Protect your effective date with an Intent to File.
An Intent to File tells the VA a claim is coming. If your claim is granted, the VA can pay you back to the date it processed your Intent to File, as long as the full claim follows within one year. It is one page, and we can help you file it today.
Why the date is worth money.
Claims take months. When yours is granted, the VA pays back to the effective date, not to the day the decision was signed. File an Intent to File today and today can be the date that counts, even if the full claim goes in weeks later.
Wait three months to file anything, and those three months are simply gone. Our resources page shows what a single month is worth at each rating, from the VA's own table.
Four ways to file one.
Online
Submit it on VA.gov. Starting a disability claim while signed in sets one automatically.
By phone
Call the VA at 800-827-1000, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
By mail or in person
Fill out VA Form 21-0966 (opens in a new tab) and mail it to the address on the form, or tell the VA in person.
With us
An accredited claim agent can help you submit it. Call 706-383-1717 and we can start there.
What it does not do.
It does not start your claim, and it does not commit you to filing one. If the year passes and no claim has gone in, it expires and protects nothing. The point is to buy you time to prepare the claim properly, so use the year.
Questions veterans ask.
Does an Intent to File start my claim?
No. It holds your place. The claim itself still has to be filed, within one year.
Do I need my records first?
No. The Intent to File is one page. Records come later, with the claim.
Can I have more than one?
Each benefit type takes its own: one for disability compensation, one for pension, and one for survivors' benefits.
What happens to it once I file my claim?
It has done its job. Once you file the completed claim, that Intent to File no longer counts toward the effective date of any other claim.
More of what we help with.
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.