Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This rule explains the contents of a legacy Substantive Appeal, commonly filed on VA Form 9. It should identify the issues appealed and set out the factual or legal errors being challenged.
If a Statement of the Case addresses several issues, the appeal must identify whether all or only certain issues are being continued. This is a legacy procedure, separate from the modernized Board Notice of Disagreement.
How this helps your claim
Compare the completed Form 9 with the Statement of the Case. State the disagreement in terms of the evidence or rule at issue, and make the intended scope of the appeal clear.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Check which issues the Statement of the Case addressed.
- Verify that the Substantive Appeal identifies the intended issues.
- Keep the filed document and proof of timely receipt under the applicable legacy deadline.
Connect the disagreement to specific findings
A Substantive Appeal should identify the issues being continued and the factual or legal errors challenged. Referencing the relevant part of the Statement of the Case can make the concern clearer than a general statement that the decision is unfair.
If several issues were addressed, distinguish those being appealed from those not being continued. Keep the completed filing and receipt with the notice. The Board's liberal reading of arguments should not be used as a reason to leave the intended scope unclear.
Does appealing one issue automatically continue every issue?
Do not assume that. The regulation requires identifying whether all or selected issues are being appealed. A decision can contain several distinct determinations. Clear issue identification helps establish what the Board is being asked to review without relying on inference from unrelated statements.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 19.22
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 19.22 Substantive Appeal.
A Substantive Appeal consists of a properly completed VA Form 9, “Appeal to Board of Veterans' Appeals,” or correspondence containing the necessary information. If the Statement of the Case and any prior Supplemental Statements of the Case addressed several issues, the Substantive Appeal must either indicate that the appeal is being perfected as to all of those issues or must specifically identify the issues appealed. The Substantive Appeal should set out specific arguments relating to errors of fact or law made by the agency of original jurisdiction in reaching the determination, or determinations, being appealed. To the extent feasible, the argument should be related to specific items in the Statement of the Case and any prior Supplemental Statements of the Case. The Board will construe such arguments in a liberal manner for purposes of determining whether they raise issues on appeal, but the Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination, or determinations, being appealed. The Board will not presume that an appellant agrees with any statement of fact contained in a Statement of the Case or a Supplemental Statement of the Case which is not specifically contested. Proper completion and filing of a Substantive Appeal are the last actions the appellant needs to take to perfect an appeal.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 2900-0085)
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7105(d)(3)-(5) (2016))
[57 FR 4109, Feb. 3, 1992, as amended at 61 FR 20450, May 7, 1996. Redesignated and amended at 84 FR 177, 178, Jan. 18, 2019]
Related references
- 38 USC § 7105: Filing a Board Appeal
- 38 CFR § 3.2400: Modernized and Legacy VA Appeals Explained
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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