VA glossary
Decode common VA disability claim acronyms and terms: ITF, DBQ, nexus, AMA, HLR, SOC, SSOC, Correia, M21-1, CFR, and dozens more, with plain-English definitions.
VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration)
The arm of the VA that handles disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, and other benefits. Not to be confused with the VHA (Veterans Health Administration), which runs hospitals and clinics.
VHA (Veterans Health Administration)
The VA's healthcare system, hospitals, clinics, and medical centers. Separate from VBA, which handles benefits.
RO (Regional Office)
One of ~56 VA regional offices that process disability claims. Each veteran is initially assigned to an RO based on home address, but claims often transfer between offices for workload balancing.
NWQ (National Work Queue)
The VA's centralized workload distribution system that routes claims to whichever Regional Office has capacity. This is why your claim can move between offices.
EP (End Product)
A VA processing code that identifies the type of claim (e.g., EP 010 = Original Compensation, EP 020 = Supplemental). EP codes appear on letters and in your claim status. Claim Raven's VA Codes reference explains the common ones.
ITF (Intent to File)
A filing that reserves your effective date for up to 1 year. If you submit a complete claim within that window, the VA treats it as if you filed on the ITF date, which protects retroactive pay.
BVA (Board of Veterans' Appeals)
The body that decides appeals when veterans disagree with regional office rating decisions. BVA decisions are public but generally nonprecedential, so one veteran's decision does not establish a binding rule for another claim. Ask Raven and Raven Research may use them as clearly labeled fact-pattern examples.
CAVC (U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims)
A federal court that reviews BVA decisions when veterans appeal further. Cases like Shedden v. Principi and Hickson v. West established the elements veterans must prove for service connection.
AMA (Appeals Modernization Act)
2017 law that restructured VA appeals into three lanes: Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, and Board Appeal. Replaced the older legacy appeal system.
HLR (Higher-Level Review)
An appeal lane where a senior VA reviewer takes a fresh look at the closed record. The reviewer cannot consider genuinely new evidence first received after VA issued notice of the prior decision, but evidence VA actually or constructively received before the record closed is not made new merely because it was overlooked.
Supplemental Claim
An appeal lane where you submit new and relevant evidence. The VA decides based on the original record plus the new evidence.
DROC (Decision Review Operations Center)
Specialized centers (typically in St. Petersburg, Seattle, Denver, and St. Louis) that handle Higher-Level Reviews and Supplemental Claims.
DBQ (Disability Benefits Questionnaire)
A standardized VA form that documents a medical condition for rating purposes. Filled out by a VA examiner during a C&P exam or by a private provider.
C&P Exam (Compensation & Pension Exam)
The medical exam the VA orders to evaluate a claimed condition. The examiner completes a DBQ and gives an opinion on severity and (when relevant) nexus.
Nexus
The medical link between an in-service event and a current condition. A nexus letter from a qualified provider explains why the condition is 'at least as likely as not' caused by service.
STR (Service Treatment Records)
Medical records created during your active service. These are key evidence for proving in-service occurrence of conditions. Raven Scan can analyze STRs alongside Blue Button reports.
Blue Button
A report you can download from VA.gov that consolidates your VA health record, visits, conditions, medications, labs. Raven Scan uses Blue Button reports to surface evidence and gaps.
Lay Statement
Your firsthand account, as the veteran, of what you experienced. Lay statements are valuable evidence and are accepted by the VA. Raven Scribe helps you write strong ones.
Buddy Letter
A third-party statement from someone who personally witnessed your condition or its impact, fellow service members, family, supervisors, or close friends.
SC (Service Connection)
Recognition that a condition was caused or made worse by military service. Establishing SC is the gateway to a disability rating and monthly compensation.
SMC (Special Monthly Compensation)
Additional VA compensation above the standard rating, paid for specific conditions like loss of use of a limb, blindness, or being housebound. SMC levels run K through T.
Combined Rating
The single percentage the VA assigns based on all your individual ratings. It is NOT a simple sum, the VA uses a 'whole person' formula in 38 CFR Section 4.25.
Bilateral Factor
An extra 10% bonus the VA adds when conditions affect both sides of the body (both knees, both shoulders). The Raven Calculator applies this automatically when you check the 'Bilateral' box.
TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability)
VA pays at the 100% rate even when combined rating is less than 100%, if you can't maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected conditions.