What VA proposed
On June 23, 2026, VA published a notice in the Federal Register about VA Form 21-526EZ, the main application veterans use to file for disability compensation. The notice says the form is being cut from 15 pages to 5, and the estimated completion time from 25 minutes to 15. By VA's own count, nearly two million people file this form every year. For many of them it is their first contact with the claims system, and they are doing it without help.
We support the goal. A five page form that works would be a real improvement for veterans filing alone. But a shorter form is not automatically an easier form, and that is where our comment comes in.
The catch: the public cannot see the new form
VA is asking the public whether the shorter collection is clear and useful. When we filed on August 10, the proposed five page form was not in the docket materials we could locate. That leaves commenters reacting to a page count instead of a document. So our first ask was simple: post the draft form, ideally next to the current version, and give people a real chance to react before it becomes final.
What we asked for
Our comment made eleven recommendations. In short:
- Publish the proposed form so the public can actually review it.
- Let veterans mark what type of claim they are making for each condition, with a simple checklist that includes "not sure."
- Keep secondary claims understandable. The current instructions include an example that does real work.
- Simplify the toxic exposure questions by using records the government already holds, not by deleting the questions.
- Keep new claims and claims for increase clearly separate.
- Do not lose the evidence notice the law requires VA to give every claimant.
- Keep the warnings about retired pay and separation pay. Getting those elections wrong costs veterans real money.
- Keep the roadmap to other forms and to intent to file, which can protect an earlier effective date.
- Show how the 15 minute completion estimate was tested, and who it was tested on.
- Measure accessibility on its own, not through page count.
- Keep clearly labeled copies of superseded versions findable.
The theme across all eleven: much of the current form's length is not waste. It is the explanation that keeps a veteran from filing the wrong kind of claim, missing an effective date, or making an election that costs them money. If the redesign cuts pages by cutting that explanation, veterans will not spend less time on their claims. The confusion just moves from the form to the phone line.
Why we weighed in
The Veteran Benefit Desk documents how VA disability compensation works in practice. We track VA form versions with a free Form Version Checker, because outdated forms keep circulating online and filing one can cause processing problems. We also publish research built from FOIA records, including monthly PACT Act decision data covering more than three and a half million decisions since August 2022. When VA redesigns the form at the front door of the claims system, the details decide whether veterans filing alone get it right the first time.
What happens next
The comment window closes on August 24, 2026. After that, VA reviews the comments and decides how to respond in its submission to the Office of Management and Budget, which must approve the collection. Nothing about the form changes yet. Veterans should keep using the current version of 21-526EZ until VA publishes a new one.
You can read the notice on the Federal Register, follow the docket on Regulations.gov, or file your own comment before the deadline. Anyone can comment, and the agency is required to consider what it receives.
Our full comment, with all eleven recommendations and sixteen sources, is on the public record. Read it here, including the letterhead PDF we filed with VA.