Centralized Mail (CM) Intake

Overview

In This Section

This section contains the following topics:

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1. Overview of CM Process

Introduction

This topic provides an overview of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) CM processing, including

• intent of CM
• roles and responsibilities in the CM process, and
• definitions of CM terms.

Change Date

December 7, 2016

II.i.1.A.1.a. Intent of CM

Centralizing conversion of incoming paper to an electronic medium in the Centralized Mail (CM) process is intended to

• eliminate paper handling by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel at regional offices (ROs)
• reduce the number of times mail is handled in any medium
• expedite uploading of claims, evidence, and other mail to electronic claims folders (eFolders)
• improve customer service and claims processing timeliness through improved mail control processes, and
• implement first in, first out (FIFO) workflow for all mail received.

Reference: For more information on CM, see the CM webpage.

II.i.1.A.1.b. Roles and Responsibilities in the CM Process

The intake processing center (IPC) is responsible for initial screening, control, and uploading to the appropriate eFolder of mail received in the CM portal.

Reference: For more information on IPC roles and responsibilities, see M21-1, Part I, Subpart ii, 1.A.1.b.

II.i.1.A.1.c. Definitions of CM Terms

For definitions of terms related to CM processing, see the table below.

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Reference: For more information on earliest date of receipt, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart i, 2.B.

2. Receipt, Separation, and Routing of Physical Mail in an RO Mailroom

Introduction

This topic provides an overview of processing physical mail received in an RO mailroom, including

• sources of physical mail received at the RO
• separating and routing physical mail
• shipping mail to scanning vendors, and
• proper identification of undeliverable mail containing Federal tax information (FTI).

Change Date

May 4, 2022

II.i.1.A.2.a. Sources of Physical Mail Received at the RO

The USPS automatically sends mail to the scanning vendor when the claimant uses the centralized mail address provided in all development letters.

Physical mail received by the ROs may come from various sources, including, but not limited to

• Veterans service organizations (VSOs)
• walk-in via Public Contact Team (PCT)
• an appellant attending a hearing
• other courier services, including
• United Parcel Service (UPS)
• FedEx
• DHL, and
• other private messenger services
• VA satellite offices, including
• out-based offices
• Benefits Delivery at Discharge, and
• Integrated Disability Evaluation System intake centers
• USPS mail addressed to the previously published RO address, prior to the establishment of CM, and
• USPS undeliverable mail.

II.i.1.A.2.b. Separating and Routing Physical Mail

When physical mail is received by the RO, the mail clerk opens, date stamps, and separates the mail by VA business lines and/or addresses including

• Veterans Service Centers (VSCs)
• pension management centers (PMCs)
• decision review operations centers (DROCs)
• Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA)
• fiduciary hub (hub)
• Education Service
• Insurance Service
• Loan Guaranty Service
• Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
• Veteran Readiness and Employment Service
• National Cemetery Administration
• Human Resources Management
• Director’s office, and
• co-located VSOs.

Once separated, use the table below to route the physical mail.

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Note: Printing a document or otherwise creating a physical copy of an electronic document to facilitate scanning or upload into an electronic records repository is not permitted.

Exception: If FTI is scanned into the portal in error, print the document(s) from the portal and scan into the restricted eFolder. Print the document and click the DOWNLOAD COMPLETE button to remove the document from the portal. Upon printing and scanning, follow the

• procedures for storing and destroying FTI in M21-1, Part XIV, 4.B.2, and
• general safeguarding procedures in M21-1, Part XIV, 4.B.1.

Reference: For more information on date-stamping mail, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart i, 2.B.

II.i.1.A.2.c. Shipping Mail to Scanning Vendors

Once the mail is separated, follow the steps in the table below to ship the mail to the scanning vendor.

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Notes:

• Use the tracking service USPS offers when shipping CM for scanning.
• Each mailroom must maintain a log of tracking numbers for future reference.
• There is no requirement to prepare the Document Control Sheet referenced in M21-1, Part II, Subpart i, 1.B, when shipping CM for scanning.

II.i.1.A.2.d. Proper Identification of Undeliverable Mail Containing FTI

Letters containing FTI are mailed in blue envelopes or manila envelopes. All letters mailed in blue envelopes always contain FTI. Letters mailed in manila envelopes may not always contain FTI. Therefore, a review of the envelope or letter may be required to determine whether undeliverable mail contains FTI.

The table below provides examples of text that might appear in undeliverable mail containing FTI.

Note: The examples below are not an all-encompassing list.

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3. Submitting Documents Via QuickSubmit

Introduction

This topic provides information about submitting documents via QuickSubmit for inclusion in the eFolder, including

• availability and proper use of QuickSubmit
• form validation, and
• confirming successful submission.

Change Date

April 6, 2026

II.i.1.A.3.a. Availability and Proper Use of QuickSubmit

QuickSubmit, which has replaced the Direct Upload tool, is a VA-approved claims and document submission service available for submitting documents to the CM portal for inclusion in the eFolder. QuickSubmit may be used by

• PCT personnel
• VSOs
• VHA personnel, and
• claimants.

Important:

• Once a submission is uploaded, do not mail the original, as this will create duplicates in the eFolder.
• Send only one claimant’s information per submission. Sending more than one claimant’s information in a single submission risks the
• misplacement of one claimant’s information into another claimant’s eFolder, and
• unintentional release of personally identifiable information.

Note: In addition to QuickSubmit, claimants and VSOs may utilize other VA claims submission service websites for submission of claims and evidence.

Reference: For more information on using QuickSubmit, see the QuickSubmit User Guide.

II.i.1.A.3.b. Form Validation

QuickSubmit added a feature called Form Validation Service (FVS), which scans uploaded forms for completeness and checks for accuracy against information previously provided by the user.

FVS will notify the individual using QuickSubmit if missing information or discrepant data has been identified and allow the user to make corrections. The corrections are documented by FVS on an auto-generated VA Form 21-4138, Statement in Support of Claim, and uploaded to the eFolder, along with the original document.

Both the original submission and the VA Form 21-4138 with corrected information will have a QuickSubmit source date stamp, as shown in M21-1, Part II, Subpart iii, 3.A.3.d.

References: For more information on

• FVS functionality, see the QuickSubmit Form Validation Training Guide, and
• using QuickSubmit, see the QuickSubmit User Guide.

II.i.1.A.3.c. Confirming Successful Submission

After submitting documents to the scanning vendor, senders must

• verify in QuickSubmit that all steps of submission have been successful, and
• review the eFolder to ensure the submission was completely uploaded to the claims folder.