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). No client data you enter is transmitted, synced, or saved to any server; the calendar (.ics) and CSV files are built right here in the browser. (The page itself uses standard analytics and ad tags that see the page address and clicks, never what you type.) 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 due date is the regulatory anniversary, shown with its weekday. When it lands on a Saturday, Sunday or one of the 11 federal holidays (5 U.S.C. 6103), the row also shows the last legal day, the next workday (38 CFR 3.110(a); 38 CFR 20.110(b); CAVC Rule 26(a)), and the row is not called overdue until that day has passed. Observed-day shifts (a Saturday holiday observed on Friday) are not counted, so the last legal day shown is never later than the real one. File by the target date when you can. For a Higher-Level Review the date is when the form must be received by VA, not postmarked. The calendar file puts each open deadline on its target date with reminders 30, 7 and 1 day before.
| Deadline | Window | Clock starts | Received or postmarked? | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intent to File expires | 1 year | Date VA received the ITF | A complete claim must be received within the year, or the ITF's effective-date protection is lost | 38 CFR 3.155(b) |
| Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996) — not available after an HLR or Board decision (38 CFR 3.2500(c)) | 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 of the decision notice (also after a Board or Court decision) | Received within the year for continuous pursuit; filable later, but the effective date resets | 38 CFR 3.2500(h); 3.2501 |
| Board appeal / NOD (VA Form 10182) | 1 year | Date on the notice letter | Postmark accepted: a mailed 10182 postmarked before the deadline is timely; with no postmark of record VA presumes it was mailed 5 days (not counting weekends and legal holidays) before it was received (38 CFR 20.110(a)). File online or by fax to be safe. | 38 CFR 20.203(b); 20.110 |
| Court appeal (CAVC) — Board decisions only | 120 days | Date the Board decision was mailed | Notice of Appeal must reach the Court within 120 days; a legible U.S. Postal Service postmark counts as the receipt date | 38 U.S.C. 7266(a); CAVC Rule 4(a) |
| Board evidence window — evidence-submission docket | 90 days | VA's receipt of the NOD | Evidence submitted with the NOD or within 90 days after VA receives it | 38 CFR 20.303(b)(1) |
| Board evidence window — moved to the evidence docket after the NOD | 90 days | VA's notice that the appeal moved dockets | Evidence submitted within the window | 38 CFR 20.303(b)(2) |
| Board evidence window — hearing docket | 90 days | The Board hearing | Evidence submitted at the hearing or within 90 days after it | 38 CFR 20.302(a)(3) |
| Board evidence window — hearing request withdrawn | 90 days | The Board's receipt of the withdrawal | Evidence submitted within the window | 38 CFR 20.302(b) |
| Board evidence window — hearing missed, not rescheduled | 90 days | The date of the scheduled hearing | Evidence submitted within the window | 38 CFR 20.302(c) |
| 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.
The period runs to the next workday. 38 CFR 3.110(a) (claims, Higher-Level Reviews, Supplemental Claims, evidence VA asks for) and 38 CFR 20.110(b) (the Board appeal and Board evidence windows) both say that where the time limit would expire on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the next succeeding workday is included; CAVC Rule 26(a) does the same for a Notice of Appeal to the Court. The tracker shows the target date with its weekday and, when it lands on a weekend or one of the 11 federal holidays, the last legal day next to it — a row is only marked overdue once that day has passed. Filing by the target date is still the safe practice.
Yes. Everything you enter lives in this browser's localStorage on your own machine; no client data you enter is transmitted, synced, or stored on any server, and there is no account. The page itself loads standard analytics and ad tags (Google Analytics and Google Ads) and anonymous usage counters, which see the page address and clicks, never what you type into the tracker. 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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