VA Form 21P-534EZ for DIC and Survivors Pension Being Shortened
VA is proposing to revise the application form that surviving spouses and children use to claim Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), Survivors Pension, and accrued benefits. The form, VA Form 21P-534EZ, would be shortened from 20 pages to 7 pages, cutting the estimated time to complete it from 40 minutes to 25 minutes.
What would change
- The form shrinks from 20 pages to 7 pages
- Estimated completion time drops from 40 minutes to 25 minutes per respondent
- VA aims to finish the streamlined form by the end of Calendar Year 2026
- The revised form would still be available both on VA.gov and as a paper form
- VA estimates roughly 110,000 people fill out this form each year, so the shorter version would affect a large number of survivors
Who this affects
Surviving spouses and children of veterans who need to apply for DIC, Survivors Pension, or accrued benefits. This notice does not change eligibility rules or benefit amounts.
Where things stand
This is a proposed revision open for public comment, not a final rule, so nothing changes yet.
Have a say
Anyone can submit a public comment on Regulations.gov before August 24, 2026. You can also search for OMB Control Number 2900-0004 at reginfo.gov to see the form's history.
We filed a comment on this rule
The Veteran Benefit Desk commented on the federal record on August 18, 2026.
This page is an educational summary of a document published in the Federal Register, checked against the rule text. It is not legal advice. A proposed rule is not final: nothing about your benefits changes unless and until VA publishes a final rule.
All VA rule changes