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What you can do

Claim or appeal stuck with no update

A free accredited representative can see inside your claim and push it; you never need to pay for claim help.

Steps

  1. Check the status of your claim or appeal on VA.gov, or call the VA benefits line at 800-827-1000. Check claim status
  2. Get free help from an accredited Veterans service organization or county veterans service officer. Never pay anyone to file or speed up a claim. Find accredited help
  3. If it has been stuck for months with no explanation, contact your member of Congress’s caseworker (below) and send the letter.

Who to contact

Patient Advocate
Ask your VA facility’s main number for the Patient Advocate.Handles complaints at the facility. Start here.
Your member of Congress
Find your Representative · Your SenatorsEvery office has caseworkers who help with VA problems for free. Ask for “casework”; they can contact the VA for you with your written permission.
White House VA Hotline
855-948-231124 hours a day. For concerns the facility hasn’t resolved.
VA Inspector General hotline
800-488-8244 · report onlineOnly if you believe wait times or records were falsified, or other wrongdoing.

In crisis? Call 988 and press 1, or text 838255. In an emergency, call 911.

Ready-to-send letter

Fill in the parts in [brackets], then send it by secure message, email or mail to the Patient Advocate. Keep a copy. Don’t include your full Social Security number.

After it’s resolved, or not

Update your review so the next Veteran knows what happened. If the VA marks this problem fixed, Veterans who visit afterward are asked whether it really was; your answer decides.

Update or write a review

Practical help from Veterans, not legal advice. RateMyVA is independent and not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.