If you want to learn how to implement these strategies to get the VA benefits you deserve, click here to speak with a VA claim expert for free.
You can expect to get a VA rating decision within 30-90 calendar days after your final VA C&P exam.
Although you are likely to be scheduled for a C&P exam within the first 30 calendar days after submitting your claim, the rating process after the exam is currently the longest part of the VA claim process.
It’s important to note that this timeline can vary based on several factors including:
In 2024, you can expect to receive a VA rating decision within 30-90 calendar days after completing your last C&P exam.
Your claim could take longer, potentially up to 120 days or more, for a decision after your C&P exam, depending on the complexity of your claim and the VA’s current workload.
If it’s been longer than 120 days, we recommend you call the VA hotline at 1-800-827-1000 and speak to a VA representative about your VA claim status.
Note: The VA’s published timeline for claims processing from submission to rating decision is around 155 calendar days for both fully developed claims and standard claims.
Receiving a timely VA rating decision is crucial for veterans seeking their rightfully earned VA benefits.
Several factors can delay the processing of a VA claim:
Multiple Conditions: Claims involving multiple conditions or secondary conditions can take longer to review and decide.
Complex Medical Issues: Conditions requiring extensive medical evidence or specialist opinions can also slow down the process.
Missing Documents: Incomplete medical records or lack of necessary documentation can delay the claim.
Inadequate Evidence: Insufficient evidence to support the claim may lead to additional requests from the VA, prolonging the process.
Detailed Documentation: The thoroughness and clarity of the C&P examiner’s report can impact the speed of the decision.
Additional Exams: If the initial C&P exam is deemed insufficient, additional exams may be required, causing delays. A veteran might get a second or third exam, which can significantly impact the rating timeline.
High Volume of Claims: VBA regional offices with a high volume of claims or a significant backlog may take longer to process individual claims. How quickly a VA Rater can review and rate claims also impacts the claim processing timelines.
Staffing Levels: Understaffed offices can experience delays in processing times. This has been a big problem for the VA since 2020.
Clarification Needed: Requests for additional evidence or clarification can extend the timeline as the VA waits for the necessary information.
Veteran Response Time: Delays in responding to VA requests for additional information can further slow down the process.
There are the four main reasons why the VA is taking so long to decide your VA claim:
More claims than ever are being submitted to the VA, in particular, a sharp rise in PACT Act related claims for benefits.
For example, as of August 2024, there are 979,178 pending VA claims (submitted, but not decided), which is the highest number in a decade.
Note: Pending claims include VA disability compensation and pension claims that have been received by the VA and require development and a decision by a VA claims processor.
The Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) is having trouble recruiting and retaining quality talent, especially among the VSRs and RVSRs (key personnel who adjudicate VA claims for benefits).
Even though the VA is making progress, their staffing issues have been a problem since 2020.
The VBA’s systems are broken and outdated, especially the Veteran Benefits Management System (VBMS), which is the primary system VA personnel use to review and adjudicate your disability claim.
In addition, the exam requesting system is outdated and does not properly send the correct exam information to the private C&P exam companies, which causes a delay in conducting adequate exams for rating purposes.
Finally, the cloud system that ties to tracked VA claim items is not working properly, which causes claims that should be sent to reviewers to get stuck in the cloud (station 499).
We have seen a spike in VSRs and RVSRs ordering C&P exams for veterans who have submitted a Fully Developed Claim with a privately prepared DBQ.
This is called “overdevelopment” of a VA claim and shouldn’t be happening.
Overdevelopment bogs down the VA system when in reality, the RVSR can make a rating decision on the submitted DBQ alone without ordering a separate C&P exam.
Stop snap-ordering C&P exams when they aren’t needed!
You can help the VA help you get your VA claim approved faster, regardless of the claims backlog!
The VA Rater is not out to deny your claim — it’s on you to give the VA all the evidence the VA Rater needs to make a more accurate rating decision faster.
At VA Claims Insider, we teach veterans the “SEM Method,” which stands for Strategy + Education + Medical Evidence = VA Rating You Deserve Faster (Regardless of the VA Claims Backlog)
Your VA claim Strategy should focus on:
Your VA claim Education should focus on:
Your VA claim Medical Evidence should focus on:
If you’ve already submitted your VA claim, you can call 1-800-827-1000 to check status.
Brian Reese is a world-renowned VA disability benefits expert and the #1 bestselling author of VA Claim Secrets and You Deserve It. Motivated by his own frustration with the VA claim process, Brian founded VA Claims Insider to help disabled veterans secure their VA disability compensation faster, regardless of their past struggles with the VA. Since 2013, he has positively impacted the lives of over 10 million military, veterans, and their families.
A former active-duty Air Force officer, Brian has extensive experience leading diverse teams in challenging international environments, including a combat tour in Afghanistan in 2011 supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Brian is a Distinguished Graduate of Management from the United States Air Force Academy and earned his MBA from Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business, where he was a National Honor Scholar, ranking in the top 1% of his class.
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Dear Veteran,
Here’s the brutal truth about VA disability claims:
According to our data, 8/10 (80%) of veterans reading this message right now are underrated by the VA…
This means you do NOT currently have the VA disability rating and compensation YOU deserve, and you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of tax-free compensation and benefits each month.
As a fellow disabled Veteran this is shameful and I’m on a mission to change it.
Brian Reese here, Air Force service-disabled Veteran and Founder @ VA Claims Insider.
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