FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Plain answers, grouped the way veterans ask them.
The basics
Do you file the claim for me?
No, and we cannot. Nothing you do here reaches the VA. We are tools and resources: our Super Intelligence (SI) platform reviews your records, finds the conditions they support, drafts the statements and letters, and builds a packet. Filing is done by you on VA.gov, or by an accredited representative acting for you. Accredited representatives file at no cost — if you do not have one, find a VSO.
What does it cost?
Working out what you are owed is free and stays free: the calculators, the guides, finding a representative, and the Intent to File that locks your effective date. Pro — our agent researching your records, the conditions found, the statements and letters drafted, the secure link for your VSO and doctors — is $14.95 for one year, starting the day you buy it. Once, not a subscription: nothing renews unless you choose to renew it. Your year is ours and has nothing to do with any VA deadline — if you have already filed an Intent to File, that clock is running on its own and nothing here changes it. We never take a cut of your back pay.
What happens when the year is up?
Nothing is deleted and nothing is locked. Your conditions, your statements, your letters and your packet stay readable and downloadable for good — they are yours. What stops is new work: reading a new record, drafting a new letter. One exception, every year: on each anniversary of your year ending, your newest records are read once at no charge — the conditions it finds and what changed are yours to see — so you know whether another year is worth it before you pay for one. Renew for another $14.95 whenever you need it, or never.
Why is the Intent to File free?
Because it is your money. An Intent to File locks the effective date your back pay is calculated from, and every week it is not filed can cost you. Nothing about that should ever sit behind a payment, so it does not.
Is YourVABenefits part of the VA?
No. We are an independent service, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. We help you prepare a claim, estimate benefits, and connect with VA-accredited representatives. Claims are submitted through VA.gov, by you or by your representative.
What is Super Intelligence (SI)?
SI is the new name for AI from the President of the United States and leaders of the AI community. Here, it's what does the work. It acts, not just chats. Give it a record and it builds your conditions. Give it a decision letter and it maps your next move. Every result is handed to you to approve.
Getting your records in
How do I download my VA medical records?
Go straight to the record types step — VA asks you to sign in with Login.gov or ID.me and brings you back to it. Check Select all VA records, set the date range to All time, and download the report as Text (.txt) if it is offered, since text reads best; a digital PDF works too, as long as it is not a scan. Then add the file on your Documents page or in the Claim Workspace. Records from a non-VA doctor work the same way: add whatever they sent you. If VA leaves you on your dashboard instead, open My HealtheVet medical records, choose Records, then Download your medical records, then Go to download your medical records reports.
Which date range should I pick?
Choose All time. Service connection often depends on the earliest complaint in your file, so a 3, 6 or 12 month range usually cuts off the evidence that matters most. Only use Custom if you already have everything else uploaded and just need a recent gap filled.
Do I really need to check every record type?
Yes — tick Select all VA records. Care summaries and notes carry the diagnoses and provider language, lab and test results and vitals back them up, medications show ongoing treatment, and appointments show continuity of care. Leaving types out is the most common reason a packet looks thin.
What file format works best here?
Plain text (.txt) is best — the analysis reads every word. A digital PDF works too. Avoid scanned or photographed pages: those are images and no text can be pulled from them without OCR.
Why do appointments only go back 2 years?
That's a VA limit on the appointment section, not on your records. Your care summaries, notes and labs still download for all time, so nothing important is lost.
The download is huge — is that a problem?
No. Large files are normal and better for you. If a single file is too big to upload, download it in two custom date ranges and upload both — everything gets merged into one Records page.
What about private doctors or my DD-214?
Upload them the same way. Private records, buddy statements, and your DD-214 all belong in the Records page, and you can attach any of them to a specific condition later.
Can I do this without downloading anything?
Yes. Use "Skip — I'll add my conditions by hand" and enter conditions yourself. You'll still get questions, documents and a readiness score, though the score will be lower until evidence is attached.
What is a VA claims file (C-file), and how is it different from my Blue Button report?
Your VA Blue Button report is your VA health information: visit notes, labs, imaging and medications, downloaded from My HealtheVet today. Your claims file (C-file) is the record VA keeps of your claims: service treatment records, personnel documents, C&P exam reports, evidence you sent VA, every rating decision and letter, and correspondence. It has to be requested from VA, it can repeat records you already have, and it is not guaranteed to hold every record. Start with the Blue Button report now; add the C-file when it arrives and every condition is updated with what it adds. Your claims file page walks through it.
