Review Lanes of the AMA

2. Mail Intake Procedures

Introduction

This topic contains information about AMA mail intake procedures, including:

• review lanes of the AMA
• legacy appeals eligible for AMA participation - opt-in
• acceptable forms for seeking review
• time frames
• placing review elections under control
• ineligible HLR reasons
• handling Board mail when received with DROC mail
• mail clarification
• handling co-mingled mail for other business lines
• folders excluded from VBMS processing, and
• due process exceptions requiring DROC final action.

Change Date

April 14, 2026

4.2.a. Review Lanes of the AMA

The AMA offers two VBA lanes to claimants for review of their benefits decisions:

• HLRs, or
• supplemental claims

Supplemental claims require either identification or submission of new and relevant evidence, while HLRs consider the evidentiary record as it existed at the time of the date of notification of the prior decision under review.

VA will not review an issue simultaneously pending in another AMA lane, or in any other benefit claim process including a rating claim, non-rating claim, or legacy appeal (absent a request to withdraw the pending issue). A supplemental claim may follow any other type of VBA decision (for example, HLR or effectuating a Board decision). VA will not allow an HLR of a previous HLR or an HLR of a Board decision.

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Note: An appellant may contest a Board decision and protect the potential effective date by appealing to CAVC or by submitting a supplemental claim within a year of the Board decision. The latter also requires the submission, or at least citation, of new and relevant evidence.

The AMA maintains the ability of claimants to appeal to the Board, but with significant changes. Previously, the Board retained jurisdiction of appeals from the receipt of the VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans’ Appeals. However, for decisions issued on or after February 19, 2019, the effective date of the AMA, the Board assumes jurisdiction of all appeals from the initial notice of disagreement, which is now the VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement).

Reference: For more information on:

• continuously pursued issues after Board decisions, see 38 CFR 3.2500(c)(3)
• simultaneously contested claims under AMA, see 38 CFR 3.2500(g)

4.2.b. Legacy Appeals Eligible for AMA Participation (Opt-In)

Claimants may opt-in to the modernized appeals system for any appeal currently in the legacy process for which they have received a Statement of the Case (SOC) or Supplemental SOC (SSOC) dated on or after February 19, 2019. To participate in the modernized appeals system, the claimant must submit a completed application within 60 days from the date of the SOC or SSOC, or within the one-year appeal period from the date of notification of the decision being reviewed, whichever is later. See M21-5, Chapter 4, Topic 2.c.

Note: Once the opt-in election is received and the legacy appeal withdrawn, the claimant may not return to the legacy appeal process from the AMA review.

Important: A claimant may opt into the modernized appeals system for one, some, or all issues currently in the legacy appeals system.

For example, the claimant has three issues pending in the legacy appeal process: service connection for a back condition and a left foot condition, and a request for an increased evaluation for the service-connected anxiety disorder. The claimant receives a SOC for all three conditions. The claimant chooses to opt into the supplemental claim lane in AMA and has identified new and relevant evidence for VA to consider regarding the back and left foot conditions on the completed VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim. The service-connected anxiety disorder will remain in the legacy appeal system.

Opting into AMA is issue based, not claim based.

4.2.c. Acceptable Forms for Seeking Review

For reviews of decisions issued on or after February 19, 2019, the claimant, or authorized representative, must seek review in writing by submitting either VA Form 20-0996, Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review, or VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim. VBA will not accept review requests in any format other than the prescribed forms.

Forward any VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement) to the Board through its Centralized Mail (CM) portal.

Important: For decisions issued prior to February 19, 2019, the legacy appeals process still applies. Accordingly, a claimant seeking review of a compensation decision issued prior to February 19, 2019, must submit a timely VA Form 21-0958 Notice of Disagreement, and may then opt-in to AMA upon receipt of an SOC/SSOC as described above.

Note: A claimant may submit a VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim, at any time, including during the legacy appeal period or any time thereafter.

4.2.d. Time Frames

To preserve the earliest effective date, VA will generally accept review requests from any eligible claimant, or the authorized representative, who requests a review within one year of the date of notification of the decision. VA must receive an HLR request within one year of the decision notification. However, claimants may submit a supplemental claim at any point after the initial decision. For effective date provisions for decision reviews, please refer to 38 CFR 3.2500.

Reference: For more information on effective dates for claims continuously pursued following a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the Supreme Court of the U.S., see Policy Letter 20-01.

4.2.e. Placing Review Elections Under Control

VA receives HLRs and supplemental claims, for compensation and pension issues, through the CM portal.

VA’s HLRs and supplemental claims forms are enterprise-wide and can be used to seek review of any VA claims decision. Accordingly, both forms contain a box for the claimant to select the benefit type. The M21-5 encompasses guidance for compensation and pension benefit claims only. If the claimant requests a benefit type other than compensation, pension, DIC, or survivor benefits, re-route the mail package to the office of jurisdiction in accordance with the Centralized Mail Portal User's Guide.

When VBA receives an HLR and/or a supplemental claim in the CM portal, intake personnel follow the steps below to place the claim under control.

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4.2.f. Ineligible HLR Reasons

Review the VBMS eFolder to determine if the claimant has a prior decision eligible for processing as an HLR.

