Building your claim, how the pieces fit together
Everything you need to understand a VA disability claim is on this desk, but the pieces are scattered across calculators, condition pages, and guides. This walks you through how they connect and points you to each one.
The five parts of a VA compensation decision
The first three parts decide whether the condition is service connected. The last two are decided once connection is granted: how severe it is and when payments start. When a claim struggles, it is usually because one of the first three is thin in the file, not because the condition is not real.
A condition affecting you now, usually shown by a diagnosis. Under Saunders v. Wilkie, chronic pain that limits function can qualify even without a confirmed underlying diagnosis.
An injury, illness, exposure, or aggravation that happened during or because of service.
A nexus opinion, a presumption, or a secondary link tying the disability to the event.
How bad it is, measured against the rating schedule for that condition.
When payments start, usually tied to the date VA received the claim.
Educational framework, not legal advice. Whether each element is met in a specific case is fact dependent, and an accredited representative can review yours.
Most claims come down to those elements. The walkthrough below breaks each one into plain steps, shows the mistake that quietly sinks claims, and links to the exact tool or guide on this desk that helps with it.
A current, diagnosed condition
What it is. VA compensates a disability you have now, usually confirmed by a medical diagnosis, not a past event that healed. Under Saunders v. Wilkie, chronic pain that causes functional impairment can qualify as a disability even without a confirmed underlying diagnosis.
Why VA needs it. If there is no evidence of a current disability in the file, there is nothing for VA to rate, even when the in-service event is well documented.
How veterans show it. A diagnosis from a VA or private provider, recent enough to show the condition is ongoing. The condition library lays out what VA looks at for each one.
What happened in service
What it is. An event, injury, illness, or exposure during service, or something service made worse, that your condition traces back to.
Why VA needs it. This is the in-service half of service connection. It can be one event, ongoing duty, or an exposure over time.
How veterans show it. Service treatment and personnel records, buddy statements, exposure records, or the relaxed standards that apply to combat and to military sexual trauma.
The connection (the nexus)
What it is. The link tying your current condition to service. It can be direct (a medical opinion), presumptive (VA already accepts the link), or secondary (one service-connected condition causing another).
Why VA needs it. This is the piece most claims turn on. A real diagnosis and a real in-service event still need a bridge between them.
How veterans show it. A nexus letter that says the link is “at least as likely as not,” a presumptive list that fits your service, or a secondary opinion under 38 CFR 3.310.
Continuity since service
What it is. A through-line showing the condition has bothered you from service until now, or that it follows a documented chronic pattern.
Why VA needs it. Under 38 CFR 3.303(b), continuity of symptoms can carry a claim when the records have gaps. It is how “it started then and never stopped” becomes evidence.
How veterans show it. Lay statements from you and the people who know you, a flare-up journal, and consistent mentions of the symptoms over the years.
How severe it is (the rating criteria)
What it is. Once a condition is connected, VA rates how much it limits you using the rating schedule for that specific condition.
Why VA needs it. Severity is what sets your percentage, and the percentage is what sets your monthly payment.
How veterans show it. Each condition page shows the rating table and worked examples; the C&P exam and DBQ are where the severity actually gets measured.
Turning a rating into real numbers
What it is. How your percentage, and several conditions together, becomes a monthly dollar amount and possible back pay.
Why VA needs it. VA combines ratings with its own math instead of simple addition, and your effective date decides how far back the pay goes.
How veterans show it. The calculators do the math for you. Nothing you enter is saved to a server; your figures stay on your device.
If it comes back wrong
What it is. A denial or a low rating is not the end. You have review lanes and a one-year window that protects your original effective date.
Why VA needs it. Many strong claims are won later, on appeal or on a supplemental claim once the missing piece is added.
How veterans show it. A Higher-Level Review, a Supplemental Claim, or a Board Appeal, and the deadline calculator keeps you inside the window.
See which pieces you already understand
Mark the pieces you already have or understand. This is a study aid to help you see the whole picture, not an evaluation of your claim or a prediction of any outcome. Your checkmarks stay in this browser and are never sent to us.