If you support unmarried children under 18, adult children between 18 and 23 attending school, a dependent parent, or a spouse, you can claim VA benefits for them by completing VA form-21-686c.
This article provides a step-by-step guide for each family situation.
Veterans with a disability rating of 30 percent or higher who are getting married, recently had a child, getting divorced, or had recent income changes must complete VA form 21-686c.
The name of the form is Declaration of Status of Dependents.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Definition of Qualifying Dependent
You should only use VA form 21-686c to add qualified dependents who rely on you for financial support.
The VA considers the following people to be your qualified dependents or beneficiaries:
- Your spouse
- Your unmarried children under the age of 18 or who are 18 to 23 years old and attending school full-time. The definition of a dependent child applies to your biological child, adopted child, or stepchild.
- A seriously disabled adult child who acquired the disability before age 18.
- Dependent parents living with you and for whom you provide direct care. You parent’s income must fall below federal poverty guidelines, which the VA will determine after you complete VA form 21p-509.
Your qualifying dependents can receive certain VA benefits such as:
- Education and training services
- Memorial benefits
- VA healthcare
- Employee services
- Life insurance
When Should You Add Dependents to Your VA Benefits?
You can add dependents to your VA benefits when you file for your initial service-connected compensation.
The VA automatically considers additional compensation for your dependents if you have a combined disability rating of at least 30 percent.
You can still add or remove dependents later if your family situation changes after your original filing for VA benefits.
The VA will make dependent benefits retroactive to the date it originally approved you for VA benefits if you submit VA form 21-686c within the next 12 months.
How do you fill out VA form 21-686c?
Below are the instructions you need to follow when adding or removing specific dependents from your VA benefits.
Before you fill out the appropriate sections, you will need to complete the Veteran Information questions in Section I.
The first section requires the following information:
- Your full name, including middle initial
- Date of birth
- VA file number
- Social security number
- Your mailing address
Adding or removing a spouse
You should provide the following details about your spouse in Section II:
- His or her full name
- Date of birth
- Social security number
- Whether he or she is also a veteran
- Date and place of marriage
- Whether you were married by a religious officiant, justice of the peace, or have a common law marriage
In addition to your current marital status, you also need to indicate whether you and your current spouse were previously married to other people and include the following details:
- Name of former spouse
- Date and place of marriage
- Reason for termination of marriage, which can include death, divorce, or annulment
- Date and place of marriage termination
You must attach a copy of your marriage certificate with your current spouse and the death certificate or divorce decree related to any previous marriages.
Complete Section IV only if you are reporting a divorce and removing your former spouse from VA benefits.
Be sure to complete this section as soon as possible after a divorce to avoid receiving an overpayment of VA benefits that you have to return.
Complete Section VI only if your spouse is recently deceased.
VA form 21-686c asks for the name of your recently deceased spouse, the date of death, and place of death.
As with divorce situations, you also need to report the death of your spouse as soon as possible to avoid overpayment of VA benefits.
Adding or Removing Children
You will need to complete the detailed Veteran Information section before moving onto Section III to add or remove a child from VA benefits.
VA form 21-686c provides space to add up to four dependents.
You will need to use an addendum if adding more than four children.
Please include the following information about each child:
- Name of child
- Social security number
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Child status, which means whether each child listed is a biological child, adopted child, or stepchild.
- Name and address of the person the child lives with if the child does not live with you
To confirm the information you provided regarding declaration of status of dependents, the VA requires a copy of each child’s birth certificate or adoption paperwork along with a copy of their social security card.
If you are adding stepchildren, the VA may require a copy of your marriage certificate.
The next sections provide instructions to remove dependents based on the situation.
Section IV is for reporting the death of a dependent child.
The information you will need to provide include the name of child, date of death, and place of death.
Fill out Section VII only if you are reporting the marriage of a child. Married children are no longer eligible for VA benefits, regardless of age.
Be sure to include the name of your child and date of the marriage.
If you previously reported that a dependent between 18 and 23 was attending school full-time and that is no longer the case, use VA form 21-686c to report it.
You will fill out Section VIII to inform the VA that your adult child is no longer eligible for VA benefits.
If you need to inform the VA that a child between 18 and 23 has started attending school full-time, use VA form 21-674 to report it.
The name of the form is Request for Approval of School Attendance.
You need to provide your signature and the date at the end of VA form 21-686c to confirm that you have provided accurate information and that you understand the questions asked of you.
Statement of Dependency of Parent
If you need to add a dependent parent to your VA benefits, you will need to complete VA form 21p-509 titled Statement of Dependency of Parent.
You need to be a veteran with a 30 percent or higher disability rating or receiving a VA education benefit based on at least half-time enrollment.
The VA classifies the following as meeting the definition of parent:
- Biological parent
- Adoptive parent
- Foster parent
- Stepparent
Section I of VA form 21p-509 requests the following information:
- First name, middle initial, and last name of veteran
- Veteran’s social security number
- VA file number
- Full name of veteran’s parent
- Date of birth and social security number of veteran’s parent
The questions in this section start with 1 and end with 4C.
Question 5 requests the net worth of the parent for whom the veteran is claiming VA benefits.
Part A of Question 5 requests a description of property owned by the veteran’s parent, including the city/state.
Part B asks for the present market value and Part C asks for the present encumbrance.
Be sure to include the name of your parent’s current spouse.
You will need to list the income of your dependent parent in Question 6.
Part A indicates the source of the income, Part B requests income for latest calendar month from each source, and Part C requests the total amount.
If your parent is married, his or her current spouse will also need to complete this section.
Question 7 requests the current expenses for the dependent parent.
Fill in the type of expense for Part A, expenses for the last calendar month for Part B, and total for 12 months for Part C.
If your dependent parent’s expenses exceed income, you must provide the source of the funds used to meet remaining expenses in Question 8.
Questions 9 and 10 are yes no questions, with #9 relevant to the dependent parent and #10 relevant to the veteran.
Both parties should answer whether any persons living in their household rely on them for full financial support.
If so, they will need to list each person’s name, date of birth, relationship, and reason they are incapable of self-support.
You and your dependent parent will both need to sign and date VA form 21p-509 and include a daytime and evening telephone number.
You will also need to list the address of your mother, address of your father, and your own address.
How to Submit VA Form 21-686c
You can submit VA form 21-686c in one of two ways. The first is to mail it to the following address:
Department of Veteran Affairs, Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547
You can also submit the form online at www.va.gov.
Final Tips for Completing VA Form 21-686C
Your application request will be much more efficient if you fill out as much information as possible and provide details when requested.
We recommend that you gather supporting documentation such as:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Divorce decrees
- Death certificates
Did you find this guide useful? Want more great info about filing disability claims?
If you are interested in learning more about filing for disability benefits, check out our FREE ebook The Road to VA Compensation Benefits .
