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Simplify the VA disability appeals process. This guide offers a clear path forward for veterans seeking the best way to appeal VA decisions, based on their specific claim and circumstances. Equip yourself with the knowledge you need to navigate the complicated VA appeals system and improve your chances of securing the benefits you’ve rightfully earned.

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The VA Appeals System: Legacy vs. AMA

The Appeals Modernization Act (AMA), officially implemented on February 19, 2019, was designed to give veterans more choices and faster decisions from the VA. Under the previous system, now referred to as Legacy, the VA was facing a backlog with no end in sight and veterans were facing a complex system with no set timeframe. The new AMA system is intended to streamline the appeals system for faster processing times.

  • Any claims filed on or after February 19, 2019, or that received a decision after that date, will be worked under the new appeals system.
  • If you have a pending appeal that is in the Legacy system, you can opt into the new system after receiving an initial decision, a Statement of the Case (SOC), or a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). You only have 60 days from the date of the SOC/SSOC to do so.
  • If you currently have pending appeals in the legacy system and you did not opt your appeals into the AMA system, they will continue to be worked under the legacy system.
  • VA is working through the legacy appeals until all appeals are under the new system, though this process could take years to complete.
  • Once you are in the new AMA system, whether by opting in or by filing a new claim, you cannot return to the Legacy system. 

Types of VA Appeals

The VA appeals modernization process streamlines the appeals process, offering three main avenues for veterans. Each one is designed to address different aspects of the appeals process, whether you’re submitting new evidence or seeking a fresh review of your claim. The best path to success will depend on your specific situation.

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Higher-Level Review

From your initial claim, you have a year to opt for a review at the VA regional office, ensuring a quality check on the original opinion. This de novo review (examining without considering the prior decision) doesn’t allow extra evidence or hearings. Learn more about Higher-Level Reviews.

Supplemental Claim

Within a year from your decision date, you can file a supplemental claim by submitting new and relevant evidence. The VA aims to decide within 125 days, preserving your original claim’s effective date. See how to make a Supplemental Claim.

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Board Review Lane

To appeal at the BVA, file a notice of disagreement (NOD) within a year of the decision. Previously, multiple steps preceded a BVA appeal, but now, an NOD directly takes you there. Veterans can request a BVA hearing, submit more evidence, or seek a review without added information. Find out more about Board Appeals.

VA Appeal Process Steps

When your claim doesn’t go as expected, the first step is understanding the VA’s decision. This begins with carefully reviewing the decision letter sent by the VA, which details their reasons. If you disagree, it’s time to file an appeal. 

When Should I Appeal My VA Disability Claim?

You must file your appeal within the required timeframe, which depends on the appeal lane. Most veterans will have one year from the date in the rating decision letter. Deadlines are critical in the VA appeals process, both under the older Legacy system and under AMA, and there are no extensions.

If you have applied for multiple disabilities, the VA might not make a decision on all of your claimed disabilities at once. It is very common for the VA to send multiple rating decision letters, each with different dates and deciding different issues. Therefore, please keep in mind that for each separate rating decision, you would have to file a separate appeal to each rating decision that you may disagree with.

How to File the VA Disability Appeal

The process begins with completing an appeal form. For a higher-level review or supplemental appeals, the appropriate Decision Review Request must be filed. For a Board appeal, a Notice of Disagreement (currently VA Form 10182 under AMA). Each lane has specific appeals forms: formal documents where you outline your disputes with the VA’s decision.

VA Appeal Forms 

After the Appeal Submission 

Once your appeal is submitted, staying updated on its status is essential. The VA provides tools for checking the progress of your appeal, offering some insight into where your case stands in the queue. When the VA reaches a decision, you’ll receive a detailed letter explaining the outcome: approved, denied or remanded. 

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Choosing the Best Way to Appeal a VA Claim

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Higher-Level Review

A senior VA Adjudicator re-examines your claim

From your initial claim, you have a year to opt for a review at the VA regional office, ensuring a quality check on the original decision. Currently, in the Higher Level Review lane, a more senior VA adjudicator will perform a de novo review of your file and make a decision based on the evidence already of record. De novo means that they will review your appeal without regard to prior decisions and make a new decision based on their view of all of the evidence.

