M21

• M21-1 Table of Contents

  Linked Table of Content (Click to Open)

  Part 01 (Part I) – Claimants Rights and Claims Processing Centers and Programs

  Subpart i – Claimants’ Rights and Responsibilities

  Chapter 01 – Legal Authority

  Section A – Description and General Information on Duty to Notify and Duty to Assist

  Section B – General Information on Due Process

  Chapter 02 – Power of Attorney

  Section A – General Information on Power of Attorney (POA)

  Section B – A Representative’s Right to Notification and Review of Records

  Section C – System Updates for Power of Attorney (POA) Appointments

  Chapter 03 – Other Information Disclosures

  Subpart ii – Claims Processing Centers and Programs

  Part 02 (Part II) – Intake, Claims Establishment, Jurisdiction, and File Maintenance

  Subpart i – Receiving and Screening Mail

  Chapter 01 – Receiving Mail via Centralized Mail (CM)

  Section A – Centralized Mail (CM) Intake

  Section B – Veterans Claims Intake Program (VCIP) Shipping

  Chapter 02 – Screening Mail

  Section A – Process Overview for Screening Mail

  Section B – Recording the Date of Receipt and Handling Signatures and Outdated Forms

  Section C – System Updates for Power of Attorney (POA) Appointments

  Subpart ii – Claims Folder Establishment, Maintenance, Jurisdiction, and Transfer

  Chapter 01 – Claims Folder Establishment

  Section A – Establishing New and Converting Old Claims Folders

  Section B – Lost Paper Claims Folders and Reconciliation of Duplicate Records

  Chapter 02 – Claims Folder Maintenance

  Section A – Folder Maintenance

  Section B – Restricted Records Storage and Control

  Section C – Locked Files Folder Maintenance

  Chapter 03 – Claims Jurisdiction and Transfer

  Subpart iii – Application Review and Claims Establishment

  Chapter 01 – Screening Applications for Benefits

  Section A – Applications for Benefits

  Section B – Screening Applications for Benefit Eligibility

  Section C – Screening Applications for Substantial Completeness and Notification Requirements

  Chapter 02 – Types of Claims and Claims Actions

  Section A – Intent to File (ITF)

  Section B – Supplemental Claims

  Section C – Claims for Increase

  Section D – Claims Based on Reports of Examination or Hospitalization

  Section E – Incorrectly Established Claims

  Section F – Withdrawal of Initial Claims

  Section G – Requests for Application and Claims Solicitation

  Section H – Historical Guidance on Formal Applications and Informal Claims Received Prior to March 24, 2015

  Chapter 03 – Claims Establishment and Other System Updates Made at Intake

  Section A – Claims Establishment

  Section B – System Updates at Intake

  Chapter 04 – Claims Screening and Establishment From Claims Submission Service Websites

  Section A – The Veterans Online Application (VONAPP) Direct Connect (VDC) Program and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Claims Submission Service Websites

  Section B – Stakeholder Enterprise Portal (SEP) Claims

  Part 03 (Part III) – The Development Process

  Subpart i – Verification of Service and Claims Development

  Chapter 01 – Establishing Veteran Status and Verifying Service

  Section A – Establishing Veteran Status

  Section B – Service Requirements and Verification of Eligibility

  Section C – Civilian Groups Approved for Veteran Status

  Chapter 02 – Claims Development

  Section A – Development Duties and Responsibilities

  Section B – Duty to Notify Under 38 U.S.C. 5103

  Section C – Duty to Assist With Obtaining Records

  Section D – Evidence Requested From the Claimant

  Section E – Relevance Determinations

  Section F – Record Maintenance During the Development Process

  Subpart ii – Requesting Records

  Chapter 01 – Federal Records

  Section A – Requesting Evidence From Federal Record Custodians

  Section B – Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Requests for Information From the Social Security Administration (SSA)

  Section C – Information Requests to Other Federal Agencies

  Chapter 02 – Service Records

  Section A – General Information on Service Records

  Section B – Procedures for Obtaining Service Treatment Records (STRs)

  Section C – Clinical Records and Personnel Records

  Section D – Control and Follow-Up of Requests for Service Records

  Section E – Service Record Address Codes and Addresses for Military Records Centers and Other Agencies

  Section F – Fire-Related Records, Supplementary or Substitute Records, and Records for Unique Situations

  Section G – Record Exchanges Between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Service Departments

  Section H – Service Department Organizational Structures and Service Number Assignments

  Chapter 03 – Private Health Provider (PHP) Records

  Chapter 3 – Requesting Evidence From Private Health Providers (PHPs)

