Getting your claim prepared and ready to file.
We help you build the claim before it goes in: the medical evidence that links your condition to your service, the statements from people who saw it happen, and a file the VA can follow from front to back. A prepared claim answers the VA's questions before it has to ask them.
The part that takes the most work.
A diagnosis alone does not win a claim. The VA has to see how today's condition connects to your service: an injury on a training exercise, years around noise or chemicals, a condition that started in uniform and never went away.
That connection is usually made with medical evidence, either your treatment records or an opinion from a doctor who has reviewed your history. We help you see where your file already makes the connection and where it does not yet.
What a prepared claim carries.
Separation papers
Your DD214 or other separation documents.
Service treatment records
The record of the injury, illness or event while you served.
Current medical evidence
Treatment records and evaluations that show the condition today.
Lay statements
Written accounts from you, family, or people you served with. VA Form 21-10210, VA Form 21-4138, or plain paper.
Two ways to send it.
With a standard claim, the VA takes on more of the work of gathering evidence. With a fully developed claim, you send everything you have or can easily get when you file. Which one fits depends on how complete your file already is, and that is one of the first things we look at.
Before your claim exam.
The VA may schedule a claim exam to learn more about your condition. It is an evaluation, not treatment. Go to every exam it schedules, be on time, and describe how the condition affects your work and your days, the bad ones as well as the ordinary ones.
Questions veterans ask.
What is a buddy statement?
A written account from someone who knows about your condition or how it started: a spouse, a friend, clergy, or someone you served with. The VA's form for it is VA Form 21-10210, the Lay or Witness Statement. A statement on plain paper is accepted too.
Should I send everything I have?
Send what speaks to the condition you are claiming, the event in service, or the link between them. More paper is not better when it does not speak to one of those three. We help you sort what matters from what does not.
Can the VA get my private doctor's records?
Yes. The VA can help gather records from VA medical centers, other federal facilities, and private providers. VA Form 21-4142 gives it permission to ask a private provider. You give it the name of the facility and the dates you were treated.
How long do I have to send evidence?
After the VA receives your claim, you have up to a year to send evidence. You do not have to send it all on the day you file.
More of what we help with.
- Help filing your VA disability claim
- Reviewing which benefits you may qualify for
- Protecting your effective date with an Intent to File
- Guidance after a denial or a rating that sits too low
- Putting your records in order, from your DD214 to treatment records
- Connecting you with the right veteran resources
Start with a private intake.
MVAC reviews each submission and follows up directly, within 2 business days, Monday thru Thursday. Sensitive details are stored encrypted and viewed only through the protected admin.