What this means
The National Pension Automation Quality Review (NPAUTOQR) checklist examines automated work on State plot, month-of-death, burial, dependency and indemnity compensation, rating and pension decisions. It also reviews notices and actions outside the end product under review. This is a quality-control framework, not a single eligibility test for those different benefits.
How this may help with a claim
Use the eight written question explanations to identify which part of an automated action concerns you. A decision on entitlement, the rating explanation and the notice are separate review subjects. Match your concern to the record and underlying benefit rule rather than treating a checklist answer as a promise of payment.
What to review in your file
The general accuracy instruction says all questions answered Yes or N/A make a case accurate, while any No makes it in error. Every question must be answered. Yes means accurate work and No means error; N/A applies to an inapplicable question or the described case where a No already covers the only issue under review. Any error or No requires a narrative supported by statutory, regulatory, judicial or manual authority.
The first four questions review different benefits. State plot includes correct claim establishment and entitlement; month-of-death and burial decisions have their own cited authorities. The dependency and indemnity compensation question includes dependency and the relationship between the Veteran's cause of death and service. The table does not supply every condition or make eligibility for one benefit establish eligibility for another.
Questions 5 and 6 separately check the rating and pension entitlement. The rating must be warranted and have a correct narrative and code sheet explaining each decision, for awards as well as denials. The pension question concerns entitlement and eligibility under its cited rule. A correct notice does not cure a wrong decision, and the checklist is not a replacement for those underlying rules.
Question 7 checks timely notice to claimants and representatives for awards and disallowances. Question 8 addresses other actions unrelated to the end product under review. Both headings expressly say non-BE error regardless of the selection in QMS. Preserve that classification alongside the general any-No accuracy instruction; do not invent an exception that removes these questions from review or equate every recorded error with a BE error.
The general error instruction concerns violations of regulations or established policies, with overpayment and underpayment as examples. Procedural deficiencies normally become comments rather than BE errors, but severe deficiencies become errors. The following sentence about a better practice or difference of opinion uses the unclear wording 'will not be recorded as a comment rather than an error.' This page does not choose a new interpretation of that sentence.
Important limits
The supplied instructions are dated May 29, 2026. The source display includes the original sample checklist images and the eight-question explanation. The source uses NPAUQR in one heading and NPAUTOQR elsewhere, and describes the statutory month-of-death citation as regulations. Those labels are not silently repaired into new authority. The any-No accuracy statement, express non-BE categories and unclear opinion sentence must be read together without inventing a scoring result. This entry does not define BE or certify current benefit rules.
Search terms when useful
Phrases that may help when searching your claim file or this library.
- National Pension Automation Quality Review
- NPAUTOQR checklist answers and evidence narrative
- State plot month-of-death and burial quality checks
- Automated DIC rating and pension review
- Notification and unrelated actions non-BE errors
Original VA guidance
The official VA text of this section
Official section title: National Pension Automation Quality Review (NPAUTOQR) Checklist
This page reproduces the VA text. Use the official VA source for any images and linked documents.
Appendix F. NPAUTOQR Checklist
Introduction
This appendix contains information on the NPAUTOQR checklist, including
- NPAUTOQR Checklist, and
- instructions and guidelines for NPAUTOQR.
Change Date
May 29, 2026
Appendix F.a. NPAUQR Checklist
The following is a sample of the National Pension Automation Quality Review (NPAUTOQR) Checklist.
Checklist Name: NPAUTOQR
Checklist Questions and Errors:
Appendix F.b. Instructions and Guidelines for NPAUTOQR
These instructions and guidelines have been developed to promote consistency and uniformity in the review of cases for the nation. Use these instructions and guidelines in conjunction with the NPAUTOQR Checklist.
For the purpose of measuring technical accuracy under the National Quality program, a case is considered either accurate or in error. A case will be considered accurate when all questions of the NPAUTOQR Checklist are either answered Yes or N/A. A case will be considered in error if the answer to any question is No.
For each case reviewed, an NPAUTOQR Checklist must be completed and all questions answered.
- A Yes response indicates that the activity associated with the question was completed accurately.
- A No response indicates that the activity associated with the question was in error.
- A N/A response if the question is not applicable to the case under review or if a No response was previously recorded for the only issue subject to review. A narrative summary is required with statutory, regulatory, judicial, or manual references for any error or No answer recorded.
The general guideline is that an error will be recorded when an action is taken that violates current regulations or established policies. Examples of outcome-related deficiencies include, but are not limited to, errors that result in overpayment or underpayment to a claimant.
Procedural deficiencies are not recorded as BE errors. These deficiencies are recorded as comments. However, if the procedural deficiency is severe in nature, it will be recorded as an error. A judgment or a difference of opinion reflecting a possible better practice or solution will not be recorded as a comment rather than an error.
The table below provides an explanation of the checklist questions.
Scroll sideways to see the full table.
| Question | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 1. Was State Plot Decided Correctly? | An error would be cited under this element if the claim establishment or the decision on entitlement as defined in 38 CFR 3.1707 was incorrect. |
| 2. Was the Month of Death (MOD) Decided Correctly? | An error would be cited under this element if the decision on entitlement was incorrect. Please refer to 38 U.S.C. 5310 for regulations regarding Month of Death benefits. |
| 3. Was Burial Decided Correctly? | An error would be cited under this element if there are deficiencies in following burial regulations contained in 38 CFR 3.1700 through 3.1713. |
| 4. Was DIC Decided Correctly? | An error would be cited under this element if the decision on entitlement does not meet the requirements outlined in 38 U.S.C. 1310. Entitlement includes factors on dependency and the relationship between the veteran’s cause of death and their military service. |
| 5. Was the Rating Decision properly completed? | An error would be cited under this element if the rating decision is not warranted or has deficiencies in the Narrative and/or code sheet section of the rating decision. The rating decision states the decisions made and provides an explanation supporting each decision. This rule applies to both awards and denials. |
| 6. Was Pension Decided Correctly? | An error would be cited under this element if the decision on entitlement and eligibility was incorrect in accordance with 38 CFR 3.314(b)(2). |
| 7. Was Notification correct? (Categorized as non-BE error regardless of selection in QMS) | An error would be cited under this element if there are notification issues as defined in 38 CFR 3.103. Claimants and their representatives are entitled to timely notice of any decision made by VA. This rule applies to both awards and disallowances. |
| 8. Were All Other Actions Correct (Unrelated to EP Under Review (Categorized as non-BE error regardless of selection in QMS) | An error would be cited under this element if there are discrepancies that would have otherwise been considered as errors had the EP in question been under review. |