How do I request my C-file?
Submit VA Form 20-10206 and select "Claims File (C-file)" in the records list. You can do it online on VA.gov, signed in as yourself, or on paper with a handwritten signature mailed to the Evidence Intake Center, P.O. Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444, the address on VA's Privacy Act request page. It is a separate records request, not a Blue Button download. VA's pages do not state a delivery method or a processing time; a federal review of VA's 2024 requests measured about five months on average. Nothing in your workspace waits on it.
Can YourVABenefits request my C-file for me?
Not directly. VA gives claims-file access only to representatives it has accredited, holding your VA Form 21-22 or 21-22a, and we are not one. VA's paper form lets a third party sign a request only with a VA Form 21-0845 on record, and VA's pages do not say whether the file is then sent to that third party or to you. What we do is prepare the checklist and the address on your claims file page; you sign the form and send it. We never ask for your VA.gov login and we never submit anything to VA.
My C-file PDF is password protected. What do I do?
Add it anyway. When a locked PDF is chosen, you are asked for its password; it opens the file in your browser and is not saved or sent anywhere. If you do not have the password, open the file in the program it came with, save an unlocked copy, and add that. Unticking a box in a PDF viewer does not remove the protection, and not every C-file is locked.
My C-file repeats records I already added. Is that a problem?
No. A passage that already appears in another of your records is kept with its own file and page, marked as a copy, and not counted twice. What VA itself decided or examined shows on each condition as a prior VA finding, separate from what a doctor documented and from links the analysis suggests for your review.
Building a claim
What is an Intent to File and why does it matter?
An Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966) locks in your effective date. Once it is on record you have 12 months to submit the full claim, and any back pay is calculated from that earlier date.
How do I get my medical records in?
Sign in to VA.gov or My HealtheVet, download your VA Blue Button report as a text or PDF file, then add it in the claim workspace. Our agent researches it and identifies every condition it can support. Your claims file (C-file) is a separate request to VA; add it later and the list is updated.
How do I get my service records?
Request your Official Military Personnel File from the National Personnel Records Center at eVetRecs. When NARA sends the response, add the PDF as a service record and your service timeline fills in.
What is claim readiness?
A measure of how complete your evidence is against VA claim best practices, pillar by pillar: a current diagnosis, an in-service event, a medical link, a veteran statement, and more. It is not a prediction of whether VA will approve anything.
What kind of hearing test does VA accept?
Only an exam by a state-licensed audiologist that includes pure-tone thresholds at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz in each ear and the Maryland CNC word recognition test (38 CFR 4.85). A hearing screening, a primary care ear check, or a hearing-aid fitting cannot be rated. Ask for a compensation and pension hearing exam or the Hearing Loss and Tinnitus questionnaire.
Can I answer the questions in my own words?
Yes, and you should. Write two or three plain sentences, then press Write it as a VA statement. It reshapes your words into the form VA expects, using only what you wrote and your records.
After a VA decision
What is a Supplemental Claim?
A request that VA look again at an issue it already decided, because you have new and relevant evidence VA did not have before. It uses VA Form 20-0995. Filing within one year of the decision keeps your original effective date.
What if VA made a mistake and I have no new evidence?
That is a Higher-Level Review, VA Form 20-0996. A senior reviewer looks at the same evidence. You cannot add new evidence in that lane.
My condition is already service-connected and got worse. Is that a supplement?
No. That is a claim for an increased rating. The After a decision page explains which process fits before you start one.
Submitting to VA
Is it one long PDF, or separate files?
Separate files. VA.gov takes each document as its own upload, and you label what each one is, such as a buddy statement or private medical records. Your evidence packet from this site comes as one folder of separate PDFs for exactly that reason. Do not merge them into one file, and do not upload the zip itself.
What file types and sizes does VA.gov accept?
PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, and TXT, up to 100 MB per file, one document per upload, as shown on the VA.gov upload page in September 2026. Your packet PDFs are far under that.
Where do the files go?
When you file the claim online with VA Form 21-526EZ, there is a supporting evidence step where you upload each document. After filing, you can add more evidence from the claim status tool on VA.gov for up to a year from the date VA received the claim.
Do I have to upload my medical records myself?
VA records, no. VA pulls its own treatment records. Private records you can upload yourself, or give VA permission to request them with VA Form 21-4142, which is part of the online claim.
How does a buddy statement get to VA?
