What's Your Claims Ready Score?
Work top to bottom, tab by tab. Every tab tells you what it is, why it matters, and exactly where to go to do each step — you should not have to search for anything. The veteran enters all of his own information — none of it is held on our end — and the example documents fill in live as you type.
Educational Resource Network. Not affiliated with the VA. We do not provide legal, medical, or claims representation.
Everything links out as little as possible: the tools and guides below are ours — vetted, kept working, and built for this workbook. External links are only the official VA sources we can't host ourselves.
Take the Claims Ready Score
Tap YES or NO for each question. Every YES is 1 point. Every NO gets a fix with exact steps and links in Step 10 — Fix Every NO. Be honest — your answers stay in your browser on this device.
Answer the questions to see your score.
My Details
You fill all of this in yourself — nothing is held on our end. Every letter in this workbook fills itself from this page as you type, so fill it in once and the whole packet builds itself.
Why we ask: every VA form and letter must match your service record name exactly.
Used on every form to identify your file.
VA uses name + DOB + last four to match your record.
Not Honorable or General? A VSO can still help — VA has a character-of-discharge review process.
Offline lookup built into this page — nothing is sent anywhere. The result fills the VA office that processes claims for your area.
Want the closest VA facility or Vet Center for in-person help? Use the VA facility locator (opens in a new window).
Closest free claims help: start with our own VSO Directory (new window) to find a VSO near you; if you can’t find one there, search any VA-accredited rep at the VA accredited-representative search (new window). Your county veterans service office is usually the nearest free help of all.
Your regular doctor — nexus opinions carry the most weight from someone who actually treats you.
Exposure matters: some conditions are presumed service-connected by law (38 CFR § 3.309 / § 3.317) when you served in specific places and times. Your VSO checks which presumptives apply to you.
Not sure what you're rated for? Download your rating decision at va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status (opens in a new window), or bring your VA ID to any VA office and ask for a benefits summary.
Conditions Tree
Check a condition and its drawer opens automatically — check every linked condition that applies to you. Linked conditions can have their own links: expand those too. These are the possibilities a VSO could file for, with the 38 CFR rule each link rides on.
Educational examples of common links — a VSO can identify more from your actual record. Not legal or medical advice. Some links ride presumptive rules (Agent Orange, Gulf War, PACT Act); your VSO checks which apply to your file.
Don't see your condition?
Add it — it flows into your letters exactly like the listed ones.
Conditions chosen
No conditions checked yet — check each condition that applies and your running total appears here.
This is the real letter, filled in live from your tabs — what you see below is exactly what prints. Bracketed [items] are the parts still missing; fill them on My Details or the Conditions Tree and they fill themselves here. Nothing is submitted anywhere — a VSO prepares and files the real thing. In the live build this exports to PDF.
The letter you hand to your treating provider, asking for a written medical opinion connecting your conditions. It fills in live from your picks. A complete nexus opinion must say the link is "at least as likely as not" — 50% or greater — and explain why.
Witness statements corroborate events, symptoms, and changes over time — people who saw it firsthand. Hand the printed prompts to your witness; they write their own words. The form itself is VA Form 21-10210 (new window).
VSO Evidence Checklist
Everything to bring to your VSO appointment. The second list grows automatically from your Conditions Tree picks and exposures. Can't get something? Bring what you have — your VSO can request the rest with you.
Where every form lives: VA forms at the VA forms library (va.gov/find-forms — search the form number, opens in a new window); DD-214 from the National Archives; marriage and birth certificates from your county recorder / vital records office. Each item below says exactly where to get it.
Identification
- Photo ID — driver's license or state ID
- VA health ID card (if enrolled in VA health care)
- DoD / military ID if you still have one
- Social Security card (or know the number)
Core records (every claim)
- DD-214 or equivalent separation paperwork for every enlistment — lost it? Free replacement from the National Archives (new window; fastest via milConnect login). Your county recorder or county VSO can often print it same-day.
