Department Of Veterans Affairs Your Rights To Appeal Our Decision

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YOUR RIGHTS TO APPEAL OUR DECISION
After careful and compassionate consideration, a decision has been reached on your claim. If we were not able
to grant some or all of the VA benefits you asked for, this form will explain what you can do if you disagree
with our decision. If you do not agree with our decision, you may:
appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (the Board) by telling us you disagree with our decision
give us evidence we do not already have that may lead us to change our decision
This form will tell you how to appeal to the Board and how to send us more evidence. You can do either one
or both of these things.
NOTE: Please direct all new evidence to the address at the top of our letter. Do not send evidence directly
to the Board until you receive written notice from the Board that they received your appeal.
W
A
B
V
A
HAT IS AN
PPEAL TO THE
OARD OF
ETERANS'
PPEALS?
An appeal is your formal request that the Board review the evidence in your VA file and review the law that
applies to your appeal. The Board can either agree with our decision or change it. The Board can also send
your file back to us for more processing before the Board makes its decision.
H
C
I A
D
OW
AN
PPEAL THE
ECISION?
How do I start my appeal? To begin your appeal, write us a letter telling us you disagree with our decision.
This letter is called your "Notice of Disagreement." If we denied more than one claim for a benefit (for
example, if you claimed compensation for three disabilities and we denied two of them), please tell us in your
letter which claims you are appealing. Send your Notice of Disagreement to the address at the top of our
letter.
What happens after VA receives my Notice of Disagreement? We will either grant your claim or send you
a Statement of the Case. A Statement of the Case describes the facts, laws, regulations, and reasons that we
used to make our decision. We will also send you a VA Form 9, "Appeal to Board of Veterans' Appeals," with
the Statement of the Case. You must complete this VA Form 9 and return it to us if you want to continue your
appeal.
How long do I have to start my appeal? You have one year to appeal our decision. Your letter saying that
you disagree with our decision must be postmarked (or received by us) within one year from the date of our
letter denying you the benefit. In most cases, you cannot appeal a decision after this one-year period has ended.
What happens if I do not start my appeal on time? If you do not start your appeal on time, our decision
will become final. Once our decision is final, you cannot get the VA benefit we denied unless you either:
show that we were clearly wrong to deny the benefit or
send us new evidence that relates to the reason we denied your claim
Can I get a hearing with the Board? Yes. If you decide to appeal, the Board will give you a hearing if you
want one. The VA Form 9 we will send you with the Statement of the Case has complete information about
the kinds of hearings the Board offers and convenient check boxes for requesting a Board hearing. The Board
does not require you to have a hearing. It is your choice.
Where can I find out more about appealing to the Board?
You can find a "plain language" booklet called "How Do I Appeal," on the Internet at:
. The booklet also may be requested by writing to: Mail
Processing Section (014), Board of Veterans' Appeals, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
20420.
You can find the formal rules for appealing to the Board in the Board's Rules of Practice at title 38,
Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20. You can find the complete Code of Federal Regulations on the
Internet at:
. A printed copy of the Code of Federal
Regulations may be available at your local law library.
4107
VA FORM
(Please continue reading on page 2)
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