Two ways. Your buddy signs the statement and sends it back to you, and you upload it with your claim. Or they file it themselves on VA.gov through the online Lay/Witness Statement form, VA Form 21-10210, which asks for your name, date of birth, and Social Security or VA file number. Give them those separately, never in an email.
What about my DD-214 and service treatment records?
VA can get them from the National Personnel Records Center, and your VSO usually requests them. Uploading your own copy speeds things up when you have it.
Privacy and your data
Is my Social Security number redacted?
Yes. A file is read in your own browser first and every Social Security number is masked before any text leaves your device. Drafts write [SSN on file] where a form needs it.
What do you actually save?
What you put in your Claim Workspace: the record files you add, their text with Social Security numbers stripped, the conditions and facts pulled from them, your answers, your service timeline, and the documents you draft. A file you only read in the Private Record Workspace stays on your device and is not stored. Everything stored can be deleted by you.
Can I delete it?
Yes. Every record, note, condition, question, and document has its own delete. My Account has a Delete account option that removes everything at once.
Who else sees my information?
People you share a link with, for what that link covers. Masked text goes to our AI model provider only to produce your analysis and drafts, and is not used to train models. We are not the VA and never send anything to the VA. Nothing is sold or shared with advertisers. Our product analytics provider, which records how pages on the site are used, has signed a Business Associate Agreement with us that holds it to HIPAA-level protections. The service is operated by one person; that operator account can reach the database for support, does not browse veteran data, and every write to the database is logged. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest on Supabase and AWS in the United States.
For veterans: sharing with your advocate
How do I give my VSO or advocate access to what I uploaded?
From Care Team, add them and choose Share. They receive an email from claims.yourvabenefits.com with a link and a 6-digit access code. The link covers one condition or one claim group, expires after 30 days unless you set otherwise, and you can turn it off any time.
Does my advocate need an account?
No. They enter their name and the code from the email. No account, no password, nothing to accept or sign.
What can my advocate see and download?
Your statement and drafts, the evidence pulled from your records with excerpts, the evidence checklist, your answers to the intake questions, and what is still missing. Every draft has a PDF button. Your other conditions and your account are not visible.
Can my advocate see my record files?
Only if you choose to share them, and you pick how: view only in their browser, or view and download. Before the first file opens, the site asks them to confirm they hold your signed authorization, such as your VA Form 21-22, and records that confirmation with the link.
Are the notes between us private?
Yes. Only you and the person you shared with can see them in the app. No other user can, and the site's AI features never read them.
Can I just email the packet instead?
Yes. File now builds a folder of PDFs you can download and email the way your advocate normally receives documents. The review link does two things email cannot: notes come back next to the exact item they are about, and a viewed record stays on the server under your control instead of becoming a copy in an inbox.
Who at YourVABenefits can see my data?
Nobody reads it. The service is run by one person, and that operator account can reach the database for support; every write is logged, and reads are never done on veteran data. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, hosted on Supabase and AWS in the United States and delivered through Vercel. Per-veteran encryption, where even the operator cannot read your file, is on the roadmap.
How do I stop sharing?
Turn the link off from Care Team; it stops working at once. You can also delete any record, draft, or condition, or your whole account, from your own login.
For VSOs and advocates
How does the veteran give me access to their documentation?
From their account they create a review link addressed to you. You get an email from claims.yourvabenefits.com with the link and a 6-digit access code. The link covers one condition or one claim group, expires after 30 days unless the veteran sets otherwise, can be turned off by the veteran at any time, and locks after 10 incorrect code attempts.
Do I need to create an account or log in?
No. You enter your name and the code from the email. No account, no password.
Do I have to accept any terms, agreements, or authorization before I can review?
No. Nothing to accept or sign. Before the veteran's medical record files open, the site asks you to confirm that you hold their signed authorization, such as VA Form 21-22. That confirmation is one click and is recorded with the link.
Can I review and download the documents without an account?
Yes. The review page shows the veteran's statement and drafts, the evidence pulled from their records with excerpts, the evidence checklist, their answers to the intake questions, what is still missing, and their record files when shared. Every draft has a PDF button.
Can the documents or the completed packet be emailed to me directly?
Yes. The veteran can download everything as PDFs and email it to you the way you normally receive documentation. The site exists to reduce emailing medical records around and keep them in one secure place. Two things the review page does that email cannot: you can write notes back next to the exact item they are about, and a viewed record stays on the server under the veteran's control instead of becoming a copy in an inbox.
Are the notes on the page private?
