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Glossary

Every term we use, in plain words. If you see a word on this site you do not know, it should be here.

Aid and Attendance (A&A): Extra pay (SMC) when you need another person's regular help to dress, eat, bathe, use the bathroom, or stay safe. Also an add-on if your spouse needs that help.
AMA (Appeals Modernization Act): The 2019 system of review options: Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, and Board Appeal. Replaced the old "Notice of Disagreement" appeals process.
Bilateral factor: A 10% bonus VA adds when you have rated conditions on both arms or both legs, before combining them with everything else (38 CFR 4.26).
Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA): Judges in Washington who decide appeals. Slowest path, but a Veterans Law Judge reads your whole file.
Buddy letter (lay statement): A written statement from someone who saw what happened in service or sees how your condition affects you now. VA Form 21-10210.
C-file (claims file): Everything VA has on you: your claims, decisions, exams, and records. Request it with VA Form 20-10206. You need it to see what VA saw.
C&P exam: Compensation and Pension exam. A one-time exam VA orders to measure how bad a condition is. Not treatment. The examiner fills out a DBQ.
Combined rating: Your overall percentage. VA does not add ratings; it combines them on the remaining "whole person" (38 CFR 4.25), then rounds to the nearest 10. Use the calculator.
Continuous pursuit: Filing each review within one year of the last decision so your effective date stays protected back to the original claim.
CRDP / CRSC: Programs that let military retirees keep retired pay and VA compensation together. CRDP: 20-year retirees at 50%+. CRSC: combat-related conditions, tax-free, through your service branch.
DBQ (Disability Benefits Questionnaire): A VA form, one per condition type, that records the facts a rater needs. C&P examiners use them; your own doctor can complete one too.
DEA / Chapter 35: Dependents' Educational Assistance: monthly school money for the spouse and children of a P&T veteran.
DIC (Dependency and Indemnity Compensation): Monthly payment to survivors of a veteran who died of a service-connected condition (or after 10 years at P&T, in some cases).
Direct service connection: The condition started or was caused in service. Needs the three legs: diagnosis, in-service event, nexus.
Effective date: The date your benefits start counting from. Usually your Intent to File date or claim date. Back pay runs from here. The most valuable date in your file.
Extra-schedular: A rating granted outside the normal percentage rules, for example TDIU when you do not meet the 60/40/70 numbers. Rare.
Fully Developed Claim: A claim you certify has all the evidence attached. No longer faster than a standard claim, but harmless to check if true.
Higher-Level Review (HLR): A senior reviewer re-reads the same evidence for errors. No new evidence allowed. VA Form 20-0996, within one year.
IMO (Independent Medical Opinion): A detailed written medical opinion, usually from a specialist who reviewed your records, often used to counter a C&P exam.
Intent to File: A notice that you plan to file a claim. Holds your effective date for one year. VA Form 21-0966, or start a 21-526EZ online.
Lane: Our shorthand for the six claim paths: A first claim, B Higher-Level Review, C Supplemental Claim, D increase, E secondary, F TDIU.
Nexus: The medical link between your condition and your service (or another service-connected condition). A doctor has to say it in writing. Your own statement is not a nexus.
P&T (Permanent and Total): A 100% (or TDIU) rating that VA has marked as not expected to improve. Unlocks CHAMPVA, Chapter 35, and most state 100% benefits. Explainer.
Presumptive condition: A condition VA presumes is service-connected if you served in a listed place and time (Vietnam, Gulf War, burn pits under the PACT Act, Camp Lejeune, radiation sites). Skips the nexus leg.
Pyramiding: Rating the same symptoms twice under two names. Not allowed (38 CFR 4.14). Separate body systems and separate symptoms can be rated separately.
Rating decision / code sheet: The letter explaining VA's decision, plus the code sheet listing each condition, its diagnostic code, percentage, and effective date.
Secondary service connection: A new condition caused or made worse by a condition that is already service-connected (38 CFR 3.310). Sleep apnea secondary to PTSD, for example.
SMC (Special Monthly Compensation): Extra pay above the regular schedule for specific losses: loss of use of a limb, housebound status, need for aid and attendance.
Supplemental Claim: A review based on new and relevant evidence VA has never seen. VA Form 20-0995. Within one year keeps your effective date; later is allowed but the date usually moves.
TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability): Paid at the 100% rate when service-connected conditions keep you from steady, substantially gainful work. Usual threshold: one 60%, or 70% combined with one 40%.
VHIC (Veteran Health Identification Card): The photo ID you get when enrolled in VA health care. Marked "SERVICE CONNECTED," it is your pass to commissaries and exchanges.
VSO (Veterans Service Organization / Officer): Accredited organizations (DAV, VFW, American Legion, state and county offices) and the trained officers who help with claims for free.
5103 notice: VA's letter telling you what evidence it needs. You have one year to respond. The "5103 waiver" box on a Supplemental Claim form tells VA to skip the wait.