  Part 04 (Part IV) – Examinations

  Subpart i – Examination Requests in Support of Claims

  Chapter 01 – Satisfying the Duty to Assist with Examination and Opinion Requests

  Section A – Duty to Assist With Providing a Medical Examination or Opinion

  Section B – Evidentiary Standards for Finding an Examination or Opinion Necessary

  Chapter 02 – Requesting Examinations

  Section A – Examination Requests Overview

  Section B – Scheduling Examinations

  Section C – Control of Examinations

  Section D – Medical Examination Coordinators

  Section E – Examinations in Special Situations

  Section F – Failure to Report and Rescheduling Examinations

  Section G – Historical

  Chapter 03 – Sufficiency of Examinations

  Section A – General Criteria for Sufficiency of Examination Reports

  Section B – Examination Sufficiency for Specific Disabilities

  Section C – Insufficient Examinations

  Part 05 (Part V) – The Rating Process

  Subpart i – Preparation of Claims for the Rating Activity

  Chapter 01 – Preparation of Claims for the Rating Activity

  Section A – General Information on the Rating Activity

  Section B – Referrals to the Rating Activity

  Section C – Pre-Rating Review of Claims by the Rating Activity

  Subpart ii – Decision Making

  Chapter 01 – Review of Evidence

  Section A – Principles of Reviewing and Weighing Evidence

  Section B – Reviewing Testimony and Lay Evidence

  Chapter 02 – Determining Service Connection (SC)

  Section A – Direct Service Connection (SC) and Service Incurrence of an Injury

  Section B – Presumptive Service Connection (SC)

  Section C – In-Service Aggravation of a Pre-Service Disability

  Section D – Secondary Service Connection (SC) and Aggravation of Non-Service-Connected (NSC) Disabilities

  Section E – Service Connection (SC) for Congenital, Developmental, or Hereditary Disorders

  Chapter 03 – Decision Making Principles

  Section A – Determining the Issues

  Section B – Making Partial Rating Decisions

  Section C – Reviewing Diagnoses

  Section D – Evaluating Disabilities

  Chapter 04 – Effective Dates

  Section A – Effective Dates

  Section B – Historical Guidance on the Assignment of Effective Dates

  Subpart iii – Applying the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Schedule for Rating Disabilities

  Chapter 01 – Musculoskeletal Disabilities and Muscle Injuries

  Section A – Painful Motion and Functional Loss

  Section B – Musculoskeletal Disabilities of the Extremities and Spine

  Section C – Arthritis

  Section D – Osteomyelitis

  Section E – Muscle Injuries

  Section F – Other Musculoskeletal Considerations

  Chapter 02 – Organs of Special Sense

  Section A – Conditions of the Eyes

  Section B – Conditions of the Auditory System

  Chapter 03 – Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders, and Nutritional Deficiencies

  Chapter 04 – Respiratory Conditions

  Section A – Respiratory Conditions

  Section B – Tuberculosis

  Chapter 05 – Cardiovascular System Conditions

  Chapter 06 – Digestive Conditions

  Chapter 6 – Digestive Disabilities

  Chapter 07 – Genitourinary Disabilities

  Chapter 08 – Disabilities of the Gynecological System and Breast

  Section A – Disabilities of the Gynecological System

  Section B – Disabilities of the Breast

  Chapter 09 – Hematologic and Lymphatic Systems

  Chapter 10 – Skin Conditions

  Chapter 11 – Endocrine Conditions

  Chapter 12 – Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders

  Section A – Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders

  Section B – Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

  Section C – Progressive Neurological Disorders

  Chapter 13 – Mental Disorders

  Chapter 14 – Dental and Oral Conditions

  Subpart iv – Completing Rating Decisions

  Chapter 01 – Generating the Rating Document

  Section A – Completing the Rating Decision Narrative

  Section B – Codesheet Section

  Section C – Coded Conclusion

  Section D – Finalizing the Rating Decision

  Section E – Reviewing the Rating Decision

  Part 06 (Part VI) – The Authorization Process

  Subpart i – General Authorization and Claimant Notification

  Chapter 01 – General Authorization and Claimant Notification

  Section A – Decision Authorization

  Section B – Decision Notices

  Chapter 02 – Audits and Correction of Erroneous Payments

  Section A – Requests for Financial Audits

  Section B – Correcting the Erroneous Payment of Benefits to a Beneficiary

  Subpart ii – Adjustment of Benefits Due to Receipt of Other Benefits

  Chapter 01 – General Information on Elections

  Section A – General Information on Elections

  Section B – Miscellaneous Election Issues

  Chapter 02 – Separation Pay

  Chapter 2 – Recoupment of Separation Benefits

  Chapter 03 – Drill Pay and Active Service Pay

  Section A – Adjusting Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits Based on a Veteran’s Receipt of Drill Pay

