The letter in your hand has three clocks running and at least one number worth double-checking. Enter the date on the letter to get your exact deadlines, then re-run the VA's own math from the ratings printed on it — every step shown.
Photograph it or upload the PDF. We pull out every decision, rating, diagnostic code and date, fill in both tools below, and show — for each denied issue — what the Board actually granted when the record held each kind of evidence. No account.
This part is not in-browser. “Read my letter” sends your file (or pasted text) to VetAid’s server and to an AI model (Anthropic’s Claude) to read it. It is processed in memory and not stored. Photos, and scanned PDF pages our server can’t read on its own, are read by the AI model as images, before anything is removed. Social Security numbers, file numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers and addresses are then stripped from the text before the analysis model sees it. For a client’s letter, cover those identifiers before you photograph it, or paste the text instead. The deadline and math sections below run entirely in your browser.
| Lane | Form | Window | Clock starts | Received or postmarked? | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher-Level Review — not after an HLR or Board decision (38 CFR 3.2500(c)) | 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 your effective date | Date VA issued the decision notice | Received within the year for continuous pursuit | 38 CFR 3.2501 |
| Board appeal (Notice of Disagreement) | 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 | Notice of Appeal to the Court | 120 days | Date the Board decision was mailed | Must reach the Court within 120 days; a legible U.S. Postal Service postmark counts as the receipt date | 38 USC 7266(a); CAVC Rule 4(a) |
If a deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, the period runs to the next workday (38 CFR 3.110(a); 38 CFR 20.110(b); CAVC Rule 26(a)) — the deadline rows above show that day. A Supplemental Claim filed after the one-year window is still allowed with new and relevant evidence — you don't lose the claim, you generally lose the earlier effective date (back pay runs from the new filing instead). And the Higher-Level Review deadline is received-by, so never mail it in the final week.
Enter every individual rating listed on the letter, mark the ones affecting both arms or both legs (paired limbs), then enter the combined rating the letter printed. We re-run 38 CFR §4.25/§4.26 — including the §4.26(d) rule that VA must use whichever grouping of bilateral ratings gives the higher result — and show every step. The most commonly documented VA math error — a missing bilateral factor — never appears as a line item on the letter, so recomputing is the only way to see it.
| The letter says… | What it means |
|---|---|
| "Entitlement to service connection is deferred" | Not decided yet — VA needs more development on that issue and a separate decision will follow. It is not a denial, and no appeal clock starts on a deferred issue. |
| "Service connection granted… evaluated at 0 percent" | You won the connection but at a noncompensable level. This still matters: it locks in service connection for any future worsening, opens the door to secondary claims, and a 0% can later be increased. |
| "A routine future examination has been scheduled" | Your rating is not permanent — VA plans to re-examine the condition and could adjust the rating. |
| "Permanent and total" / no future exams language | The 100% combined status is considered static; dependents' education (Chapter 35) and CHAMPVA eligibility typically attach to P&T. |
| "Combined evaluation" | Not the sum of your ratings — it's the whole-person calculation under 38 CFR §4.25 (check it in section 2 above). |
| "Effective date" | The date your payments are computed from — usually the claim-received date. If you think it should be earlier (an earlier claim, an intent to file), that is itself an appealable issue. |
| "Entitlement to special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1114(k)" | SMC-K — an add-on paid on top of your regular compensation for loss of use of certain organs or extremities. If you see any SMC code, decode it with our SMC calculator. |
| "The evidence does not show a link (nexus) to service" | The denial is about the connection element, not the diagnosis. This is the element most often fixable with a medical nexus opinion in a Supplemental Claim. |
| "We made a decision based on the evidence of record" | Often appears when a C&P exam was missed or records didn't arrive — the decision used only what VA had. New and relevant evidence via a Supplemental Claim reopens the question. |
| "Remanded" (Board decisions) | Sent back to the regional office for more development and another decision. A remand is not a loss. |
VetAid's AI reads your decision letter against thousands of real Board decisions — contradictions, missed secondaries, examiner errors, and what to file next. Free for veterans — no credit card, no catch.
Analyze my decision letter freeVA Disability Calculator (combined rating) · Back Pay Calculator · TDIU Eligibility Checker · SMC Calculator · Higher-Level Review, explained · 2026 Pay Chart · Q&A Library
Deadline rules from 38 CFR 3.2500(c), 3.2601(d), 3.2501, 3.110(a), 20.203, 20.110 and 19.52(b), 38 USC 7266(a) and CAVC Rules 4(a) and 26(a); holidays per 5 U.S.C. 6103(a); combined-rating math from 38 CFR §4.25 and §4.26, including §4.26(d) (88 FR 22917, Apr. 14, 2023) — checked 2026-10-03. This is general information computed from the date and numbers you enter, not legal advice; deadlines can differ in edge cases (e.g., contested claims), so confirm against your letter's own appeal-rights enclosure (VA Form 20-0998). VetAid is not VA-accredited.
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