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Guides

What a 0% rating does not unlock
Three benefits veterans expect from any service-connected rating and that need more: the home-loan funding-fee waiver, vocational rehabilitation, and comprehensive dental care. What each one actually requires.
The Military Lifetime Pass: free national parks for every veteran
The lifetime pass to national parks and federal recreation sites is free to veterans and Gold Star families, with no disability rating required. What it covers, what it does not, and how to get one.
VALife: guaranteed-acceptance life insurance for service-connected veterans
VALife is whole life insurance from VA, up to $40,000, with no health questions, for veterans with a service-connected rating including 0%. The age limit, the two-year waiting period, and what it costs.
10-point veterans' preference with a 0% rating
A service-connected rating, including a noncompensable 0%, gives 10-point veterans' preference in federal hiring. What the points are, how they are used, and what preference cannot do.
VA travel pay for service-connected appointments
A veteran rated under 30%, including 0%, can be reimbursed for travel to treatment of the service-connected condition. The mileage rate, the deductible, the 30-day window, and how to file.
Free VA care for your service-connected condition
VA treats a service-connected condition at no cost, and the medications for it carry no copay, at any rating including 0%. What that covers, what it does not, and how the rest of your care is priced.
Getting your VA benefit summary letter
One letter proves your service-connected rating for the commissary, the exchange, hiring preference and more. Where to download it on VA.gov, what it shows, and what to do if it is wrong.
Getting on base to shop as a veteran
Shopping privileges are one thing; getting through the gate is another. How the visitor-center registration works, what a REAL ID plus your VA letter does since the November 2024 change, and why older articles insisting on a VHIC are out of date.
Recreation, camping and lodging on base for service-connected veterans
Golf courses, bowling centers, campgrounds, RV parks and recreational lodging that take part are open to veterans with a service-connected rating. Which facilities are in, which are not, and why availability varies by base.
Exchange shopping for service-connected veterans
The PX and BX are open in person to veterans with any service-connected rating. What the exchange is, what changes overseas, and how it differs from the online exchange every honorably discharged veteran already has.
Commissary shopping with a service-connected rating
Any service-connected rating, including 0%, opens the commissary to honorably discharged veterans. What you save, the 5% surcharge and card fees that come off that saving, and what you need at the door.
A 0% VA rating still counts
A 0% service-connected rating pays nothing a month and unlocks more than most veterans expect: shopping on base, recreation, free care for the condition, travel pay, hiring preference and life insurance. What each one is, and where the line is.
What makes a claim complete, and why a long list is not a strong one
Every service-connected claim rests on three things. Conditions that are missing one of them do not become stronger by being filed alongside twenty others.
The 5103 notice is not asking you for anything
It arrives looking like a demand and it is not one. What the 5103 notice is, why the VA has to send it, and what happens if you do nothing.
Letting the VA request your private records, or getting them yourself
VA Form 21-4142 lets the VA ask your private doctor for records. Getting copies yourself takes more work and shows you exactly what the VA will see. The trade-off, laid out.
Where your military and medical records actually live
Your service records, your treatment records and your VA claims file sit in four different systems. Here is which one holds what, and how to ask each for a copy.
Why 50 plus 50 is not 100
VA ratings do not add up. They combine against what is left of a whole person, and the result is rounded at the very end. Here is the arithmetic, worked through.
What the eight claim status steps mean, and why yours went backwards
The claim tracker is not a progress bar. Here is what each of the eight steps actually is, and why a claim dropping from step five to step three is usually routine.
How to write a nexus letter VA can actually use
A treating provider's guide to the medical opinion VA asks for: what the standard means, why the reasoning decides the weight, and a worked example of the same opinion written twice.

The basics

Getting your records in

Building a claim

After a VA decision

Submitting to VA

VSOs, doctors, and sharing

Privacy and your data

For veterans: sharing with your advocate

For VSOs and advocates

If you are still serving

For treating providers: nexus letters

Calculators

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.