Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This rule identifies grounds on which the Board may reconsider a decision, including alleged obvious factual or legal error and newly discovered relevant service-department records.
Reconsideration is not automatically granted because you disagree with the Board or obtain any new medical report. The request must fit an identified basis and follow the separate filing requirements.
How this helps your claim
State the particular error or newly discovered service record and explain its relevance to the decision. Review section 20.1002 for the information the motion must contain.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Identify the precise Board decision and issue.
- Locate the alleged obvious error or relevant service-department record.
- Check the motion requirements and any Court appeal deadline affected by the procedural history.
Match the request to a recognized reconsideration ground
The rule identifies particular reasons the Board may reconsider a decision. Start with the stated ground and the facts supporting it. A newly obtained document needs to be assessed by its type and relevance rather than treated as an automatic basis for reconsideration.
For an alleged obvious error, identify the particular factual or legal statement in the decision. For service department records, identify the records and their relationship to the issue. Keep the filing requirements in section 20.1002 with this substantive grounds analysis.
Does any new medical opinion require reconsideration?
No. Obtaining a later opinion does not automatically satisfy one of the specified grounds. Other review procedures may address new evidence under different requirements. Reconsideration should be understood through its own recognized basis, not as a general request to retry the claim with any new material.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 20.1001
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 20.1001 Rule 1001. When reconsideration is accorded.
Reconsideration of an appellate decision may be accorded at any time by the Board of Veterans' Appeals on motion by the appellant or his or her representative or on the Board's own motion:
(a) Upon allegation of obvious error of fact or law;
(b) Upon discovery of new evidence in the form of relevant records or reports of the service department concerned; or
(c) Upon allegation that an allowance of benefits by the Board has been materially influenced by false or fraudulent evidence submitted by or on behalf of the appellant.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7103, 7104)
[57 FR 4109, Feb. 3, 1992. Redesignated and amended at 84 FR 190, 191, Jan. 18, 2019]
Related references
- 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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