VA Form 20-0998 explains your right to seek review of a VA decision. You do not fill it out and send it back. You choose an available review option and submit that option's application: 20-0995, 20-0996 or 10182.

The current notice is dated April 2024. It has no numbered application items, claimant signature line or return address. I reviewed both pages of the official PDF. This walkthrough follows its actual comparison rows and page-two exceptions rather than inventing fields that are not there.

Read it beside the decision letter

VA's form page says 20-0998 outlines review rights for decisions dated on or after February 19, 2019. It replaces several older notices of procedural and appellate rights.

Keep the decision letter beside it. The letter identifies the decided issues, explains the result and provides the date used for the applicable review deadline. Form 20-0998 describes the options; it does not tell you which option fits the evidence in your particular case.

For each issue you disagree with, write down the exact issue, decision-notice date and reason VA gave. Separate a denied service-connection issue from a disagreement about a rating or effective date. A review request should identify what you want reviewed rather than simply say you disagree with everything.

If the letter is difficult to parse, Claim Raven's Raven Eye explains decisions and their stated reasons with passages you can check against the original. Use that explanation to prepare the issue list before choosing a review. Keep the actual VA notice as your deadline source.

First row: what each review does

The notice's What Is This? row compares three different tasks:

  • Supplemental Claim: A reviewer considers whether new and relevant evidence changes the prior decision.
  • Higher-Level Review: An experienced adjudicator reviews the decision using the evidence VA previously considered.
  • Board Appeal: A Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans' Appeals reviews the decision.

These are not three rounds you must complete in order. Which options remain available depends on the kind of decision and any review already completed. You may not pursue more than one review option for the same issue at the same time, as the notice states at the top of page 1.

Different issues require their own deliberate choices. Do not send the same disputed issue through all three forms in the hope that one moves faster.

Supplemental Claim: new and relevant evidence

Under By Selecting This Option, the notice explains that you add or identify new and relevant evidence VA did not previously consider. New means it was not previously part of the record being considered. Relevant means it tends to prove or disprove a matter at issue. VA can assist in gathering qualifying evidence you identify.

Fictional example: VA denied a condition because the record lacked evidence connecting it to service. The claimant now has a medical opinion VA has not considered that addresses that connection. A Supplemental Claim may fit because the request depends on additional evidence. The example does not assume that the new opinion is adequate or that VA will grant the claim.

Use VA Form 20-0995. The item-by-item Supplemental Claim example explains how to identify the decided issue, notice date and supporting evidence. Do not attach a newer document without checking whether it answers the reason for the decision.

VA's Supplemental Claim page also describes claims based on a change in law. If that is your situation, read those instructions instead of assuming every Supplemental Claim follows an identical evidence pattern.

The 20-0998 notice says you may request a hearing during the Supplemental Claim process. That is distinct from choosing the Board's Hearing docket.

Higher-Level Review: an error in the existing record

Higher-Level Review does not accept new evidence. It asks an experienced reviewer to assess the earlier decision using the existing record. You may request an optional, one-time informal conference to identify specific errors.

Fictional example: A treatment record was already before VA, but the claimant believes the decision overlooked a relevant finding in that record. The claimant wants to identify the existing page and explain the alleged error. That is different from obtaining a new medical opinion and trying to introduce it during the conference.

Use VA Form 20-0996. Claim Raven's Higher-Level Review form example walks through the issue list, conference request and signatures. Prepare the conference around the existing evidence and alleged error; it is not a hearing for adding new factual evidence.

VA's Higher-Level Review guidance says this option generally follows an initial claim or Supplemental Claim decision and must be requested within one year of the decision-letter date. It is unavailable for contested claims, and you cannot request another Higher-Level Review after a Higher-Level Review or Board decision on the same issue.

Board Appeal: select one of three dockets

The Board column has an additional choice. A docket determines whether you want a hearing and when the Board may consider additional evidence.

  • Direct Review: The judge reviews the existing record. You do not submit new evidence or request a hearing.
  • Evidence Submission: You may submit evidence with the appeal or within 90 days after the Board receives the appeal request.
  • Hearing: You have a hearing with a Veterans Law Judge. The standard evidence window allows submission at the hearing or within 90 days afterward.

These windows come from VA's Board Appeal instructions. A hearing request is not a promise that the Board will consider evidence sent at any time you choose. Follow the instructions for the selected docket and any later change, cancellation or withdrawal.

Fictional example: A claimant wants a Veterans Law Judge to review an issue and has additional evidence ready to submit, but does not want a hearing. Evidence Submission may fit that preference. Choosing it still does not determine the strength of the evidence or the appeal's result.

