The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) is an administrative appeals board of the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) that adjudicates U.S. military veterans’ claims regarding veteran benefits, such as disability compensation, medical benefits, or military pensions. The BVA is authorized/governed by U.S.C. 38 Chapter 71.
A veteran seeking to claim benefits must first apply to their local VA agency, e.g., the Veterans Benefits Administration or the Veterans Health Administration. If the veteran disagrees with the initial decision of their local VA agency, they have one year to pursue one of three possible decision review options:
- Filing a supplemental claim via VA form 20-0995
- Filing for higher level review via VA form 20-0996
- Appealing to the Board of Veteran Appeals via VA Form 10182
If a party decides to appeal to the BVA, they have three options regarding how the BVA will review their case:
- Direct Review: Direct review asks the BVA to reconsider the already submitted evidence and look for mistakes of law/fact the local VA agency may have made. Because no new evidence is submitted, Direct Review is the fastest form of appealing to the Board of Veteran Appeals.
- Evidence Submission: A party pursuing evidence submission is allowed to provide additional evidence to support their case for benefits for up to 90 days after filing an appeal. If a party selects Evidence submission, the BVA will not reconsider evidence already provided to the local VA agency.
- Hearing with a Veterans Law Judge: A party who selects a hearing with a law judge has the opportunity to make their case directly to the BVA rather than through written documents. Choosing a hearing allows a party to submit additional evidence. Hearings are offered in both virtual and physical formats.
If the BVA denies the veterans’ claims, then the veteran may appeal further to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
A party who filed an appeal with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals before February 19th, 2019, can either choose to follow the above process or proceed with their appeal through the old process. For more information on the former appeals method, see the BVA legacy appeals webpage.
[Last updated in July 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]