You are basically getting a different person to review the same evidence, because you cannot submit new evidence in this lane. If the outcome is positive, your original claim date remains; if negative, you can file a supplemental claim or appeal to the Board.

Under AMA, Higher-Level Reviews are intended to be relatively quick (often just a few months). The VA currently estimates 125 days to complete these types of appeals. This may be the best way to appeal a claim when: 

  • The VA misapplied the law 
  • The VA failed to consider evidence already in your file 
  • There is a clear, obvious error in how the decision was made 
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Supplemental Claim

submit new evidence that wasn’t included in the initial claim

In the Supplemental Claim lane, new evidence is required to reopen a previously denied claim or request an increased rating. You can file an appeal within a year from your decision by submitting new and relevant evidence: something that was not previously considered and that tends to prove or disprove a matter at issue in your claim. 

You can keep appealing as long as you submit new and relevant evidence within one year of the last decision to keep your original effective date. You can also reopen a claim with a Supplemental Claim after the one-year deadline with new and relevant evidence, but in that case you may receive a new effective date. 

The VA is aiming to decide this type of appeal in 125 days. In November 2025 the average time was 64.5 days. After the decision, if you are still unsatisfied, you have three choices:  

  • Resubmit new and relevant evidence within a year, preserving your claim date
  • Request a Higher-Level Review
  • Opt for a Board appeal 
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Board Appeals

The appeal is reviewed by a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals

To appeal at the BVA, you file a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to the Board within a year of the decision (using VA Form 10182 under AMA). In a Board appeal, a veteran can choose among: 

  • Direct Review – A Veterans Law Judge reviews the existing evidence; no new evidence is submitted and there is no hearing.
  • Evidence Submission – You can submit new evidence within a set window after filing your NOD.
  • Hearing Lane – You can request a BVA hearing (with or without submitting new evidence). 

Board level appeals have long wait times, up to several years for hearings. For that reason, it is often best to first use the Higher-Level Review or Supplemental Claim appeal lanes to fix problems at the Regional Office level before heading to the Board.  

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Possible Appeal Outcomes

1. Granted

Your claim will go back to your Regional Office for a new rating decision, which may include issuance of an effective date, rating and then payment. If you are unsatisfied with the new rating decision, this triggers the one-year appeal deadline again. 

2. remanded

If the Board remands your appeal, the BVA judge will lay out clear steps which your Regional Office must complete before rendering you another decision on your appeal. Appeals can be remanded for many reasons, for example: 

  • If there has been a change in law
  • If there has been a worsening of a disability on appeal and a new examination is needed
  • If new evidence has been submitted
  • If the Regional Office did not process your claim correctly. 

After completing the required steps, your Regional Office will make a new decision that will either continue the prior denial or grant your appeal.

Under the Legacy System, if the Regional Office continues the prior denial, you will be issued a Supplemental Statement of the Case and your appeal will return to the Board for a final decision. The Board will review your case again and will then render another decision. The remand cycle can happen more than once. 

3. Denied

Under AMA, once you get a decision on your initial claim (either a grant of conditions with a rating percentage and benefits, a denial, or an incorrect effective date) you still generally have one year from the date of the decision to file any type of appeal (Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, or Board appeal). 

You can also file an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), within 120 days from the date of the BVA decision. If you miss the 120-day deadline, you will lose your right to appeal to the CAVC.

Denied Again? You Have Options

If the appeal is denied, options remain to re-appeal or seek a different review path, and you may preserve your effective date, as long as you act within one year of each decision. Under AMA, you or your VA lawyer can: 

  • Switch from a Higher-Level Review to a Supplemental Claim with new evidence 
  • Move from a Supplemental Claim to a Board appeal 
  • File another Supplemental Claim with additional new and relevant evidence  

New Effective Date Rules

Under the new system, by choosing a lane within a year, your effective date for granted claims remains the original claim date.

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