Start Here

• Read the entire decision and notice, including the issue-by-issue findings and review instructions.
• Calendar the deadline stated in the notice before doing additional research.
• Separate factual/evidentiary problems from legal or adjudicative errors.
• Preserve the decision, evidence list, submission receipts, examinations, and any representative correspondence.

Three principal VA decision-review lanes

Supplemental Claim

Use this lane when the claim needs qualifying new and relevant evidence or when you want VA to obtain identified evidence that fits the Supplemental Claim process.

Higher-Level Review

Use this lane to ask a more senior reviewer to reexamine the existing record. New evidence is not accepted in a Higher-Level Review. An informal conference may be requested where available and appropriate.

Board Appeal

A Board Appeal moves the dispute to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. The available Board review options differ in whether you submit evidence or request a hearing, so choose the docket deliberately.

Gatekeepers

• VA intake and processing systems determine whether the review request is received and associated with the correct claimant and issue.
• The authorized VA reviewer or Board decides the review.
• An accredited representative may assist, but representation is not the decision-maker.

Pathway

1. Identify every issue decided and every issue you want reviewed.
2. Check the exact deadline in the decision notice.
3. Determine whether new evidence is needed.
4. Select the review lane that matches the desired remedy and evidence posture.
5. Use the current VA filing method and form for that lane.
6. Preserve submission confirmation and a complete copy of everything filed.
7. Track status, requests for information, examinations, conferences, hearings, and the next decision.
8. When the new decision arrives, repeat the issue/deadline/evidence-lane analysis rather than assuming the next step.

Official sources

• VA — Decision Reviews and Appeals
• VA — Supplemental Claims
• VA — Higher-Level Reviews
• VA — Board Appeals

Source status: SRC-004 through SRC-007 verified October 4, 2026. Always follow the deadline and review rights stated in the particular decision because procedures vary by decision type.