  Section B – Withholding and Restoration of Benefits Associated With Receipt of Drill Pay

  Section C – Examples of Award Adjustments Necessitated by a Veteran’s Election of Drill Pay

  Chapter 04 – Military Retired Pay (MRP)

  Section A – Elections and Waivers in Military Retired Pay (MRP) Cases

  Section B – Preparing and Adjusting Awards in Military Retired Pay (MRP) Cases

  Section C – Coordinating Military Retired Pay (MRP) Cases With Retired Pay Centers (RPCs) and Service Departments

  Section D – Reconciliation of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of Transportation (DoT) Records

  Section E – Processing Audit Error Worksheets (AEWs)

  Chapter 05 – Federal Employees’ Compensation (FEC)

  Subpart iii – Reduction or Discontinuation of Benefits in Special Circumstances

  Chapter 01 – Incarceration

  Section A – Effects of an Individual’s Incarceration on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits

  Section B – Paying Benefits to the Dependent(s) of an Incarcerated Veteran

  Section C – Incarceration of Dependents and Certain Survivors

  Chapter 02 – Processing Awards Involving Indebtedness

  Section A – Simultaneous Award Adjustments

  Section B – The Finance Activity at the Regional Office (RO)

  Section C – Debt Disputes and Collection

  Chapter 03 – Contested Claims

  Section A – General Information on Contested Claims

  Section B – Contested Claims Development

  Section C – Authorizing and Notifying Claimants of a Decision on a Contested Claim

  Chapter 04 – Disappearance and Reappearance of a Veteran

  Chapter 05 – Awards to Veterans in the Armed Forces Retirement Home or St. Elizabeth’s Hospital

  Part 07 (Part VII) – Dependency

  Subpart i – Relationship and Dependency

  Chapter 01 – General Information on Relationship, Dependency, and Dependency Claims Processing

  Section A – General Information on Relationship and Dependency

  Section B – Verification of Marital Status and the Status of Dependents

  Section C – Adjusting Awards for Dependents

  Section D – Dependency Claims Processed by the Rules-Based Processing System (RBPS)

  Chapter 02 – Marriage

  Section A – Establishing the Validity of a Marriage for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Purposes

  Section B – Establishing Common Law Marriages

  Section C – Establishing Other Types of Marriages

  Section D – Establishing Marital Relationship in Survivors Cases

  Section E – Remarriage of a Surviving Spouse

  Chapter 03 – Children

  Section A – Establishing a Child’s Age and Relationship

  Section B – Biological Children, Adopted Children, and Stepchildren

  Section C – Marriage of a Child

  Section D – Children With Two Veteran-Parents

  Chapter 04 – Parental Relationships and Dependency

  Section A – Establishing Parental Relationship

  Section B – Establishing Parental Dependency

  Subpart ii – School Attendance

  Chapter 01 – School Attendance

  Section A – Benefit Entitlement for School Children

  Section B – Awards and Adjustments Based Upon School Attendance

  Subpart iii – Apportionment of Benefits

  Chapter 01 – Apportionment of Benefits

  Section A – Apportionment Process

  Section B – Adjusting Apportioned Awards

  Section C – Garnishment of Disability Compensation in Lieu of Military Retired Pay (MRP) to Pay Alimony or Child Support

  Part 08 (Part VIII) – Special Compensation Issues

  Subpart i – Special Issues Associated With Herbicide Exposure and/or Service in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN)

  Chapter 01 – Claims Based on Exposure to Herbicides

  Section A – Developing Claims for Service Connection (SC) Based on Herbicide Exposure

  Section B – Ratings for Disabilities Associated with Herbicide Exposure

  Chapter 02 – Entitlement to Benefits Under the Nehmer Court Order

  Section A – Developing Claims Under the Nehmer Stipulation

  Section B – Determining Eligibility to Retroactive Payment Under the Nehmer Stipulation

  Section C – Authorization Under the Nehmer Stipulation

  Chapter 03 – Chapter 18 Benefits for Children with Spina Bifida or Covered Birth Defects

  Section A – General Chapter 18 Benefits Information

  Section B – Process Overview

  Section C – Eligibility and Development

  Section D – Rating

  Section E – Authorization Issues

  Subpart ii – Special Issues Associated with Service During the Gulf War (GW)

  Chapter 01 – Presumptive Service Connection (SC) for Persian Gulf Veterans and Infectious Diseases