Yes. Only you and the veteran can see them. No other user can, and the site's AI features never read them. Notes live on the same infrastructure as the rest of the veteran's file: a Supabase Postgres database with row-level security, hosted on AWS in the United States, delivered through Vercel, encrypted in transit and at rest. The service is run by one person; that operator account can reach the database for support, does not browse veteran data, and every write is logged.
Does the site have access to or store the veteran's VA records, medical records, or personal information?
It has no connection to VA.gov and cannot pull anything from it. It stores only what the veteran uploads. Social Security numbers are stripped before anything is stored or analyzed, and identifiers like DoD ID, service number, and date of birth are masked from service records. For record files, the veteran chooses whether you can view them in your browser or also download them; everything else on the review page is view only. The veteran can remove any record at any time. Privacy policy at yourvabenefits.com/privacy, terms at yourvabenefits.com/terms.
Is YourVABenefits assisting with preparing the claim, or only organizing and storing documentation?
Both, short of representation. It reads the records the veteran uploads, pulls out the facts and dates, and its Super Intelligence (SI) drafts the personal statement and the buddy and family statement requests from those facts; the veteran edits and signs every word. It takes the notes you send back and places them next to the item they are about. It lists what evidence is still missing. It does not file anything, does not communicate with VA, and gives no legal or medical advice. Filing is done by the veteran on VA.gov or by their accredited representative.
Has the veteran signed anything allowing YourVABenefits to assist with or represent them?
No. The veteran's representation is their VA Form 21-22 with your organization. YourVABenefits states in its terms that it is not an accredited representative of the VA or any other organization, and it never charges a veteran to use the service.
Can I download a draft as a PDF?
Yes. Each draft on the Documents tab has a PDF button. Signed statements carry the veteran's electronic signature and the date.
Can I ask questions while I review?
Yes. The Benefits Agent on the review page speaks to you as an advocate, with the packet in view: what it still needs, whether the nexus evidence meets the standard, how to send a note, how to submit. It never sees more of the veteran than the page shows.
If you are still serving
Can I file before I leave active duty?
Yes, and it is usually the best time. VA's Benefits Delivery at Discharge program takes a claim from 180 to 90 days before your separation date, so VA can review your records and schedule exams while you are still in. A decision can arrive very soon after you separate. The window closes at 90 days out — after that you file as a normal pre-discharge claim, and after separation as a standard claim.
Where do I get my medical records while I am still in?
MHS GENESIS, at my.mhsgenesis.health.mil, using a DS Logon or your CAC. It replaced the old TRICARE Online Patient Portal, which was shut down. You can view and download your health data, clinical notes and lab results there. It is one record that follows you from entry into service through to veteran status, so what you download now is the same file VA reads later.
Where do I get my service treatment records?
Your Service Treatment Record sits inside your Official Military Personnel File. milConnect gives you the whole file through DPRIS: Correspondence and Documentation, then Defense Personnel Records Information, then Request Personnel File. Your branch also has its own: iPERMS for the Army, BOL at bol.navy.mil for the Navy and the Marine Corps portal, and the Air Force Portal. All of them take a CAC.
What happened to eBenefits?
It was retired. What it used to do now lives on VA.gov for veterans, on milConnect for personnel records, and on MHS GENESIS for health records. If a guide sends you to eBenefits, that guide is out of date.
If I file before I separate, what do I have to do?
Be available for VA exams for 45 days from the date you file, and get your service treatment records in no later than 90 days before you separate. Those two are what the program asks of you; missing either is what usually moves a claim out of the program and into the standard queue.
Does this site work if I have not separated yet?
Yes. Download your records from MHS GENESIS rather than from VA's Blue Button, add them the same way, and everything else — conditions, questions, statements, readiness — works the same. Your representative can review the packet before you file.
For treating providers: nexus letters
What is a nexus letter?
A written medical opinion on whether a patient's current, diagnosed condition is related to their military service. VA already has the diagnosis and the treatment records; what it does not have is a clinician's judgment connecting the two. There is no VA form for it and no required format — a signed letter on your letterhead is what VA expects.
What does “at least as likely as not” mean?
It means a probability of 50 percent or greater. It is VA's standard, and it is lower than the certainty clinical practice usually asks for: if the evidence for and against is evenly balanced, the standard is met. VA is required to resolve reasonable doubt in the veteran's favor (38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 CFR 3.102), so an evenly balanced opinion is a favorable one.
Do I have to be a specialist, or a VA doctor?
