When the Board of Veterans' Appeals denies your claim, you generally have 120 days from the date the decision was mailed to file a Notice of Appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Miss it and the decision usually becomes final, regardless of how wrong it was.

That deadline is the reason to call early rather than after you've finished deciding. Reviewing a Board decision costs you nothing and carries no obligation. What it buys you is a straight answer about whether the Board made an error a federal court can correct.

What the Review Covers

• Whether the Board applied the correct law and regulations
• Whether it gave adequate reasons and bases for its findings
• Whether favorable evidence in the record went unaddressed
• Whether VA met its duty to assist in developing your claim
• How much time remains on your appeal deadline

What We Will Tell You

Sometimes the answer is that the Board got it right, or that the error is too minor to change the outcome. We say so. A Veteran who spends a year on an appeal that was never going to succeed has lost time they could have spent on a supplemental claim or a new filing instead.

An honest no is more useful than an optimistic yes, and we would rather give you one than take a case that cannot be won.

What to Send

• Your Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, including the date it was mailed
• Any correspondence you've received from VA since
• A brief description of what you believe was decided incorrectly

The Board decision is the important one. Everything else helps, but that document is what the Court reviews.

Why the Court Is Different

The Court does not re-decide your claim or take new evidence. It examines the record that was already before the Board and asks whether VA followed the law in reaching its decision. That makes the review a legal question rather than a medical one — and it means the analysis of your case is a different exercise than the one your claim went through at VA.

Start the Conversation

If you have a Board denial and the 120 days are running, the sensible next step is to have someone read it. It costs nothing to find out where you stand.