  Section A – General Information on Presumptive Service Connection (SC) for Persian Gulf Veterans

  Section B – Developing Presumptive Service Connection (SC) Claims from Persian Gulf Veterans

  Section C – Rating Presumptive Service Connection (SC) Claims for Persian Gulf Veterans

  Section D – Presumptive Service Connection (SC) for Infectious Disease Under 38 CFR 3.317

  Chapter 02 – Service Connection (SC) Based on Fine Particulate Matter Exposure

  Section A – General Information on Claims Based on Fine Particulate Matter Exposure

  Section B – Developing Claims Based On Fine Particulate Matter Exposure

  Section C – Rating Claims Based on Fine Particulate Matter Exposure

  Subpart iii – Other Exposure-Based Claims

  Chapter 01 – Tropical Diseases – 38 CFR 3.309(b)

  Chapter 02 – Tuberculosis

  Section A – Developing Claims for Service Connection (SC) for Positive Tuberculin Reactions

  Section B – Awards for Graduated Tuberculosis (TB)

  Chapter 03 – Mustard Gas – 38 CFR 3.316

  Section A – Developing Claims for Service Connection (SC) for Disabilities Resulting From Exposure to Mustard Gas or Lewisite

  Section B – Rating Claims for Disabilities Associated With Mustard Gas or Lewisite Exposure

  Chapter 04 – Radiation – 38 CFR 3.309(d) and 38 CFR 3.311

  Section A – Developing Claims for Service Connection (SC) for Disabilities Resulting from Ionizing Radiation Exposure Under 38 CFR 3.309

  Section B – Developing Claims for Service Connection (SC) for Disabilities Resulting from Ionizing Radiation Exposure Under 38 CFR 3.311

  Section C – Rating Claims for Disabilities Associated With Radiation Exposure

  Chapter 05 – Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Testing

  Section A – Developing Claims Based on Participation in Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Testing

  Section B – Rating Claims Based on Participation in Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Testing

  Chapter 06 – Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD)

  Section A – Developing Claims Based on Participation in Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD)

  Section B – Rating Claims Based on Participation in Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD)

  Chapter 07 – Asbestos

  Section A – General Information on Claims Based on Exposure to Asbestos

  Section B – Development and Examination Requests for Claims Based on Exposure to Asbestos

  Section C – Evaluating Evidence of Asbestos Exposure

  Section D – Rating Claims Based on Exposure to Asbestos

  Chapter 08 – Contaminants in the Water Supply at Camp Lejeune – 38 CFR 3.309(f)

  Section A – Developing Claims Based on Exposure to Contaminants in the Water Supply at Camp Lejeune

  Section B – Rating Claims Based on Exposure to Contaminants in the Water Supply at Camp Lejeune

  Chapter 09 – Exposure to Other Specific Environmental or Military Occupational Hazards

  Section A – General Information on Exposure to Specific Environmental or Military Occupational Hazards

  Section B – Processing Claims Based on Exposure to Specific Environmental or Military Occupational Hazards

  Chapter 10 – COVID-19

  Chapter 10 – Presumptive Service Connection (SC) for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

  Subpart iv – Other Special Compensation Issues

  Chapter 01 – Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

  Section A – General Information and Development for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Claims

  Section B – Development for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Other Claims Related to Personal Trauma

  Section C – Examinations and Medical Opinions for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Claims

  Section D – Evidence Evaluation and Decisions for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Claims

  Section E – Evidence Evaluation and Decisions for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Claims Related to Personal Trauma

  Chapter 02 – Former Prisoner of War (FPOW)

  Section A – Former Prisoner of War (FPOW) Status

  Section B – Former Prisoner of War (FPOW) Service Records

  Section C – Development and Examination Request for Claims Based on Former Prisoner of War (FPOW) Status

  Section D – Rating Claims Based on Former Prisoner of War (FPOW) Status

  Chapter 03 – Individual Unemployability (IU)

  Section A – General Information on Individual Unemployability (IU) Claims

  Section B – Individual Unemployability (IU) Claims Development

  Section C – Individual Unemployability (IU) Rating and Decision Review

  Section D – Monitoring Income for Veterans in Receipt of Individual Unemployability (IU)

  Chapter 04 – Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)

  Section A – Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)

  Section B – History of Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)

