Veterans Newsletters
How to Apply for Benefits…
When applying for benefits there are basic forms that must be completed. This page lists the forms required to apply for various VA benefits, as well as what additional documents may be required to show eligibility. This booklet includes copies of the VA forms listed, so you can familiarize yourself with them now. You can find current versions online at www.va.gov/vaforms
IF: |
USE FORM: |
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS THAT MAY BE REQUIRED |
| You wish to apply for pre-need eligibility in a National Cemetery | VA Form 40-10007 | • Veteran’s Military Discharge |
| You wish to apply for a: -Burial Flag -Government Medallion, or -Headstone/Marker |
VA Form 27-2008 VA Form 40-1330M VA Form 40-1330 |
• Veteran’s Military Discharge |
| You wish to apply for burial benefits | VA Form 21P-530 | • Veteran’s Military Discharge • Death Certificate • Transportation Invoice |
| You wish to apply for DIC benefits for the Veteran’s: -Surviving spouse/child(ren) -Surviving parent(s) -Surviving spouse/child(ren) as a result of combat-related death |
VA Form 21P-534EZ VA Form 21P-535 VA Form 21P-534a |
• Veteran’s Military Discharge • Death Certificate • Declaration of Status of Dependents (VA Form 21-686c) |
| You wish to apply for a: Survivors Pension (*with aid and attendance or housebound benefits) |
VA Form 21P-534EZ | • Veteran’s Military Discharge • Death Certificate • *Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Aid and Attendance (VA Form 21-2680) |
| You wish to apply for The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) | VA Form 10-10d | • Veteran’s Military Discharge |
| You wish to apply for a: -Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program (DEA) -Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship Post 9/11 GI Bill |
VA Form 22-5490 | • Veteran’s Military Discharge |
| You wish to apply for home loan | VA Form 26-1817 | • Veteran’s Military Discharge |
| You wish to file a VA Life Insurance claim* SGLI & VGLI All other Programs |
SGLV 8283 VA Form 29-4125 |
• Insured’s Death Certificate • Insured’s Death Certificate |
*for additional information or applying for a VA Life Insurance policy, visit https://www.va.gov/life-insurance/optionseligibility
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Veterans and next of kin can obtain free copies of a DD-214 and other service records. Fax or mail
Standard Form SF 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records), to the address indicated on the back of the form, or fill out online[1]. Or call NARA customer service staff at 314-801-0800 if you have questions or require same-day service (e.g. upcoming surgery or funeral).
VA Contact Information
If you wish to speak directly to a VA representative, contact VA at the following phone numbers:
• For burial, Survivors Pension, DIC, or other benefits: 1-800-827-1000
• For the status of VA headstones and markers: 1-800-697-6947
• For obtaining bereavement counseling: 1-202-461-6530
• For Telecommunications Device for the Deaf services, dial 711
• For VA Life Insurance information related to Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, Traumatic
Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, Family Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance: 1-800-419-7473
• All other VA Life Insurance Programs: 1-800-669-8477
UPDATE FORM BOB ON VA C&P EXAMS
Please share, what people are going to hear in the next couple of days will not be accurate. This morning at the Cabinet meeting when Secretary Collins gave his update he mentioned at the end that he was looking at using VA records to do away with the need for C&P exams. (He did not say all C&P exams)
Many sites in the Veteran social media sphere went nuts over the Secretary doing away with all C&P exams, which is not what he said. Common sense would tell you not every Veteran who files a claim is seen in the VA - so maybe no records to use for that purpose.
Obviously I do not know Secretary Collins, I assume he is very sharp. And he does have a real point here. Most of you know I worked for 25 years in the VA with Veterans with impaired vision. In a C&P exam for visual accuity loss a Snellen (Big E) eye chart is used. In a regular VA eye exam you probably are screened with the same type eye chart. There are stricter protocols in a C:& P exam, but they could be duplicated in an Eye Clinic screening with some education and practice.
Have I ever used a screening from a VA Eye Clinic to help a Veteran file a claim? Yes, I went over what was needed with the nurse who did the screening. My office in San Diego VA was part of the Eye Clinic. I did not have her fudge anything, just utilize the measurements used in a C&P exam.
For example, Light Perception only means a great deal in vision loss ratings, it has to do with levels of Special Monthly Compensation. The C&P definition of Light Perception for rating purposes is different from the average Eye Doctor's definition.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) defines light perception as the ability to distinguish between light and dark, or day and night, without the capacity to recognize test letters at 1 foot (0.30m) or identify hand movements/objects at 3 feet (0.91m).
When you are doing a screening of someone with such low vision it is important to document the details. Seeing the big E at 11 inches vs. 12 makes a big difference in a rating.
A screener would need to know this. Or, maybe these are the cases you do order a C&P for, and use Eye Clinic screeners for routine eye chart cases, where the vision loss is not so severe.
So what about the other 70+ things that we have DBQs for? I have no idea. I guess the PT's can take pretty accurate measurements on how far I can bend my knee. So maybe there is potential to not need a C&P in some cases if the screening is well done. This might work well with mental health too, especially as we slide into the new ratings later this year. I am sure very sharp people can come up with workable systems that are effective.
Bottom line there is a great deal of potential in what the Secretary suggested. They are not doing away with C&P exams. But I have no doubt that if done well using existing records could reduce the need for C&Ps in many cases. It would facilitate faster claims and would be a cost saver for the VA.
And what if it is poorly done? There is that potential too...
Some of you might be saying: They did not use a Big E eye chart with me, how come?
Another eye chart often used is called ETDRS (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study). It was really big and pretty new when I started to work in the VA (which shows how old I am). It provides more information than a Snellen. It was a favorite to use in the Eye Clinic's Diabetes Clinic. It looks like an inverted pyramid, the biggest letters are still at the top.
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