . 3 Proceed to Step 5. 4 Leave an annotation in the claims folder that reflects the date VA received the request for withdrawal, and the contentions to which the request for withdrawal apply. 5 Notify the claimant of the action taken by following the instructions in M21-1, Part III, Subpart ii, 2.G.3.c. 6 Complete all development actions that are necessary to make a decision on the contentions the claimant did not withdraw. 7 Make a decision on the contentions the claimant did not withdraw.