  Chapter 05 – Chronic Diseases

  Chapter 5 – Service Connection (SC) for Chronic Diseases

  Chapter 06 – Compensation Under 38 U.S.C. 1151

  Section A – Developing Claims Filed Under 38 U.S.C. 1151

  Section B – Rating Claims Filed Under 38 U.S.C. 1151

  Section C – Authorization of Awards Under 38 U.S.C. 1151

  Chapter 07 – Paired Organs or Extremities – 38 CFR 3.383

  Section A – Compensation for Paired Organs or Extremities Under 38 CFR 3.383

  Section B – Awards and Offsets for Paired Organs and Extremities Under 38 CFR 3.383

  Chapter 08 – Temporary Total Evaluations Provided Under 38 CFR Part 4

  Section A – Prestabilization Ratings Under 38 CFR 4.28

  Section B – Hospitalization Ratings Under 38 CFR 4.29

  Section C – Convalescent Ratings Under 38 CFR 4.30

  Section D – Other Temporary Total Evaluations

  Chapter 09 – Special Issues Associated with Specific Circumstances in Service

  Section A – Claims Based on Participation in Special Operations Incidents

  Section B – Diving-Related Disabilities

  Part 09 (Part IX) – Pension, Survivors’ Pension, and Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

  Subpart i – Eligibility and Development

  Chapter 01 – Pension and Parent’s Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Eligibility

  Chapter 1 – Overview of Requirements and Development for Pension and Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

  Chapter 02 – Original Disability Pension Claims Development

  Chapter 03 – Income and Net Worth Development

  Section A – General Information on Income and Net Worth Development

  Section B – Income and Net Worth Development Forms and Acceptable Statements

  Section C – Pension Income Development

  Section D – Reduction of Income Due to Unreimbursed Expenses

  Subpart ii – Special Monthly Pension (SMP) and Rating

  Chapter 01 – Aid and Attendance (A&A) and Housebound Eligibility

  Section A – General Information on Requirements for Aid and Attendance (A&A) and Housebound Status Under 38 CFR 3.351

  Section B – Aid and Attendance (A&A) Status for Beneficiaries Who Are Patients in a Qualified Nursing Home

  Chapter 02 – Pension and Special Monthly Pension (SMP) Rating

  Section A – Requirements for Veterans Pension Ratings

  Section B – Determining Disability, Unemployability, and Marginal Employment for Pension

  Section C – Special Monthly Pension (SMP) Ratings

  Subpart iii – Authorization

  Chapter 01 – Authorization Issues

  Section A – General Information on the Effect Income and Net Worth Have on Pension and Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

  Section B – Social Security Administration (SSA) Benefits Program

  Section C – Section 306 Pension and Old-Law Pension

  Section D – Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Authorization

  Section E – Pension – Basic Rate Determinations

  Section F – Dependents for Current-Law Pension Purposes

  Section H – Adjustments Based on Changes in Status

  Section I – Counting Specific Types of Income

  Section J – Net Worth, Asset Transfers, and Penalty Periods

  Section K – Other Deductible Expenses

  Chapter 02 – Adjustments and Elections

  Section A – Pension Reductions for Medicaid-Covered Nursing Facility Care

  Section B – Pension Adjustments in Unusual Situations

  Section C – Elections Between Pension Programs

  Section D – Rescinded

  Part 10 (Part X) – Benefits Administration and Oversight

  Subpart i – Priority Processing and Other Special Mission Claims

  Chapter 01 – Priority Processing Programs

  Chapter 1 – Priority Processing Programs and Special Requirements

  Chapter 02 – Fully Developed Claims (FDCs)

  Section A – General Information About the Fully Developed Claim (FDC) Program

  Section B – Processing Fully Developed Claims (FDCs)

  Chapter 03 – Foreign Claims

  Section A – Jurisdiction for Special Act and Foreign Residency Claims

  Chapter 04 – Philippine Claims

  Section A – General Information on Philippine Cases

  Section B – Eligibility for Benefits Based on Philippines Service

  Section C – Development of Philippine Claims

  Section D – Awards and Payments for Benefits Due to Philippine Service

  Chapter 05 – Claims Based on Merchant Marine Service

  Section A – Establishing Veteran Status Based on Merchant Marine Service

  Section B – Obtaining Merchant Marine Service Records

  Chapter 06 – Pre-Discharge Claims

  Section A – Introduction to Pre-Discharge Claims

  Section B – Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) and Initial Processing

  Section C – Division of Responsibilities – Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) and BDD-Excluded Claims

  Section D – Ancillary Benefits and Other Issues Involving Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) or BDD-Excluded Claims

  Section E – Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), Referrals, and Initial Processing

  Section F – Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Development and Examinations

  Section G – Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Pending Claims, Appeals, and Previously Denied Issues

  Section H – Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Proposed Ratings

  Section I – Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Processing Based on Service Department Outcomes

  Section J – Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Final Ratings

  Section K – Special Situations Related to Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES)

