Decision letter · plain words · you file · we do not file

VA decision letter explained: granted, denied, and why

A VA decision letter is the written notice of a decision on a claim. This page explains how that notice is laid out, what the regulation says it must include, what granted, denied, and deferred mean in plain words, and the three review options with their time limits. It does not read your letter for you and it does not tell you what to do next.

Last checked October 11, 2026. Not legal or medical advice. Not a VA decision.

How a VA decision letter is laid out

The notice is the letter, the pages enclosed with it, or both. 38 CFR 3.103(f) says the required parts can sit in the letter, in the enclosures, or in a combination of the two. There is not one public template that every letter copies. The words on the copy you have are the ones that count.

Most letters start with the date of the decision and which issues VA decided. Later pages, or an enclosure, usually hold the evidence list, the laws VA applied, and the reasons. The review options are often on their own page, with the forms and the deadlines. Read the whole packet, not only the first page.

What VA must tell you

38 CFR 3.103(a) says every claimant has the right to written notice of the decision on the claim, the right to a hearing, and the right of representation. 38 CFR 3.103(b) says the notice must set out the items in paragraph (f), the right to a hearing, the right of representation, and the right and the steps and time limits to start a higher-level review, a supplemental claim, or an appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

38 CFR 3.103(f) says the written notice of a decision that affects payment of benefits, or that grants relief, must include all of the following. Checked on eCFR on October 11, 2026.

The issues decided.
A summary of the evidence considered.
A summary of the laws and regulations that apply to the claim.
Findings the person who decided the claim made that are in your favor (38 CFR 3.104(c)).
For a denial, the elements required to grant the claim that were not met.
If it applies, the criteria required to grant service connection or the next higher level of compensation.
How to get or see the evidence used in the decision.
A summary of the review options in 38 CFR 3.2500.

Granted, denied, and deferred

Letters often mark each issue with one of three words. The word on your letter is the one that matters. This page does not decide which word applies to you.

Granted: VA allowed that issue. The letter should also state the effective date when a benefit starts. A grant on one issue does not decide a different issue.
Denied: VA did not allow that issue. For a denial, 38 CFR 3.103(f) requires the letter to name the elements required to grant the claim that were not met.
Deferred: VA has not decided that issue yet. A deferred line is not a grant and not a denial. The letter should say the issue is still open. Only the words on your letter tell you which issues are still open.

Effective date

When VA grants a benefit, the letter states an effective date. VA.gov says that date is the day the benefit can start. It is not a promise that a benefit will be granted. If the issue was denied or deferred, there may be no effective date for it yet.

The general rule in 38 CFR 3.400, checked on eCFR on October 11, 2026, is: except as otherwise provided, the effective date of an award of compensation based on an initial claim or a supplemental claim is the date VA received the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. For a disability caused or made worse by service, VA.gov states the same pair of dates, and adds that if VA gets the claim within 1 year after you leave active service, the effective date can be as early as the day after separation. Other claims follow other rules. Read the date on your letter, then read the VA.gov effective-date page for the kind of claim you filed.

A later review can change which date applies. 38 CFR 3.2500(h) covers that. It is described with the review options below.

The three review options and their time limits

VA.gov says that if you disagree with a benefit decision, you can choose from three decision review options: a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, or a Board Appeal. You pick. This page does not tell you which one to file, and we do not file it.

Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995). VA.gov says this is the option when you have new and relevant evidence, or when you want a review based on a change in law, and the claim is not a contested claim. New means VA has not considered it before. Relevant means it tends to prove or disprove something in the claim. 38 CFR 3.2500(a)(2) says you may file a supplemental claim at any time after VA issues notice of a decision. The one-year mark still matters for the effective date. If you keep the issue going by filing a review within one year of the decision, 38 CFR 3.2500(h)(1) says the effective date is fixed from the date VA received the initial claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later, unless another rule applies. If the supplemental claim arrives more than one year after the notice, 38 CFR 3.2500(h)(2) says the effective date will not be earlier than the date VA receives that supplemental claim.

Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996). VA.gov says you must request it within 1 year of the decision on your initial claim or Supplemental Claim. The year starts on the date on your decision letter. You cannot submit new evidence. A higher-level reviewer looks at the same evidence for an error or a difference of opinion. VA.gov also says you cannot request a Higher-Level Review after a previous Higher-Level Review or a Board Appeal on the same issue.

Board Appeal (VA Form 10182). VA.gov says you must request it within 1 year of the decision on your initial claim, Supplemental Claim, or Higher-Level Review. The year starts on the date on your decision letter. You ask a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals to review the case. On the form you pick a lane: Direct Review (no new evidence and no hearing), Evidence Submission (new evidence, no hearing), or a hearing (with or without new evidence). You cannot request two Board Appeals in a row on the same claim.