Use VA Form 10182. The Board Appeal form walkthrough explains the current form's issue entries and docket selections. Do not send 20-0998 with a handwritten Hearing checkmark as a substitute.

The remaining page-one rows: goals, forms and later options

The Goal To Complete row prints 125 days for Supplemental Claims, 125 days for Higher-Level Reviews and 365 days for Board Direct Review, with longer periods for other Board options. These are the goals printed in the April 2024 notice, not measured current wait times or a guaranteed completion date for your case.

The Form To File row and QR codes lead to the actual applications. Confirm the edition through VA's current form page when preparing your request. The edition of the rights notice does not determine which edition of 10182 or 20-0995 to use.

The Further Options After This Decision Review row explains what may follow:

  • After a Supplemental Claim decision, another Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review or Board Appeal may be available.
  • After Higher-Level Review, the listed options are a Supplemental Claim or Board Appeal.
  • After a Board decision, the listed options are a Supplemental Claim or an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Those later steps have their own requirements. VA's Board page identifies a 120-day deadline to appeal a Board decision to the Court. That filing goes to the Court, not a VA intake center.

Page two: deadlines and exceptions

The notice says that for most VA benefits, requesting review within one year of the decision-notice date protects the opportunity for the earliest possible effective date. It directs you to the decision notice for specific limits.

A Supplemental Claim can generally be filed later, but the notice warns that a later award's effective date will generally be tied to receipt of that Supplemental Claim. A late filing is not simply equivalent to continuous pursuit within the required period.

Page two also mentions a request to revise a decision based on clear and unmistakable error. That is a separate, demanding legal standard, not a routine replacement for a missed review deadline.

Two exceptions need particular attention:

  • Contested claims: Apportionment, attorney-fee disputes and certain competing survivor or insurance claims have different procedures. The notice directs a Board appeal within 60 days, rather than the usual one-year choice among three lanes. See VA's contested-claim instructions.
  • Insurance decisions: The notice describes an additional U.S. district court option within six years after the right of action first accrues. Follow the specific insurance decision's instructions and seek qualified help; a district court complaint is not one of the three VA applications.

Do not assume an intent to file or an informal statement replaces the actual review request. Record the notice's deadline and submit the correct form through the correct route.

Where to submit the form you actually choose

There is no completed 20-0998 to mail or fax. For the review request:

Supplemental Claim, Form 20-0995: VA offers an online application for disability compensation. On paper, disability compensation requests go to Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547. Pension and survivor requests go to PO Box 5365 in Janesville, WI 53547. Other benefits use the destinations listed on VA's Supplemental Claim page.

Higher-Level Review, Form 20-0996: VA offers online filing for disability compensation. Paper compensation requests go to Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547. Pension and survivor requests go to PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547. Use VA's benefit-specific instructions for other claims.

For compensation correspondence, including those compensation review requests, VA's intake page lists fax 844-531-7818, or 248-524-4260 for foreign claimants. Do not apply that fax number to every benefit type.

Board Appeal, Form 10182: VA offers an online application, in-person submission and mailing to Board of Veterans' Appeals, PO Box 27063, Washington, DC 20038. The Board fax is 844-678-8979, according to VA's Board Appeal instructions. It is a different destination from compensation intake.

What happens afterward, and mistakes to avoid

Keep the submitted application, evidence list and confirmation. Respond to VA's requests and follow the evidence rules for your selected lane. For a Board appeal accepted for review, VA says you will receive a letter confirming that the case has been added to the docket.

Before submitting, check that you have not:

  • Sent back 20-0998 instead of the actual review form.
  • Listed the wrong decision date or omitted a disputed issue.
  • Chosen Higher-Level Review while relying on new evidence.
  • Requested two lanes for the same issue at once.
  • Assumed a Board hearing permits evidence at any time.
  • Used a one-year deadline for a contested claim.
  • Sent a Board appeal to the compensation fax.
  • Treated a printed processing goal as a promise.

Sources and scope

Verified September 25, 2026: VA's form page, both pages of the April 2024 notice, current Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, Board Appeal and contested-claim instructions, and compensation intake details. The examples are fictional alternatives, not findings about a real claim. This guide concerns the notice's review choices, not an individual recommendation or predicted outcome.

Where to go next

Claim Raven is data analysis, not legal, medical, or VA-accredited advice. An accredited representative can review the notice, available lanes and deadline with you.

-Landon Founder, Claim Raven | U.S. Army Veteran