  Subpart ii – Changes in Benefit and Competency Status

  Chapter 01 – Finality and Protection

  Section A – Finality of Decisions

  Section B – Protected Ratings

  Chapter 02 – Revision Based on New Evidence

  Section A – Revision Based on Specific Types of Submissions, Including Supplemental Claims

  Section B – Revision Based on Receipt of Supplemental Service Records

  Chapter 03 – Applicability of Due Process

  Section A – Notice of Proposed Adverse Action

  Section B – Adverse Action Proposal Period

  Section C – Contemporaneous Notice

  Section D – Completing Proposed Rating Decisions

  Chapter 04 – Improvement

  Section A – Rating Decisions for Reduction Due to Improvement

  Section B – Authorization for Reductions in Disability Evaluations Under 38 CFR 3.105(e)

  Chapter 05 – Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) and Severance

  Section A – Revision Due to Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE)

  Section B – Severance of Service Connection (SC)

  Section C – Due Process and Authorization Issues for Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE)

  Chapter 06 – Competency

  Section A – Evaluating and Rating Competency

  Section B – A Child’s Permanent Incapacity for Self-Support

  Section C – General Information on Incompetency and Fiduciary Cases

  Section D – Processing Awards to Incompetent Beneficiaries

  Section E – Authorizing Awards for Fiduciary Cases

  Section F – Awards Specific to Institutionalized, Incompetent Veterans

  Section G – Competency Determinations for the Insurance Center (IC)

  Section H – Historical Information on Estate Limitations

  Subpart iii – Hospital Adjustments

  Chapter 01 – Hospital Adjustments

  Section A – Reports of Hospitalization and Other Information Exchanges Between Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Offices (ROs) and Medical Facilities

  Section B – Adjusting Compensation When a Veteran Is Hospitalized in Excess of 21 Days or Receives Care Consistent With 38 CFR

  Section C – Adjusting Awards Involving an Aid and Attendance (A&A) Allowance

  Section D – Adjusting Pension Under 38 CFR 3.551 and 3.556

  Subpart iv – Adverse Circumstances Affecting Benefit Entitlement

  Chapter 01 – Character of Discharge (COD), Line of Duty (LOD), Willful Misconduct, and Related Determinations

  Section A – Character of Discharge (COD) and Bars to Benefits

  Section B – Special Topics Involving Character of Discharge

  Section C – Willful Misconduct and Line of Duty (LOD)

  Section D – Disability or Death from Use of Alcohol, Drugs, or Tobacco Products

  Section E – Processing Cases Involving Common Accidents in Service

  Section F – Reversal of Prior Determinations Related to Character of Discharge (COD), Line of Duty (LOD), or Willful Misconduct

  Chapter 02 – Determinations Involving Insanity or Homicide

  Section A – Insanity Determinations

  Section B – Considering Eligibility When Homicide Is Involved

  Chapter 03 – Fraud and Forfeiture

  Section A – Fraud and Laboratory Analysis of Evidence

  Section B – Forfeiture of Benefits

  Chapter 04 – Renouncements

  Subpart v – Other Administrative Processes

  Chapter 01 – Administrative Processes for Evidence Gathering and Decision Making

  Section A – Compensation Service and Pension and Fiduciary (P&F) Service Guidance

  Section B – Equitable Relief

  Section C – Administrative Decisions

  Section D – Regional Office (RO) Hearings

  Section E – Requests for Field Examinations

  Chapter 02 – Administrative Processes for Adjusting Benefits

  Section A – Evaluating a Pending Claim When a Veteran Returns to Active Duty

  Section B – Award Adjustments Necessitated by a Veteran’s Return to and Discharge From Active Duty

  Section C – Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)

  Part 11 (Part XI) – Notice of Death, Benefits Payable at Death, and Burial Benefits

  Subpart i – First Notice of Death (FNOD) Processing and Cause of Death Determinations

  Chapter 01 – First Notice of Death (FNOD) Processing

  Section A – General Policies for Veteran First Notice of Death (FNOD) Processing

  Section B – System Information for Veteran Notice of Death (NOD) and Month of Death (MOD) Processing

  Section C – Errors During Notice of Death (NOD) Processing

  Section D – General Procedures for Non-Veteran Beneficiary Notice of Death (NOD) Processing

