Agency Information Collection Activity: Mandatory Verification of Dependents

## Comment on the Proposed Revision of VA Form 21-0538 Re: Agency Information Collection Activity: Mandatory Verification of Dependents (VA Form 21-0538) OMB Control No. 2900-0500; 91 FR 52402 (August 13, 2026); FR Doc. 2026-16500 Submitted via Regulations.gov September 2026 To the Veterans Benefits Administration: The Veteran Benefit Desk is an independent publication founded by a veteran. We document how VA disability compensation works in practice, we track VA form versions, and we publish research built from FOIA records and VA's own data. We are not affiliated with VA, we are not a law firm, and we do not provide individualized legal or claims advice. We support dependency verification as a program integrity measure, and we support VA's goal of keeping dependency records accurate. Before writing this comment we read the notice [1], the OMB approval history for this collection [2][4], and the supporting statement VA filed with OMB for the approval now in force [3]. This comment responds to the questions VA asked under the Paperwork Reduction Act: necessity, burden accuracy, clarity, and ways to minimize burden through technology [1]. The OMB record for the last approval reports that VA received no public comments on this collection [2]. With an estimated 138,197 responses each year, we believe this renewal would benefit from direct input focused on the experience of the veterans who are asked to complete it. That is what we offer here. Our recommendations, in short: 1. Determine which verifications can be resolved from records the government already holds before asking the veteran to respond. 2. Support the 10 minute estimate with measurement, the way VA already measures its own processing time. 3. Make the purpose, deadline, and consequences of the request immediately clear on the form. 4. Complete the electronic submission capability and prepopulate it from the award. ## 1. Verify from records first, ask the veteran second The notice explains the revision is driven by a burden increase, to 138,197 respondents per year [1]. Before scaling a manual reconfirmation process, VA should determine how many of these verifications could be resolved, in whole or in part, with information the federal government already holds. Deaths, marriage terminations, and school enrollment are documented in systems VA can query or match against. VA has already used records based verification to reduce recurring reporting burden in another benefits context: in December 2012 it ended annual pension Eligibility Verification Reports and said it would use IRS and SSA information to verify continued eligibility [6]. Income verification is not the same as dependent status verification, and we do not suggest the two data problems are identical. The precedent matters because it shows VA has replaced recurring self reporting where reliable records could carry part of the verification work. Because the current ICR certifies that the collection avoids unnecessary duplication and makes appropriate use of information technology [2], we believe the next supporting statement should explain which portions of the 21-0538 population can be verified from authoritative records before a veteran is asked to respond, so that manual verification under 38 CFR 3.652 [5] becomes the path for the cases records cannot resolve. ## 2. Support the 10 minute estimate with measurement In each of this collection's last three filings, the reported annual burden is the number of responses multiplied by the same 10 minute estimate, with the result reported in whole hours. The current notice estimates 138,197 respondents and 23,033 hours [1]. The approval now in force covers 123,246 responses and 20,541 hours [2]. The approval before that covered 175,400 responses and 29,233 hours [2]. The response count has moved substantially across these cycles while the estimated time per veteran has stayed fixed at 10 minutes, and the explanation for the movement is the same in both directions: the current notice attributes the increase to "the estimated number of receivables averaged over the past year" [1], and the supporting statement explained the previous decrease in the same words [3]. That makes the basis for the 10 minute estimate worth a fresh look. VA already applies measurement discipline to its own side of this form. The supporting statement describes the employee processing estimates as "based on the actual amount of time employees of each grade level spend to process to completion a claim received on this form," budgeting 20 minutes of staff time per response across three pay grades [3]. The veteran's side shows no comparable study: the supporting statement states "The estimated completion time for each form is 10 minutes" without timing data behind it [3]. Ten minutes may describe a veteran confirming an unchanged spouse. It may not describe the veteran gathering school enrollment documentation for a dependent aged 18 to 23, or reconstructing the status of a dependent they no longer live with. We encourage VA to apply the same measurement discipline to respondent burden that it applies to its own processing costs: a timing