VA Form 20-10206 requests military or VA benefits records, including your claims file, called a C-file, and compensation and pension examination reports. Its title includes both the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act. When you request your own benefits records, start with VA's personal-records process.

Download the current VA Form 20-10206 PDF

Download the official August 2023 VA Form 20-10206 PDF, linked from VA's form page. I checked all four pages on October 2, 2026. Page 1 contains instructions; the numbered application begins on page 2.

VA also offers an online request through that form page. Use the PDF walkthrough below when completing the paper version. Do not copy field numbers from an older edition or assume the online screens will have the same layout.

Who uses it, and which records does it cover?

Use this form when you need records already held by VA for a benefits or military-records request. You may want to read the examination behind a decision, review earlier evidence, or obtain the broader claims file before discussing a decision with your representative.

FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act, allows requests for federal agency records subject to exemptions. The Privacy Act provides U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents access to records about themselves in covered systems. VA's current records guidance directs individual VBA access requests to its Centralized Support Division and identifies 20-10206 as an available form.

VA's FOIA routing page warns that sending a personal-records request through the general FOIA route can delay processing. Choose the personal-records route for your own C-file. The form's broad title does not make every FOIA inbox the right destination.

Three record types often get confused:

  • C-file: The file VA maintains for your benefits claims.
  • Service treatment records: Records of medical care during military service. Our service treatment records glossary explains that category.
  • VA treatment records: Records from your VA health facility. Request your own copy through the facility's Release of Information office using 10-5345a, or authorize an outside recipient using 10-5345.

The 20-10206 includes military-record categories, but VA can only supply records it holds or obtains through the applicable process. VA's routing page also points military service-record requests to the National Archives. A checkbox does not establish that a particular document is already in your C-file.

Section I: Request information about yourself, Items 1 through 9

For your own records, complete the identification section at the top of page 2:

  • Item 1: Your name, with first name, middle initial and last name.
  • Item 2: Your Social Security number.
  • Item 3: Alien registration number, if applicable.
  • Item 4: VA file number, if applicable.
  • Item 5: Date of birth in month/day/year format.
  • Item 6: Place of birth. The form accepts city and state, county and state, or city and country.
  • Item 7: Current mailing address, including apartment, country and postal code where relevant.
  • Items 8A and 8B: Telephone number and fax number, if applicable, with separate international fields.
  • Item 9: Email address and the checkbox agreeing to electronic correspondence from VA.

The instructions specifically identify name, birth date, birthplace, mailing address and handwritten signature for a paper Privacy Act request. Place of birth is easy to overlook. It is not asking where you currently live or where you entered service.

The consent beside the email field is a correspondence choice. It does not establish that VA will deliver every requested record by ordinary email.

Section II: Someone else's records, Items 10 through 16

Skip this section when requesting only your own records. It is for a person or organization requesting information about someone else.

Item 10 identifies the requester or requesting organization. Item 11 gives that requester's mailing address. Items 12A and 12B give the requester's telephone and applicable fax numbers.

On page 3, Items 13 through 16 identify the person whose records are sought: name, Social Security number, applicable alien registration number and applicable VA file number. These are not a second set of contact fields for the helper.

The section instructs third-party requesters to complete the appropriate records section, Section V, Section VII, and the applicable certification in Section IX or X, with remarks when needed. Permission and signature requirements still apply. Typing someone else's identifiers does not establish authority to receive their file.

Sections III and IV: Select the record categories

Section III, Item 17, covers compensation and pension records. Its selections are:

  • Claims file, or C-file.
  • Service treatment or military treatment records.
  • DD Form 214.
  • Disability examinations, or C&P exams.
  • Pension benefit documents.
  • Official Military Personnel File, or OMPF.
  • Other, with an explanation.

Select the types you actually want. For C&P reports, Item 17 specifically directs you to put the examination date in Item 20 when applicable. If you need the whole claims file, say so through the C-file selection and a clear description rather than checking only exams.

Section IV, Item 18, covers other benefits records: Veteran Readiness and Employment, fiduciary services, education, financial records, home loan benefits, life insurance and other identified records. For financial records, explain which records in Item 20. For life insurance, put the policy number there when applicable.

You do not need an unrelated education or loan-record request merely because you are requesting a disability C-file. Additional boxes describe additional records you want VA to locate.

Sections V and VI: Regional office and remarks

Item 19 asks for the VA regional office associated with the request, if known. The printed instructions specifically include this section for requests about another person. Do not substitute the name of a VA hospital for a regional office.

