Four questions organize the claim

• What current disability or residual is being claimed?
• What happened during service—or what service-connected condition caused/aggravated it?
• What evidence connects the current disability to service?
• What filing/effective-date rule applies to this claim type?

Preserve the evidence chain

• Service treatment and personnel records
• Orders, incident/exposure records, line-of-duty records, deployment evidence
• Current diagnoses and treatment records
• Lay/witness statements where competent and relevant
• Private medical opinions or nexus evidence when useful
• VA examinations and questionnaires
• Every submission receipt and decision notice

Filing and effective-date discipline

VA accepts disability claims online and by VA Form 21-526EZ. For qualifying paper or staged claims, an intent to file can preserve a potential earlier effective date if the completed claim follows within the required period. The current VA Form 21-0966 was revised in May 2026.

For direct service connection, VA generally uses the later of the date it receives the claim or the date entitlement arose, but a claim received within one year after active-duty separation can potentially receive an effective date as early as the day after separation.

After filing

Track evidence requests and C&P examinations, preserve what VA considered, then read the final decision issue by issue. If the result is wrong, use the separate VA Decision Reviews & Board Appeals guide rather than filing an unfocused duplicate claim.

Official sources

• VA — How to File a Disability Claim
• VA — Disability Compensation Effective Dates
• VA — Form 21-0966 Intent to File

Source status: SRC-107; SRC-108; SRC-109 verified October 4, 2026. Benefit eligibility and effective dates are fact-specific; use the current VA decision and form instructions for the individual case.