Contested claims are different. VA.gov says a Board Appeal on a contested claim (two people claiming a benefit only one person can receive) must be requested within 60 days of the date on the decision letter. 38 CFR 3.2500(g) states the same 60-day Board limit for a simultaneously contested claim.

38 CFR 3.2500(a)(1) states the one-year window for a higher-level review or a Board appeal, with the exceptions in that section. 38 CFR 3.2500(b) says you generally cannot run two of these reviews at the same time on the same issue. The letter's own review page, and the VA.gov pages linked here, are the directions. Deadlines are serious. If you are close to one, talk with an accredited representative or read the form instructions before you rely on a summary.

How Decision Letter Explainer reads your letter

Decision Letter Explainer reads only words already on pages in PDFs you stored. A quote about your file is shown only with a page number and the page label when the page has one. A quote appears only when those exact words are on the page. What your records say, what a published VA rule says, and the explanation stay in separate sections. A stored class named rating-decision is only a class. It is not a decision letter and not a Decision Letter product. Picture-only and unreadable pages are not read and are not OCR and cannot support an explanation. This is not a rating, not a payment, and not an outcome. Not an accredited representative. We do not file.

Decision Letter Explainer runs on our server. It does not need an outside AI company. It reads words already on pages in PDFs you stored. A quote about your file is shown only when those exact words are on the page, with the page number. If My Records has already read a scan on our server, a quote from that page is marked so you can check it, because a scan can be misread. A picture-only page that was not read cannot support an explanation. The explainer does not add a rating, a dollar amount, or an outcome.

The button marked AI says “Explain my letter in plain words.” It runs only when you press it. If you never press it, nothing from the letter goes to an outside AI company.

Ask My Records, Statement review, and the Decision Letter Explainer run on our own server. They do not need AI.

Some pages can show optional buttons marked “AI” that explain things in plain words. They are off unless we turn them on, and each one runs only when you press it. If you never press one, nothing goes to an AI company.

When you press one, we send only what that button needs: your question and the matching passages from your records, the decision-letter pages being explained and the published rating rules, or the statement words you are reviewing. Before anything is sent, we remove Social Security numbers, VA file and claim numbers, and other long ID numbers.

It goes to OpenAI through the OpenAI API, to the model named next to the button. OpenAI does not train its models on API data by default. It keeps API data for up to 30 days to check for abuse, unless the law requires longer. It is not zero retention. OpenAI's API data page: https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/your-data. We never use your files to train AI.

The AI must point to the page it used and must say so when your records do not answer the question. It does not predict a rating, does not promise an outcome, and does not write your statement. AI can be wrong, so check the page.

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Want to see the shape of the screen before you upload anything? The decision-letter demo uses a fictional letter. It is not your file and it is not written into an account. A shorter education page covers the same written-notice rule.

Common questions

What is a VA decision letter?

It is VA's written notice of a decision on a claim. 38 CFR 3.103(a) gives you the right to that notice, to a hearing, and to representation. The letter and its enclosures together are the notice.

What must the letter tell me?

38 CFR 3.103(f) requires the issues decided, a summary of the evidence, a summary of the laws and regulations, findings in your favor, the unmet elements of a denial, the criteria for service connection or the next higher level of compensation when that applies, how to see the evidence used, and a summary of the review options.

What do granted, denied, and deferred mean?

Granted means VA allowed that issue. Denied means VA did not, and the letter must name the elements that were not met. Deferred means VA has not decided that issue yet. The word on your letter controls. A deferred issue is not a grant and not a denial.

What is the effective date?

When VA grants a benefit, the effective date is the day that benefit can start. The general rule in 38 CFR 3.400 is the date VA received the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later, unless another rule applies. The date printed on your letter is the one for your case.

What are the three review options and the time limits?

A Supplemental Claim can be filed at any time after the decision if you have new and relevant evidence or a change in law. Filing within one year can keep an earlier effective date; filing after one year generally cannot start earlier than the day VA receives the supplemental claim. A Higher-Level Review must be requested within 1 year of the decision on the initial claim or Supplemental Claim, and you cannot add evidence. A Board Appeal must be requested within 1 year of the decision on the initial claim, Supplemental Claim, or Higher-Level Review. A contested claim uses a 60-day Board limit. The year starts on the date on the decision letter.

Does Veterans Benefits AI explain my letter or file a review?

Veterans Benefits AI can quote a letter you upload and keep that quote separate from a published rule. The explainer runs on our server. An optional AI button sends the pages being explained only if you press it, after Social Security numbers and VA file and claim numbers are removed. We do not file a claim or a review, and we do not represent you. No tool can promise a rating, a decision, or a dollar amount. We do not.

Official sources

Fetched October 11, 2026.

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