Claim Raven explanation
What this means
A hearing request must be made with the Board Notice of Disagreement or through a permitted modification of that notice. The Board rejects a hearing request made at another time under this rule.
The one-change provision concerns the method of the hearing after the Board gives notice. Postponement and failure-to-appear questions are governed by other hearing rules and should not be treated as the same request.
How this helps your claim
After a hearing is requested, the Board selects the method that can be scheduled on the earliest practical date and sends notice. After that notice, an appellant may make one request for a different hearing method. The Board must give at least 30 days' notice of the hearing's time and location unless the appellant accepts an earlier opening or a separate postponement or failure-to-appear rule controls the rescheduling.
What to check in your records
Compare the hearing request, any timely modification of the Notice of Disagreement, the Board's method notice, and any later method-change request as one sequence.
- Keep the filed Notice of Disagreement and proof that the hearing option was selected.
- Save the Board notice identifying the scheduled hearing method, time, and location.
- Preserve the single method-change request, the Board's response, and any acceptance of an earlier hearing date.
Make the hearing choice in the Board appeal
Select the hearing option when completing the Board Notice of Disagreement. If a permitted modification is needed, follow the current Board instructions and keep proof of receipt because a hearing request made at another time is rejected under this section.
When the scheduling notice arrives, check the method, time, and location immediately. If you want the one allowed method change, make the request clearly and retain the Board's decision on it.
Can I ask for a Board hearing after filing an appeal without one?
Only if the request is part of a permitted modification of the Notice of Disagreement under section 20.202. This rule says a hearing request made at another time will be rejected.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 20.703
eCFR snapshot: 2026-09-17. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 20.703 Rule 703. When a hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals may be requested; procedure for requesting a change in method of hearing.
(a) How to request a hearing. An appellant, or an appellant's representative, may request a hearing before the Board when submitting the Notice of Disagreement, or when requesting to modify the Notice of Disagreement, as provided in Rule 202 (§ 20.202). Requests for such hearings at any other time will be rejected.
(b) Board's determination of method of hearing. Following the receipt of a request for a hearing, the Board shall determine, for purposes of scheduling the hearing for the earliest practical date, whether a hearing before the Board will be held at its principal location or by picture and voice transmission at a facility of the Department located within the area served by a regional office of the Department.
(c) Notification of method of hearing. The Board will notify the appellant and his or her representative of the method of a hearing before the Board.
(d) How to request a change in method of hearing. If an appellant declines to participate in the method of hearing selected by the Board, the appellant's opportunity to participate in a hearing before the Board shall not be affected. Upon notification of the method of the hearing requested pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, an appellant may make one request for a different method of the requested hearing. If the appellant makes such a request, the Board shall grant the request and notify the appellant of the change in method of the hearing.
(e) Notification of scheduling of hearing. The Board will notify the appellant and his or her representative of the scheduled time and location for the requested hearing not less than 30 days prior to the hearing date. This time limitation does not apply to hearings which have been rescheduled due to a postponement requested by an appellant, or on his or her behalf, or due to the prior failure of an appellant to appear at a scheduled hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals with good cause. The right to notice at least 30 days in advance will be deemed to have been waived if an appellant accepts an earlier hearing date due to the cancellation of another previously scheduled hearing.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7105(a), 7107)
[84 FR 186, Jan. 18, 2019]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 20.702: How the Board conducts appeal hearings
- 38 CFR § 20.700: The purpose and limits of a Board hearing
- 38 CFR § 20.201: What creates a modernized Board appeal
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