A denial reflects the file the VA had on the day it decided. Find the reason in your letter, match it to one of three review lanes, and file within a year if you want to hold on to your original date.
A member of our team will reach out within one business day to schedule your free case review.
Your decision letter has a section explaining the reasons for each denial and a list of the evidence the VA considered. Read both before deciding anything. The reason usually falls into one of these buckets:
Also look for the "favorable findings" in your letter. Those are facts the VA already decided in your favor, such as a confirmed diagnosis or a verified event. They bind later decision-makers unless someone shows clear and unmistakable error, so they narrow what you still have to prove.
Each lane answers a different kind of problem. Match the lane to the reason in your letter, and keep an eye on the date printed at the top.
Add evidence the VA hasn't seen that speaks to why you lost, such as a medical opinion, treatment records or a statement from someone who served with you. The VA then decides the claim again with everything in the file.
A more experienced reviewer decides the claim again using only the evidence that was already there. You can ask for one informal call to point out the error.
A Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals takes the case. You pick direct review, a docket that lets you add evidence, or a hearing.
Go with a Supplemental Claim on VA Form 20-0995. The evidence has to be new (the VA didn't have it) and relevant (it bears on what the decision turned on). Evidence that raises a theory the VA never addressed counts as relevant too. If a direct claim for a knee was denied, arguing it is secondary to a service-connected back is a fresh angle. You can also name VA or private treatment records, and the VA's duty to help gather them applies.
A Higher-Level Review on VA Form 20-0996 puts the same file in front of a more senior reviewer. No new evidence is allowed. During the optional informal conference, you or your representative can point to the exact error. If the reviewer finds the VA failed to gather records it should have, the claim goes back to fix that.
A Board Appeal on VA Form 10182 sends the case to a Veterans Law Judge, and you choose one of three dockets:
A denial doesn't have to cost you back pay. If you file the next review within one year of each decision, the VA generally keeps the effective date tied to your original claim or Intent to File. The VA calls this continuous pursuit.
Say you filed in January 2025 and the denial is dated March 2, 2026. A Supplemental Claim that reaches the VA by March 2, 2027 keeps January 2025 as your potential date. If it arrives that May instead, the earliest effective date becomes the day the VA received it.
What you can file next depends on where the last decision came from:
Only one lane can run at a time for the same issue. If you picked the wrong one, you can withdraw it and switch while you are still inside the one-year window. Our page on effective dates and back pay walks through the math.
Send us the date on your decision letter and the conditions it covered. We read the reasons with you, list what the file was missing, and talk through which lane fits. If the gap is a medical opinion, our nexus letter guide explains what a useful one includes.
You file the review yourself or through an accredited representative. County veterans service offices across Wisconsin, along with accredited groups like the American Legion, DAV and VFW, can represent you for free, and we'll tell you if that's the better route for your case. Wisconsin's Department of Veterans Affairs is another free option: its WDVA Federal Claims Assistance section serves as a VA-accredited representative from the Milwaukee VA regional office building at 5400 W. National Ave., where the American Legion and DAV also have service offices.
New means the VA didn’t have it when it decided. Relevant means it tends to prove or disprove something the decision turned on. A new theory of the claim, such as secondary service connection after a direct claim was denied, can also qualify.
No. Once the Board rules, your options are a Supplemental Claim or an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which must be filed within 120 days.
Higher-Level Review and the Board are generally closed for that decision unless the VA grants an extension for good cause. A Supplemental Claim is still available, but the effective date can be no earlier than the day the VA receives it.
Often, yes. A private opinion that addresses your records and explains the medical reasoning can support a Supplemental Claim. If the examiner ignored evidence that was already in the file, a Higher-Level Review can point that out.
Refiling with nothing new usually gets the same answer. The VA will find there isn’t enough to readjudicate. Figure out why it said no, then choose the lane that fixes that specific problem.
Tell us where things stand and we’ll walk through your options. Free, and it takes about a minute.