No. Any clinician competent in the relevant area may give the opinion, and a private provider's opinion is competent evidence. VA may not reject an opinion simply because it came from outside VA. What determines the weight it carries is the reasoning, not the letterhead.
What makes an opinion carry weight with VA?
The rationale. An opinion that states a conclusion without explaining it carries little weight, however well qualified the author. Say what records you reviewed, what you found, and why those findings lead to your conclusion. Two or three sentences of reasoning are worth more than any number of assertions.
Am I being asked to say the condition is service connected?
No. Service connection is VA's determination, not a clinical one. You are being asked for a medical opinion on likelihood, in your own words, and you may conclude that the condition is not related to service, or that you cannot say.
What if I do not believe the condition is related to service?
Say so, and say why. A negative opinion is a legitimate answer and it is more useful to everyone than a favorable one you do not hold. You may also decline to give an opinion at all.
What if I genuinely cannot tell?
Explain what prevents you from reaching a conclusion and what would change it — a missing record, a study not done, a period you have no visibility of. VA generally treats an opinion that rests on speculation as carrying no weight unless the clinician explains why the question cannot be answered, so the explanation is the part that matters.
What is the difference between causation and aggravation?
Causation means service caused the condition. Aggravation means a condition that already existed was permanently worsened beyond its natural progression — by service, or by an already service-connected condition (38 CFR 3.310(b)). Aggravation is a separate basis and is often the accurate one where a condition predates service or arises later from a service-connected problem.
What is a secondary condition?
A condition that is caused or aggravated by an already service-connected one (38 CFR 3.310(a)) — an altered gait from a service-connected ankle leading to knee or back problems, for example. The opinion works the same way: state the link and the reasoning.
Do I have to use the draft letter I was sent?
No. It is a starting point written from the patient's own records to save you time, and every word of it is yours to change, remove, or reject. Writing your own letter on your letterhead is equally acceptable, and declining is always available.
Is this a legal document? What am I signing?
It is evidence in a benefits claim, not testimony and not a court filing. You are stating a professional opinion and signing it as your own. You are not certifying anything about the veteran's service history, which VA verifies separately from official records.
Does VA pay me for this?
No. A private medical opinion is not compensated by VA. Some practices bill the patient for the time as they would for any letter or form; that is between you and your patient.
Where does the letter go, and who sees it?
It goes to the veteran, into the evidence they are assembling for their claim. They decide whether to submit it. It is read by VA, and by an accredited representative if they have one. It does not go to VA automatically and it is not published anywhere.
How long should it be?
One page is normal and sufficient. Who you are and your treating relationship, the records you reviewed, the diagnosis, the reasoning, the opinion sentence, and your signature. Length does not add weight; reasoning does.
Calculators
How is my combined disability rating calculated?
VA uses the whole-person method. Each rating applies to what is left of the whole person, then the total rounds to the nearest 10. Fifty and 30 make 70, not 80. The Combined Rating Calculator shows the math.
How does VA turn an audiogram into a hearing loss rating?
It averages your thresholds at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz, crosses that average with your Maryland CNC score on Table VI to get a Roman numeral for each ear, then crosses the two ears on Table VII. The percentage is wherever the row and column meet. Many veterans land at 0% because their thresholds are mild even though the loss is real. The Hearing Loss Rating Calculator runs the same tables on your numbers.
Are the compensation rates current?
Yes. The tables update each December when VA publishes new rates. Each calculator shows the effective date of the rates it uses.
Can I use YourVABenefits inside ChatGPT?
Yes. Your VA Benefits is a published app in the ChatGPT directory, built and reviewed with OpenAI. In ChatGPT open Plugins, search for Your VA Benefits and add it, or open the listing and click Install. Then start a message with @Your VA Benefits and ask in plain words: calculate my combined rating from 50, 30 and 10; estimate monthly compensation and back pay at 70 percent with a spouse; find an accredited VSO near Tampa. It is free and uses the same rate tables and VSO directory as this site.
What can the ChatGPT app do, and what stays here?
The ChatGPT app does three things: combined-rating math, monthly compensation and back pay estimates, and finding VA-accredited representatives by state, city or organization. Results are educational estimates, not a VA determination, and the app is not affiliated with VA. It never asks for your records, your VA.gov login, or your Social Security number, and nothing you say to ChatGPT reaches this site. Reading your medical records and claims file, finding conditions, drafting statements and building the packet happen only here, in your browser, in the Claim Workspace.
YourVABenefits is software you run on your own records. It is not part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and does not file claims. You file on VA.gov, or an accredited representative files for you at no charge.