For Board of Veterans' Appeals hearings, and for VA claims generally, you do not need to surrender original buddy letters or any other original documents. Copies are fully acceptable as evidence in your claims file. The VA's evidentiary standard does not require original ink signatures to be retained by the government; a legible photocopy, scan, or PDF of a signed buddy letter carries the same weight as the original once it is entered into the record. The Board and the Veterans Benefits Administration are equipped to work with copies, and in fact most evidence submitted today, whether through the VA.gov portal, mailed in, or handed to a Veterans Law Judge at a hearing, is already a copy rather than a wet-signature original.
At an in-person Board hearing, you can hand the judge or the hearing coordinator copies of your buddy statements, and they will be scanned or uploaded into your electronic claims file (eFolder) as part of the hearing record. There is no rule under 38 CFR Part 20 (the regulations governing Board proceedings) that requires original documents to be surrendered. If you want extra assurance, you can bring both the original and a copy, ask the hearing coordinator or judge whether they want the original, and if they only need a copy, you keep your original in hand. Many veterans choose to retain all originals of hard-to-obtain evidence like decades-old buddy statements simply for peace of mind, since files can occasionally be misplaced even though that is uncommon.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →It is also worth making sure each buddy statement is as strong as possible before submission: it should be signed and dated, ideally include the buddy's contact information, describe specific firsthand observations relevant to the claimed condition or event (not just general character statements), and explain how the buddy knows what they are describing (served together, witnessed the incident, observed symptoms over time, etc.). VA Form 21-10210 (Lay/Witness Statement) can be used, but a personal letter is also acceptable as long as it is legible and clearly identifies the veteran and the claimed issue.
As a next step, bring copies of all buddy letters to the hearing, keep your originals safely at home, and confirm with the hearing coordinator when you check in whether they specifically want anything beyond copies for the record.
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