  Chapter 02 – Cause of Death Determinations

  Section A – Reports of Casualty

  Section B – Finding of Fact and Date of Death

  Section C – Presumption of Death

  Subpart ii – Benefits Payable at the Time of Death

  Chapter 01 – Referral for Consideration of Survivor’s Benefits

  Chapter 02 – Month of Death

  Chapter 03 – Accrued and Substitution

  Section A – Entitlement to Accrued Benefits Under 38 U.S.C. 5121

  Section B – Substitution in Case of Death of Claimant

  Section C – Development for Accrued and Requests for Substitution

  Section D – Rating Accrued Claims

  Section E – Accrued Authorization and Notification

  Chapter 04 – Death Gratuity

  Chapter 4 – Issuing Death Gratuity Certificates to Service Departments

  Subpart iii – Burial Benefits

  Chapter 01 – Burial Benefits

  Section A – General Information on Burial Benefits and Allowances

  Section B – Burial Benefits

  Section C – Burial Authorization Payment Issues

  Section D – Memorialization

  Part 12 (Part XII) – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and Other Survivor’s Benefits (Excluding Survivor’s Pension)

  Subpart i – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

  Chapter 01 – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Eligibility and Development

  Section A – Overview of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

  Section B – Common Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Processing Issues

  Section C – In-Service Death and Former Prisoner of War (FPOW) Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Claims

  Chapter 02 – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Ratings

  Section A – Ratings for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

  Section B – Aid and Attendance (A&A) and Housebound Determinations for Survivors

  Chapter 03 – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Authorization

  Section A – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Initial Authorization Issues

  Section B – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Awards Following Death of a Surviving Spouse or Dependent

  Section C – Awarding Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to Children Based on the Determination of Surviving Spouse Entitlement

  Section D – Awards Barred by Receipt of Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)

  Section E – Allowance, Allotments, or Service Pay Under 38 U.S.C. 5110(j)

  Section F – Prohibition Against Duplication of Benefits

  Chapter 04 – Special Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Issues and Allowances

  Section A – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Benefits Based on Social Security Administration (SSA) Application

  Section B – Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Allowance Under 38 U.S.C. 1311(a)(2) and Other Allowances

  Section C – Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Offsets

  Subpart ii – Other Survivor’s Benefits

  Chapter 01 – Death Compensation

  Chapter 02 – Special Allowance Under 38 U.S.C. 1312

  Section A – Special Allowance Under 38 U.S.C. 1312(a)

  Section B – Eligibility Determinations and Claims for the Special Allowance Under 38 U.S.C. 1312(a)

  Section C – Development of Claims for the Special Allowance Under 38 U.S.C. 1312(a)

  Section D – Authorization and Notification for the Special Allowance Under 38 U.S.C. 1312(a)

  Chapter 03 – Restored Entitlement Program for Survivors (REPS)

  Section A – Overview of the Restored Entitlement Program for Survivors (REPS)

  Section B – Handling Claims for Restored Entitlement Program for Survivors (REPS) Benefits

  Section C – St. Louis Regional Office (RO) Actions on Claims for Benefits Under the Restored Entitlement Program for Survivors (REPS)

  Part 13 (Part XIII) – Eligibility Determinations and Information Sharing for Other Benefits

  Subpart i – Eligibility Determinations for Other Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits

  Chapter 01 – Education Benefits and Permanent and Total (P&T) Disability

  Section A – Ratings for Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA)

  Section B – Notification and Award Actions for Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA)

  Section C – Ratings to Extend the Delimiting Date for Educational Assistance

  Chapter 02 – Auto and Housing Allowance Eligibility Determinations

  Section A – Automobile and Adaptive Equipment Allowance Under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 39

  Section B – Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) or Special Home Adaptation (SHA) Grants

  Chapter 03 – Eligibility for Medical Care and Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA)

  Section A – General Information on Eligibility for Medical Services

  Section B – Healthcare Eligibility Determinations for Former Service Members Discharged Under Other-Than-Honorable (OTH) Conditions

  Section C – Service Connection (SC) for Mental Conditions for Treatment Purposes Under 38 U.S.C. 1702

  Section D – Eligibility for Medical Services Associated With Aid and Attendance (A&A) or Housebound Status

  Section E – Medical Treatment for Veterans Showing a Positive Tuberculin Reaction

  Section F – Medical Treatment for Veterans Treated with Nasopharyngeal Radium Irradiation (NRI)

  Section G – Eligibility for Medical Services for Polish and Czechoslovakian Armed Forces

  Section H – Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) Eligibility Determinations

  Chapter 04 – Eligibility for Dental Treatment

  Section A – Overview of Classes of Eligibility for Dental Treatment

  Section B – Processing Dental Claims

  Section C – Ratings for Dental Treatment Purposes

  Chapter 05 – Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) Eligibility Determinations

