Appealing or Continuing a VA Decision: The Three Lanes Under the AMA

Many veterans assume a VA appeal is one line you stand in. Under the AMA it is three different lanes with different rules, and picking the wrong one can waste months or shut out the evidence that would have won.

How the AMA appeal system works

If VA decided something on your claim and you disagree, whether it was a flat denial, a rating you think is too low, or the wrong effective date, you have three review lanes to choose from under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). The AMA took effect Feb 19, 2019 and replaced the old single-track appeal system. The three lanes are Higher Level Review, Supplemental Claim, and Board Appeal. They do different things, take different amounts of time, and each has its own form. You can also move between lanes, for example, file a Supplemental Claim after a Board denial, and as long as you file the next step within one year of the decision you are continuing, you preserve your original effective date under what VA calls the "continuously pursued claims" rule (38 CFR 3.2500).

The three lanes compared

1. Higher Level Review (HLR), VA Form 20-0996

• Who reviews it: A senior VA adjudicator (a higher grade than whoever decided your original claim).
• New evidence allowed? No. This lane is a fresh set of eyes on the record that already exists. The senior reviewer can correct mistakes the original adjudicator made, what VA calls a duty to assist error, but cannot consider anything new.
• Hearing? No hearing in the formal sense, but you can request an informal conference by phone. That conference is your chance to point out where you think the original decision went wrong, in your words, to the person who is reviewing it.
• Filing window: One year from the decision you are challenging.
• Typical wait: Roughly 4-6 months (VA's published goal is around 125 days).
• Best fit when: The record already supports your claim and you believe VA simply got it wrong on the law or missed something already in your file.

2. Supplemental Claim, VA Form 20-0995

• Who reviews it: The usual rating activity at your Regional Office. This is a brand-new decision, not a review of the old one.
• New evidence allowed? Yes, and required. A Supplemental Claim must be supported by new AND relevant evidence (38 CFR 3.2501). New means VA did not already have it. Relevant means it tends to prove something material to the claim. Without new and relevant evidence, the Supplemental Claim cannot succeed.
• Hearing? No formal hearing. The decision is made on the written record plus any new evidence.
• Filing window: One year from the decision to preserve your original effective date. After one year, you can still file a Supplemental Claim, but the effective date will likely move to the date you filed the supplemental (unless an exception applies under 38 CFR 3.156(c) for service records that were not previously of record).
• Typical wait: Roughly 4-6 months.
• Best fit when: You have new evidence, a more recent DBQ from a treating physician, newly obtained service medical records, an opinion from a vocational expert, current lay statements describing how the condition has worsened, that was not in VA's file when the prior decision was made.

3. Board Appeal, VA Form 10182

The Board of Veterans' Appeals is a separate body in Washington, D.C. staffed by Veterans Law Judges. A Board appeal has its own form and its own choice of three sub-tracks called dockets. The dockets differ on whether you submit new evidence and whether you want a hearing in front of a judge.

• Direct Review docket, No new evidence, no hearing. Fastest of the three Board dockets. Best when the record already supports the claim and you want a judge, not a regional office, to take another look.
• Evidence Submission docket, You may submit new evidence within 90 days after filing the Board appeal. No hearing.
• Hearing docket, You testify before a Veterans Law Judge, typically by virtual tele-hearing or videoconference at your regional office (Central Office in-person hearings in Washington are also available but rarely used). New evidence may be submitted at the hearing or within 90 days after.

Board waits depend heavily on the docket you pick. See our Live VA Status page for the most recent published wait times under each docket.

• Filing window for Board: One year from the decision you are challenging.
• Best fit when: You want a Veterans Law Judge, not a regional office, to make the decision, OR you want a formal hearing on the record.

Continuously pursued claims and effective dates

The effective date is the date VA pays you back to. Under 38 CFR 3.2500(h), if you keep moving, meaning you file your next step within one year of each decision, you preserve the effective date of your original claim. Lose that one year window even once, and your effective date can jump forward to the date you finally re-filed, costing potentially years of back pay.

Most veterans should track two dates after any unfavorable VA decision:

1. The date VA mailed the decision (printed at the top of the decision letter).
2. 365 days later. That is the deadline to file your next step in any of the three lanes if you want to preserve the effective date.

There is one exception worth knowing: under 38 CFR 3.156(c), if VA later obtains relevant service department records that existed but were not associated with the file when the prior decision was made, the effective date can sometimes go back to the original claim date even when the one year window was missed.

How the lanes differ by situation

Veterans frequently ask which lane is "best." There is no universal answer; the right lane depends on the facts of your case. Here is how the lanes line up against common situations:

• Got denied and want a faster decision, HLR (if no new evidence) or Supplemental Claim (if new evidence is available).
• Have new medical evidence that wasn't in the file, Supplemental Claim.
• Believe the record already supports the claim but VA made a mistake, HLR.
• Want a Veterans Law Judge to decide and/or want a hearing on the record, Board Appeal.
• Already lost at the Board, Supplemental Claim (with new evidence) or appeal to CAVC.
• Decision is final and many years old, and you believe VA made an undebatable error of fact or law, see the article on Clear and Unmistakable Error motions. This is a narrow path and is not a lane under the AMA.

What happens after the Board

A Board decision can grant, remand, or deny your claim. A grant is final and goes back to your Regional Office for rating-percentage assignment and effective-date determination. A remand sends the case back to the rating activity to fix something (typically a missing exam or development). A denial is appealable to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) within 120 days.

Before you pick a lane, ask

• Do I have new and relevant evidence, or does the existing record already support the claim?
• Am I inside one year of the decision date, so the original effective date is preserved?
• Do I want a Veterans Law Judge and possibly a hearing, or a faster decision?
• Have I written down the decision date and the 365 day deadline somewhere I will see them?

Where this comes from

• Appeals Modernization Act (Public Law 115-55), 38 USC 5104B and 5108
• 38 CFR Part 3, Subpart D (Supplemental Claim, HLR)
• 38 CFR Part 19 (Board appellate procedures)
• 38 CFR Part 20 (Board adjudication rules)
• 38 CFR 3.2500 (continuously pursued claims)
• 38 CFR 3.2501 (new and relevant evidence)
• 38 CFR 3.105(a) (Clear and Unmistakable Error, separate from AMA lanes)
• VA Form 20-0996 (HLR), VA Form 20-0995 (Supplemental Claim), VA Form 10182 (Board appeal)
• VA M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, Part V (Appeals)

This is educational. It is not legal advice and not a recommendation. For your particular decision, work with a VA accredited representative.