Ready for the next step? Find other evidence when service records are missing
Why these records matter
An STR entry can document when symptoms began, what happened during service, the examination findings, and the treatment provided. Example: In a hypothetical ankle claim, a note recording pain after a training injury may support the in-service event even if the current diagnosis has a different name.
That entry does not automatically prove a current disability or the medical connection between the old injury and today's condition. Use the evidence guide to separate those questions. If records are missing, Claim Raven's guide to other evidence for missing STRs covers the next steps in more detail.
What is usually in an STR file?
VA's M21-1 service-records instructions, III.ii.2.A.1 describe STRs as chronological medical and dental records, in paper or electronic form, primarily documenting outpatient treatment. Older documents may call them service medical records, or SMRs.
An STR file may include entrance and separation examinations, sick-call notes, diagnoses, test results, dental care, and other health documentation. What actually exists depends on the service period, treatment setting, and how the records were maintained.
STRs are different from military personnel records, which concern matters such as assignments, training, evaluations, and duty history. Both may help a claim, but requesting one category does not necessarily obtain the other. A DD214 is a separation document, not a substitute for either complete file.
Which records may be stored separately?
The same M21-1 section distinguishes ordinary STRs from inpatient clinical records and certain mental health records kept separately by military treatment facilities. The main file may contain a summary without the underlying hospital chart.
Off-base medical or mental health treatment also may not be included unless copies were provided for inclusion in the military record. Records of treatment as a retiree or military dependent are separate from the active-service STR file.
When requesting a missing hospital stay, identify the facility, approximate admission dates, and condition treated. Saying only “my STRs are incomplete” may not identify the separate record collection that needs to be searched. Also review the periods covered: a packet labeled complete does not guarantee that every encounter you remember appears in it.
How VA obtains STRs and how you can request copies
For a qualifying claim, 38 U.S.C. 5103A and 38 CFR 3.159 establish VA's responsibilities to obtain relevant service records. Federal-record requests generally continue until the records are obtained or VA concludes that they do not exist or further efforts would be futile.
You can submit copies you already have and identify missing periods or facilities. For your own request, start with VA's military-records guidance. The appropriate custodian depends on the branch, record type, and service dates; not every request belongs with the same office.
If VA already has the records in your claims file, a personal-records request using Form 20-10206 may be the appropriate route. The C-file guide explains how service records fit into the larger benefits record.
If the records cannot be found
Ask which records were requested and what response the custodian gave. VA's unavailable-records notice generally must identify the records, explain its efforts and next steps, and tell you that you remain responsible for providing the evidence.
Alternative evidence may include copies retained at home, letters written during service, private treatment shortly after separation, or statements from people who observed the event or symptoms. VA's reconstruction guidance describes alternatives when records were destroyed in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire. Do not assume that fire explains every missing STR file.
Describe what you and other witnesses actually observed. Missing records do not automatically establish service connection, but an absent treatment entry is not a reason to invent a diagnosis or abandon other relevant evidence. A clinician may still need to address the connection to your current condition.
What Claim Raven's Board data shows
In Claim Raven's Board-decision dataset, 35.9% of 68,192 condition records in the service-treatment-records category were granted. A condition record represents one claimed condition in one Board decision. The data was computed August 3, 2026, from a collection predominantly covering 2024 and 2025.
This category reflects evidence discussed in the written decision, not a complete inventory of every document VA possessed. These are appealed claims reaching the Board, not all VA claims. The result shows an association within that sample; it does not prove STRs caused the grants or predict your chance of approval. See the evidence statistics and methodology.
Common mistakes
- Requesting only personnel records when medical records are needed. Name the record type.
- Assuming the main STR packet includes an entire inpatient chart. Identify separately stored treatment.
- Treating an in-service diagnosis as a complete claim. Current disability and the required connection still matter.
- Assuming no treatment entry means no usable evidence. Look for other records and competent witness statements.
Questions veterans ask
Are VA treatment records the same as STRs?
No. STRs document military service care. VA treatment records document care through VA. Both may be relevant to the same claim.
Should I upload records VA already has?
Check what is missing first. If a particular entry matters, identify its date and subject clearly. Repeatedly submitting an entire duplicate file may make the important evidence harder to identify.
Can I file before receiving my copy?
You can identify the relevant records and ask VA to obtain them as part of a qualifying claim. Consider filing-date rules and VA's requests rather than assuming you must wait indefinitely for a personal copy.
Claim Raven explains VA rules in plain English so you can work your own claim. It is not legal advice, and Claim Raven is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Browse every VA term.