study that separates simple confirmations from documentation cases, with the estimate set from observed completion times. ## 3. Make the purpose, deadline, and consequences immediately clear The consequences of missing a dependency verification request can be significant. VA's public guidance states that if the form is not submitted by the deadline, dependents will be removed from the veteran's benefits [7]. Under 38 CFR 3.652, when a requested certification is not received within 60 days, VA treats the eligibility factor as having ceased as of the end of the month it was last shown by the evidence of record, proposes the reduction, and gives the veteran another 60 days to respond before putting it into effect [5]. Failure to respond can ultimately result in a retroactive reduction and, depending on the facts, an overpayment. A verification notice carrying that weight should make three things immediately clear on the form itself, in everyday words: why the verification is being requested, the response deadline, and what happens if the veteran does not respond. Veterans respond to deadlines they understand. A clear form protects both the veteran's benefits and the accuracy VA is seeking. ## 4. Complete the digital flow and prepopulate it In the supporting statement, VA told OMB that the form is posted in a fillable electronic format but that VBA "does not currently have the technology in place to allow for the complete submission of the form," and that the paper form goes out with a cover letter "in a batch print cycle approximately every eight years" [3]. VA.gov now hosts an online verification option for this form [7], which is real progress, and VA already lets veterans add or remove dependents online in other contexts. The revision is the right moment to commit to two further steps for the recurring 21-0538 verification itself. First, prepopulate the flow with the dependents already on the award: "VA currently pays you for the following dependents. Is this still correct?" with a confirm or correct choice, rather than asking the veteran to recreate information VA already holds. Second, publish the share of verifications completed digitally, so the public can see whether the online option is reaching veterans. The supporting statement budgets $2,001,323.32 per year in federal costs to run this collection, including $21,992.56 in printing and production [3]. A prepopulated digital verification option could reduce both respondent burden and VA processing costs at the same time. ## Closing When VA submits this collection to OMB after the 60 day comment period, the submission must include a summary of the public comments and the actions taken in response [8]. We ask that the supporting record address two questions. First, of the estimated 138,197 annual verifications, approximately how many could be resolved in whole or in part through existing VA records or authorized interagency data matching before a veteran is asked to respond? Second, what measurement, testing, or other evidence supports the estimate that completing VA Form 21-0538 takes an average of 10 minutes? VA's goal of keeping dependency records accurate is important. We are asking that the verification process be tested against the evidence available today, so that it stays accurate without asking veterans to do more than is necessary. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Respectfully submitted, The Veteran Benefit Desk veteranbenefitdesk.com admin@veteranbenefitdesk.com ## Sources [1] Agency Information Collection Activity: Mandatory Verification of Dependents, 91 FR 52402 (August 13, 2026), FR Doc. 2026-16500, OMB Control No. 2900-0500. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/13/2026-16500/agency-information-collection-activity-mandatory-verification-of-dependents [2] OMB, ICR Reference No. 202309-2900-011 (OMB Control No. 2900-0500), concluded January 31, 2024: approved inventory of 123,246 responses and 20,541 hours; previously approved 175,400 responses and 29,233 hours; no public comments received; certification under 5 CFR 1320.9. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202309-2900-011 [3] VA, Supporting Statement for OMB Control No. 2900-0500 (VA Form 21-0538), submitted to OMB December 13, 2023. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=202309-2900-011 [4] OMB Control Number History for 2900-0500 (approvals from 1988 to present). https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAOMBHistory?ombControlNumber=2900-0500 [5] 38 CFR 3.652 (periodic certification of continued eligibility). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-3/subpart-A/section-3.652 [6] VA news release, "VA Removes Annual Income Reporting Requirement" (December 2012). https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-removes-annual-income-reporting-requirement/ [7] VA.gov, Manage dependents (dependency verification, the online option, and deadline guidance). https://www.va.gov/manage-dependents/ [8] 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iii)(F) (agency submissions to OMB include a summary of public comments and actions taken in response). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-III/part-1320/section-1320.5