How many people are actually accredited to help veterans with VA claims, how many join each year, where they are — and how long accreditation really takes. Computed from VA Office of General Counsel's official roster; VA publishes the roster but no statistics about it.
That is 14,431 accredited individuals for a veteran population of about 18.2 million (VA VetPop2023 state estimates, fy2023), with about 78% of new benefit claims filed through a representative (VA's own accredited-representation research, 2024). VSO representatives outnumber attorneys, but attorneys and claims agents are the only categories allowed to charge fees after an initial decision.
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 |
Does your rating decision hold up under a real audit?
Upload your decision letter and C&P exams — VetAid's analyzer reads the full file, checks every examiner statement word-for-word against your records, and shows which arguments for a higher rating actually hold. Free, and we never take a cut of your back pay.
Analyze my claim free →VA OGC publishes an accreditation date only for attorneys and claims agents — no accreditation dates are published for VSO representatives, so this table covers the 5,804 attorney/agent roster only.
| Year accredited | Attorneys + claims agents still on the roster |
|---|---|
| 2026 (through 10/13) | 741 |
| 2025 | 745 |
| 2024 | 767 |
| 2023 | 391 |
| 2022 | 287 |
| 2021 | 277 |
| 2020 | 127 |
| 2019 | 209 |
| 2018 | 239 |
| 2017 | 251 |
| 2016 | 176 |
| 2015 | 213 |
| 2014 | 179 |
| 2013 | 187 |
| 2012 | 168 |
| 2011 | 208 |
| 2010 | 157 |
| 2009 | 237 |
| 2008 | 238 |
Counted from the roster's published "Date Accredited" field; people who left the roster before 2026-10-13 are not counted, so early years understate the original intake.
| State | Total | Attorneys/Agents | VSO reps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1,228 | 651 | 577 |
| Texas | 1,033 | 378 | 655 |
| California | 900 | 372 | 528 |
| New York | 703 | 373 | 330 |
| Pennsylvania | 568 | 218 | 350 |
| Ohio | 540 | 154 | 386 |
| North Carolina | 537 | 227 | 310 |
| Virginia | 528 | 192 | 336 |
| Illinois | 511 | 223 | 288 |
| Michigan | 478 | 162 | 316 |
| Georgia | 395 | 234 | 161 |
| Tennessee | 391 | 110 | 281 |
| Minnesota | 389 | 50 | 339 |
| District of Columbia | 365 | 278 | 87 |
| Indiana | 358 | 113 | 245 |
Full state-by-state and city listings are in the free representative directory, matched to your ZIP.
VA's published processing target for a Form 21a application is 60–120 days. VA's own accreditation-modernization documents — public in the va.gov-team repository — reported (2024): a backlog of roughly 2,000 pending applications processed with "zero automation," individual applications taking up to two years, an examination pass rate of about 40% for claims-agent applicants, and no way for an applicant to check status. VA is building a digital Form 21a; per its own product outline, digitization alone "will not contribute to reducing the existing backlog."
After accreditation, VA's research also documents that new representatives wait 5–7 months for access to the claims systems they need to actually work a case.
Unaccredited "claim consultants" cannot lawfully represent you and are the most common source of fee abuse. Before signing VA Form 21-22 or 21-22a, verify the person is on the official roster: VA OGC's accreditation search, or the VetAid directory rebuilt from the same roster.
VetAid analyzes your decision letter and evidence free — and the directory finds accredited help near you.
Find accredited help near me →VetAid is a free veterans claims tool, not a VA-accredited representative — it does not file anything with VA for you, and it works alongside your accredited VSO, claims agent or attorney. About VetAid