- Intent to File confirmation (VA Form 21-0966) (new window)
- Service treatment records (request via the National Archives — opens in a new window — if not already in your file)
- Private medical records, with VA Form 21-4142 authorization (new window) — sign it and hand it to each private provider so they release your records to VA
- Current pharmacy printout or medication list
- Every prior VA decision letter (new window — download them from your VA claim-status page)
- Your full VA claims folder — download from va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status (opens in a new window)
- Direct deposit info (bank routing and account number)
- Personal statement (VA Form 21-4138, new window) if you want to tell the story in your own words; a signed, dated letter works too
Family / dependents (if claiming them)
- Marriage certificate — a certified copy from the county recorder where you married (small fee; not a VA form)
- VA Form 21-686c — declares your dependents to VA (new window); bring it with the certified certificate
- Divorce decrees for any prior marriages — yours and your spouse's — certified copies from the courthouse / county clerk of the county where each divorce was granted
- Children's birth certificates (from the county or state vital records office) and their Social Security numbers
Based on your picks
Symptom & Work Log
Dates matter to VA. Log your symptoms and missed work here — every entry feeds your packet. This stays on your device; print it or include it in your download whenever you need it.
30-Day Preparation Plan
Every step says what to do, how to do it, and exactly where to go. Links to VA sites open in a new window so you never lose your place; links inside this workbook jump you to the right tab.
Week 1 — Lock the date
- File your Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966). How: online at VA.gov — Intent to File (new window) — free, takes minutes, and it can be worth months of back pay by locking your effective date for a year. Stuck? Call VA at 1-800-827-1000 and they will file it with you on the phone.
- Order your DD-214. How: free request at archives.gov/veterans (new window). Mark it "DD-214 / Separation Documents." Already have it? You're done with this one.
- Request your service treatment records. How: same Archives request covers them; veterans enrolled in VA health care can also ask any VA release-of-information (ROI) office in person.
- Download your VA claims folder. Where: va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status (new window) — log in, open your claim, open Files. Bring ID to any VA office if you prefer paper copies.
Week 2 — Build the evidence
- Provider appointment. Where: your treating provider, VA or private — find the closest VA facility at va.gov/find-locations (new window). Bring a short written history so the diagnosis and the story get into the record.
- Pharmacy printout / medication list. How: ask your pharmacy or VA care team at your appointment, or call the number on your pill bottle. Medication side effects (weight gain, reflux, ED, sleep changes) can open secondary claims.
- Start your logs. Where: right here — the Symptom & Work Log tab in this workbook. Log symptoms, severity, and missed work with dates; print it or download it with your packet.
Week 3 — Corroborate
- Buddy statements out to your witnesses. How: print your Buddy Statement tab and hand it to one or two people who saw what happened. The official form is VA Form 21-10210 (new window) — their own words matter more than perfect grammar.
- Map your secondaries. Where: the Conditions Tree tab in this workbook — check each condition and the linked conditions that apply. Anything you check flows into your letters and your VSO checklist automatically.
- Keep the logs going. Where: the Symptom & Work Log tab — a few entries a week is plenty; dates matter most.
Week 4 — VSO review
- Book your VSO appointment. Where: start with our VSO Directory (new window) to find a VSO near you; can’t find one there? Search any accredited rep at va.gov — accredited representative search (new window). Your county veterans service office is usually the closest free help of all — most take walk-ins or same-week appointments, and some libraries and American Legion / VFW posts host VSOs too.
- Run the final review. Where: the Fix Every NO tab in this workbook — clear every work item before your appointment.
- Bring the packet. How: just tap right here — it compiles your details, letters, checklist, logs, and plan into one file you can print or carry on your phone. (The same button also lives in the header bar at the top of the page and at the end of the Fix Every NO tab.)
For the best and most complete results — fix every NO.
This is the final review step. Every NO you tapped on the Readiness Score becomes a work item here with exact steps and links. Most take minutes, and each one strengthens the file you hand your VSO.
The help doesn't stop at this workbook
Everything below is ours — vetted, free, and made for veterans working this exact process.
- Find My Benefits tool — not sure what to claim? Match your symptoms to conditions in two minutes
- Rating guides, 0% to 100% P&T — what every rating actually means and unlocks
- Rating Code Navigator — look up your condition's VA diagnostic code and what the rating criteria say
- Rating Code Book — the full rating-code reference in one place
- Our TDIU guide — can't work because of your conditions? Start here
- Secondary-conditions guide — one condition often causes another; claim both
- VSO Directory — find a vetted VSO near you
- Online Symptom Log — keep logging between now and your appointment
- Stand Ready Starter Kit — everything a veteran needs to start this process, in one box