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Important: An HLR of an issue is complete when the reviewer finds an error in the duty to assist (DTA). Supplemental decisions that correct DTA errors do not themselves constitute HLRs, and so are not precluded by an "HLR of an HLR." Therefore, VA may accept HLRs of decisions returned for development and decided under an EP 040. For example: The claimant files an HLR for a knee condition on September 1, 2020. The reviewer determines there is a DTA error and returns the issue for additional development. Following that development, a rating decision is completed on January 1, 2021, again denying service connection for the knee condition. A letter notifying the claimant of this decision is also sent on January 1, 2021. On February 1, 2021, the claimant files an HLR for the same knee condition. VA can accept this request because the previous decision was directly from the duty to assist return with a different evidentiary record, not an HLR.

4.2.g. Handling Board Mail When Received With DROC Mail

When a mixed mail package is received through the CM portal containing AMA decision review requests intended for both the Board and VBA, such as a VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), and VA Form 20-0996, Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review or VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim, the VBA intake team should take the steps below.

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Note: If mail is received outside of the Centralized Mail Portal, either fax the documentation to 1-844-678-8979 or mail the documentation to

Board of Veterans' Appeals

PO Box 27063

Washington, DC 20038

Reference: for more information on downloading documents from the CM Portal, please see the Centralized Mail Portal User's Guide.

4.2.h. Mail Clarification

If the DROC receives mail and it is unclear if the material submitted is related to a Board appeal or a decision review, make at least one attempt to contact the claimant or power of attorney (POA) by telephone to clarify the intentions.

If contact is successful, document the claimant’s intent on a VA Form 27-0820, Report of General Information, and upload it into the claimant’s eFolder.

Process the mail and/or forward the mail to the Board for action.

If contact with the claimant is unsuccessful, and the mail packet only includes evidentiary mail, forward the mail to the Board for action. If the mail packet includes AMA claims forms, on which the claimant attempted to select multiple AMA review lanes for the same issue, upload the packet to VBMS - do not reroute the mail packet to the Board (see note at the bottom of this block).

Additionally, use the following text for a permanent note in VBMS:

Mail received on [insert date] and claimant has both a pending decision review and Board appeal. Unable to reach the claimant and/or POA to clarify issues.

If contact is unsuccessful, generate the Clarification of Decision Review Request letter and modify the introduction wording to explain that the correspondence was unclear and to resubmit the claim.

Note: The Clarification of Decision Review Request letter should also be used when DROCs receive decision reviews simultaneously for the same contentions in different lanes.

For example, the Veteran has claimed both a higher-level review and a supplemental claim for posttraumatic stress disorder in one submission. However, if one lane can be clearly eliminated, such as an HLR received outside of a year, or the Veteran very clearly identified new and relevant evidence, allow the Veteran into the appropriate lane and notify the Veteran via letter that we have accepted the claim as an HLR or Supplemental Claim. Advise the Veteran that if this is incorrect, the Veteran should contact VA. Do not choose a lane for the Veteran if one lane cannot be clearly eliminated.

4.2.i. Handling Co-Mingled Mail for Other Business Lines

If a DROC receives mail pertaining to benefits other than compensation or pension, such as fiduciary, education, insurance, or Veterans Readiness and Employment, the intake team will generally follow the guidance in M21-1, Part II, Subpart i, 2.D.7.a and take the steps below.

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Note: The DROCs will completely process all compensation and pension issues that are comingled with HLR and supplemental mail packages.

Reference: for more information on downloading documents from the CM Portal, please see the Centralized Mail Portal User’s Guide.

4.2.j. Folders Excluded From VBMS Processing

Appeals and decision reviews are generally available in VBMS for processing. However, certain exceptions do apply. Documents and claims folders that fall under these exceptions should not be sent for scanning.

Claims folders that must remain in paper format include

• paper folders currently under CAVC hold due to an appealable Board decision.

References: For more information on

• paper folders located at a DROC, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart i, 1.8.b
• claims folders that are sensitive level 8 or higher, see M21-1, Part II, Subpart ii, 2.B.1.a, and
• maintaining a paper claims folder for a folder under CAVC hold, see M21-5, Chapter 6, Section C, 2.c

4.2.k. Due Process Exceptions Requiring DROC Final Action

Due process actions, controlled with EP 600s, are eligible for recall by National Work Queue (NWQ) following establishment, and distributed to the appropriate business line, based on claim attributes. The appropriate claim label for the EP 600 is necessary based on M21-4, Appendix C to ensure the claim is correctly routed by NWQ. However, the final action on contested claims should be taken by the DROCs upon expiration of the due process period. In order to properly maintain DROC control, DROCs must follow the below, as appropriate:

• For due process issues related to agent/attorney fees, where there is a failure to make funds available on DROC-related workload, agent/attorney fee coordinators (AAFC) must use the claim label "600 AFPM - DROC - Attorney Fee Predetermination Notice."
• For all non-attorney fee contested claim due process issues, DROCs must add special issue " Appeal Issue Intertwined " to EP 600s requiring DROC processing.

References: For more information on

• agent/attorney fee workload, see M21-5, Chapter 8, and
• contested claims, see M21-1, Part VI, Subpart iii, 3.