Built for accredited representatives, VSOs, and claims agents. VA sends you no notification when a client's window is about to close — which is why reps run their caseloads on wall calendars, notebooks, and personal spreadsheets, and why a missed window costs a veteran their effective date. Enter each clock once; this page computes the due date, cites the rule, and sorts your whole caseload by days remaining.
vetaid_deadline_tracker_v1). Nothing is transmitted, synced, or saved to any server. Even so, identify clients by initials or the last four of the file number only — never full names or SSNs.Days-remaining figures are recomputed against today's date every time the page loads. The computed date is the raw regulatory anniversary — it is not extended for weekends or holidays (see the FAQ), and for a Higher-Level Review it is the date the form must be received by VA, not postmarked.
| Deadline | Window | Clock starts | Received or postmarked? | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intent to File expires | 1 year | Date VA received the ITF | A complete claim must be filed within the year, or the ITF's effective-date protection is lost | 38 CFR 3.155 |
| Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996) | 1 year | Date VA issued the decision notice | Received by VA — not postmarked | 38 CFR 3.2601(d) |
| Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995) | No absolute deadline — but 1 year to keep the effective date | Date VA issued the decision notice | Received within the year for continuous pursuit; filable later, but the effective date resets | 38 CFR 3.2501 |
| Board appeal / NOD (VA Form 10182) | 1 year | Date on the notice letter | Received by the Board | 38 CFR 20.203 |
| Court appeal (CAVC) — Board decisions only | 120 days | Date the Board decision was mailed | Notice of Appeal filed with the Court within 120 days | 38 U.S.C. 7266 |
| Board evidence window — evidence-submission docket | 90 days | VA's receipt of the NOD | Evidence submitted to the Board within the window | 38 CFR 20.303 |
| Board evidence window — hearing docket | 90 days | The Board hearing | Evidence submitted at the hearing or within 90 days after it | 38 CFR 20.303 |
| C&P exam date | — | The appointment itself | A reminder entry — a missed exam without good cause can sink the claim on the evidence of record | — |
| Custom deadline | — | Whatever date you set | For anything else: POA follow-ups, evidence promised to an examiner, state-benefit dates | — |
This tracker is an aid to your own calendar practice, not legal advice — the regulation and the letter's own appeal-rights enclosure (VA Form 20-0998) control, and edge cases (contested claims, for example) can differ. Two rules bite hardest in practice: the Higher-Level Review deadline is received-by, not postmark (38 CFR 3.2601(d)), and a Supplemental Claim filed after the year is still allowed — what dies is the effective date, which is the client's back pay.
VetAid's AI reads a decision letter against thousands of real Board decisions and flags contradictions, missed secondaries, and examiner errors — before you pick the lane. Free, no credit card.
Analyze a decision letter freeFrom the date VA issued the decision notice — the date printed on the letter — not from the day it arrived in the mail. And for a Higher-Level Review the request must be received by VA within that year (38 CFR 3.2601(d)), not merely postmarked, so never plan to mail a 20-0996 in the final week.
For filings governed by the Board's rules, 38 CFR 20.110 provides that when a time limit expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the next succeeding workday is included in the period. This tracker deliberately shows the raw computed date and does not extend it — treat a weekend date as due the preceding business day and you can never be wrong.
Yes — completely. Everything lives in this browser's localStorage on your own machine; nothing is transmitted, synced, or stored on any server, and there is no account. Still use initials or last-4 file numbers only, so the data is not personally identifying even on your own device.
The data lives in one browser on one machine — it does not sync anywhere, by design. To move or share a caseload, use Export CSV on one machine and Import CSV on the other; the import skips duplicates, so re-importing the same file is safe.
The effective date. An Intent to File (38 CFR 3.155) holds the veteran's place in line: file a complete claim within one year of the date VA received the ITF and benefits can be paid back to the ITF date. Let the year lapse and the protection is gone — the claim can still be filed, but back pay runs from the later filing date.
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