Eligibility for VA disability benefits

Review VA disability benefits eligibility criteria to find out if you can get disability compensation for an illness or injury that was caused by—or got worse because of—your active military service. Compensation may include financial support and other benefits like health care.

Am I eligible for VA disability compensation?

You may be able to get VA disability benefits or compensation if you have a current illness or injury (known as a condition) that affects your body or mind and you meet at least one of the requirements listed below.

Both of these must be true. You:

• Served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training, and
• Have a disability rating for your service-connected condition

And at least one of these must be true. You:

• Got sick or injured while serving in the military—and can link this condition to your illness or injury (called an inservice disability claim), or
• Had an illness or injury before you joined the military—and serving made it worse (called a preservice disability claim), or
• Have a disability related to your active-duty service that didn’t appear until after you ended your service (called a postservice disability claim)

Presumed disabilities

• A chronic (long-lasting) illness that appears within one year after discharge, or
• An illness caused by contact with contaminants (toxic chemicals) or other hazardous materials, or
• An illness caused by your time spent as a prisoner of war (POW)

Who’s covered?

• Veterans
• Qualified dependents

isability compensation.

How do I prepare before starting my application?

• Find out if you’re eligible for VA disability compensation
• Gather any evidence (supporting documents) you’ll submit yourself when you file your VA disability claim.
• Be sure your claim is filled out completely and you have all the supporting documents ready to send in along with your claim. This will help us process your claim quickly.
  Learn about fully developed claims
• Find out if you’ll need to turn in any additional forms with your claim

What evidence will I need to provide to support my claim?

You can help to support your VA disability claim by providing documents, such as:

• VA medical records and hospital records that relate to your claimed illnesses or injuries or that show your rated disability has gotten worse
• Private medical records and hospital reports that relate to your claimed illnesses or injuries or that show your disability has gotten worse
• Supporting statements you’d like to provide from family members, friends, clergy members, law enforcement personnel, or those you served with that can tell us more about your claimed condition and how and when it happened or how it got worse

Depending on the type of claim you file, you may gather supporting documents yourself, or you can ask for our help to gather evidence.

Find out what evidence we’ll need for your claim

We’ll also review your discharge papers (DD214 or other separation documents) and service treatment records.

Please note: You don’t have to submit any evidence to support your claim, but we may need to schedule a claim exam so we can learn more about your condition.

You should also know that you have up to a year from the date we receive your claim to turn in any evidence. If you start your application and need time to gather more supporting documents, you can save your application and come back later to finish it. We’ll recognize the date you started your application as your date of claim as long as you complete it within 365 days.