  Section A – Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) Eligibility

  Section B – Memorandum Vocational Rehabilitation/Employment (VR&E) Ratings

  Chapter 06 – Medal of Honor Pension

  Chapter 07 – Home Loan Benefits

  Section A – Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Loan Program

  Section B – Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pension-Related Home Loans

  Section B – Memorandum Vocational Rehabilitation/Employment (VR&E) Ratings

  Chapter 08 – Eligibility Determinations and Certifications for Other Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits

  Section A – Clothing Allowance

  Subpart ii – Information Sharing and Eligibility Determinations for Benefits Administered by Other Agencies

  Chapter 01 – Social Security Administration (SSA) Requests for Information from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

  Section A – Social Security Administration (SSA) Requests for Medical Evidence

  Section B – Social Security Administration (SSA) Requests for the Amount of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits Received

  Section C – Compensation-Based Income Calculations for Social Security Administration (SSA) Purposes

  Section D – Pension-Based Income Calculations for Social Security Administration (SSA) Purposes

  Section E – Calculating Income for Survivor’s Benefits for Social Security Administration (SSA) Purposes

  Chapter 02 – Civil Service and Other Employment Preference Certification

  Section A – Civil Service Veterans’ Preference Letter

  Section B – Ratings for Veterans’ Civil Service Disability Preference

  Section C – State or Municipal Disability Preference Certificate

  Section D – Information Sharing With the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

  Chapter 03 – Certifications and Determinations for Public Assistance and Housing

  Section A – Certificate of Preference for Public Housing

  Section B – Requests from Public Assistance Agencies

  Section C – Public Benefit Eligibility for Legal Aliens

  Chapter 04 – Certifications for Tax or Financial Purposes

  Section A – Certifications of Permanent and Total (P&T) Disability for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Purposes

  Section B – Request for Information Regarding State Bonus or Tax Exemption

  Chapter 05 – Other Certifications and Information Sharing

  Section A – Certification for Service Academy Appointment

  Section B – Certificate of Permanent and Total (P&T) Disability for Discontinuation of Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Participation

  Section C – Information Requests for Research Purposes

  Part 14 (Part XIV) – Matching Programs

  Chapter 01 – General Information on Matching Programs

  Chapter 02 – Matches With Social Security Administration (SSA) Records

  Section A – Social Security Income Match

  Section B – Social Security Death Master File (DMF) Match

  Section C – Social Security Number (SSN) Verification

  Chapter 03 – Routine Review of Running Awards to 100-Year-Old Beneficiaries

  Chapter 04 – Federal Tax Information (FTI)

  Section A – Federal Tax Information (FTI) Match: General Information

  Section B – Federal Tax Information (FTI) Match: Safeguarding

  Section C – Federal Tax Information (FTI) Match: Post Award Audit (PAA) for Pension and Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Beneficiaries

  Section D – Federal Tax Information (FTI): Income Verification Match (IVM)

  Chapter 05 – Matching Programs That Identify Veterans That Returned to Active Duty

  Chapter 06 – Review of Potential Duplicate Payment Cases

  Chapter 07 – Data-Matching Programs That Identify Incarcerated Beneficiaries and Dependents

  Chapter 08 – Fugitive Felon Match

• M21-5 Table of Contents

  Linked Table of Content (Click to Open)

  M21-5 – Appeals and Reviews

  Chapter 1 Field Oversight

  Section A – Decision Review Operations Center (DROC) Structure

  Section C, DROC Strategic Oversight and Analysis Reviews (SOARs)

  Chapter 2 National Training Program

  Chapter 3 Quality Assurance

  Section A – Decision Review Operations Center (DROC) Quality Review Team (QRT)

  Section B – National Quality Reviews

  Chapter 4 AMA Control & Other Activities

  Chapter 5 HLR Procedures

  Chapter 6 Controlling Legacy Appeals

  Section A – Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System (VACOLS)

  Section B – Establishing an Appellate Record

  Section C – Situations After Decisions by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals

  Section D – Litigation Before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC)

  Chapter 7 Legacy Appeal Procedures

  Section A – General Information on Legacy Appeals

  Section B – Notice of Disagreement (NOD)

  Section C – Decision Review Officer (DRO) Process

  Section D – Documenting Appeal Decisions

  Section E – Filing a Substantive Appeal

  Section F – Docketing, Certification, and Claims Folder Transfer to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals

  Section G – Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) Decisions and Remands

  Section H – Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) Travel Board and Video Hearings

  Section I – Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC)

  Section J – Special Appeal Issues and Cases

  Chapter 8 Agent and Attorney Fee Processing

  Section A – Introduction to Fees

  Section B – Processing a Case Seeking Direct Payment of Fees