Item 20 provides remarks. Use it to clarify scope, give the examination date requested in Item 17, identify financial records or provide an applicable insurance policy number.

For a targeted examination request, useful identifying details include the condition, examination date and provider if known. For a complete C-file request, make clear that you want the entire file rather than one decision. Avoid putting claim arguments here when the immediate job is identifying records.

Section VII: Read the fee language in Item 21

Item 21 asks about willingness to pay applicable fees up to a stated amount and provides a place to request a fee waiver or expedited processing. Its explanation discusses FOIA requester categories and copying charges.

Do not treat that printed fee schedule as a demand to include a check with every personal C-file request. VA's Privacy Act handbook distinguishes personal benefits-record requests from third-party FOIA requests and provides a duplication-fee waiver for one complete set of your benefits records.

Read the language for your request type, state any applicable fee limit, and explain the basis if requesting a waiver or expedited processing. If VA raises a fee question, resolve it with the records office. A fee-waiver request and a request to process records faster are separate choices; neither checkbox guarantees faster delivery.

Sections VIII through X: Use the correct signature

For your own paper request, sign Item 22A in ink and date 22B. The certification states that the request is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief.

For a third-party request, Items 23A and 23B provide the third party's signature and date. The form says a valid 21-0845, authorizing disclosure to a third party, must be on record or completed and attached.

For an authorized power-of-attorney representative, Items 24A and 24B provide the signature and date. The form requires a valid 21-22 or 21-22a on record or attached. Our representation-form walkthrough explains those appointments.

The third-party and representative sections are conditional. Do not collect unrelated signatures when signing for your own records, and do not sign someone else's name because you prepared their form.

Fictional example: Ask for the complete claims file

This is a fictional worksheet exercise with no real person, identifiers or claim history.

An unnamed veteran wants the complete benefits file and wants VA to identify a right-knee C&P examination dated February 12, 2026 within that request.

  • Section I: The veteran's own identifiers, birthplace and current contact information.
  • Item 17: Claims file and disability examinations.
  • Item 20: A description requesting the complete claims file, including the right-knee examination report and any associated medical opinion from February 12, 2026.
  • Section VII: Reviewed for the personal-records request, including any applicable fee or waiver statement.
  • Items 22A and 22B: The veteran's ink signature and actual signing date.

That description identifies records; it does not assert that the examination is favorable or that the claim should be granted. If the veteran wanted only that examination report, the request would state that narrower scope instead.

Where to submit the request

The official form and VA's current privacy page identify these routes:

  • Online application: For your own records, start with the online tool linked from VA Form 20-10206.
  • Signed-document upload: VA's FOIA routing page directs VBA privacy requests for C-files, service records and C&P exams to AccessVA and its QuickSubmit option.
  • Mail: Department of Veterans Affairs, Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444. Page 1 identifies the Centralized Support Division as records custodian.
  • Fax: 844-531-7818, printed on page 1 for this request.

Keep the signed form, its attachments and your submission confirmation. Use an official route for the personal identifiers on the application.

Claim Raven's C-file request page gives you the official starting point and a manual tracker for your request date and receipt. A free account is required for the tracker, and progress is saved in that browser. It records what you enter; it does not query VA's processing system.

What happens next, and mistakes to avoid

VA must identify and process the requested records. Respond to questions about identity, scope, authorization or fees, and use the contact information in its acknowledgment when following up. The form lists 800-827-1000 for assistance. I did not verify a current guaranteed completion time for a C-file request.

Check for these avoidable problems before sending:

  • Missing birthplace or paper signature.
  • The requester's details entered where the subject's details belong.
  • “C&P exams” selected without available dates or other identifying details.
  • A whole-file request described as only one report.
  • Third-party signatures without the authorization the form requires.
  • Treatment-chart requests sent to benefits intake instead of the medical facility.

When the file arrives, compare the contents with your request. Note missing dates or reports before assuming the package answers every question. Requesting records is also separate from filing a decision review. Our 20-0995 guide explains Supplemental Claims when new and relevant evidence is involved.

Sources and scope

Verified October 2, 2026: VA's form page, all four pages of the August 2023 PDF, privacy guidance, records-routing guidance and linked Claim Raven pages. The PDF still displays an August 31, 2026 OMB expiration date. VA continued to provide that edition on the verification date; I did not verify a separate OMB renewal.

The example is fictional. This guide covers access to records, not a determination that a particular record exists or that a request changes any claim deadline.

Where to go next

Claim Raven is data analysis, not legal, medical, or VA-accredited advice. An accredited representative can help you review the records and any pending claim deadlines.

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