Claim Raven explanation
What this means
The Board may remand an appeal when more evidence, clarification, a procedural correction, or another essential action is needed for a proper decision. It generally refers an unadjudicated claim raised by the record to the agency of original jurisdiction.
A remand is not a final allowance or denial of the remanded issue. A referral also does not decide the separate claim. The Statement of the Case provision in paragraph (c) concerns legacy appeal procedure, so the appeal system and decision date must be identified before applying it.
How this helps your claim
A remand sends an appealed issue back for specified action. A referral sends a separate, unadjudicated claim to the VA office that can decide it. The rule also contains a legacy-appeal provision requiring remand for a Statement of the Case when a timely Notice of Disagreement has not been resolved by a full grant or withdrawal. Several listed actions, including procedural clarification, certain legal consideration, specified evidence review, medical opinions, and matters within the Board's original jurisdiction, do not require remand or referral.
What to check in your records
Read the Board document issue by issue and label each outcome as a decision, remand, or referral, then identify the exact action and VA component assigned to it.
- Keep the Board decision and every numbered remand instruction or referral statement.
- Preserve later development notices, examinations, opinions, and agency decisions responding to a remand.
- For a legacy appeal, keep the Notice of Disagreement, any full-grant or withdrawal document, and the Statement of the Case history.
Track each ordered action separately
Turn each remand instruction into a checklist tied to the later record that is supposed to satisfy it. This makes it easier to see whether VA obtained the requested evidence, provided the required process, and returned the right issue.
Keep referred matters separate from remanded appeal issues. A referral identifies a matter for initial action by the proper VA office, while the remand remains part of the appeal's procedural history.
Does a Board remand mean I won the appeal?
No. It means the Board determined that another action is needed before the affected issue can be properly decided. The remand instructions show what must happen next.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 20.904
eCFR snapshot: 2026-09-17. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 20.904 Rule 904. Remand or referral for further action.
(a) Remand. If further evidence, clarification of the evidence, correction of a procedural defect, or any other action is essential for a proper appellate decision, a Veterans Law Judge or panel of Veterans Law Judges shall remand the case to the agency of original jurisdiction, specifying the action to be undertaken.
(b) Referral. The Board shall refer to the agency of original jurisdiction for appropriate consideration and handling in the first instance all claims reasonably raised by the record that have not been initially adjudicated by the agency of original jurisdiction, except for claims over which the Board has original jurisdiction.
(c) Remand for a Statement of the Case. In cases before the Board in which a claimant has timely filed a Notice of Disagreement with a determination of the agency of original jurisdiction on a claim, but the record reflects that the agency of original jurisdiction has not subsequently granted the claim in full and has not furnished the claimant with a Statement of the Case, the Board shall remand the claim to the agency of original jurisdiction with instructions to prepare and issue a Statement of the Case in accordance with the provisions of part 19, subpart B of this chapter. A remand for a Statement of the Case is not required if the claimant, consistent with the withdrawal requirements of § 19.55 of this chapter, withdraws the Notice of Disagreement.
(d) Exceptions. A remand or referral to the agency of original jurisdiction is not necessary for any of the following purposes:
(1) Clarifying a procedural matter before the Board, including the appellant's choice of representative before the Board, the issues on appeal, or requests for a hearing before the Board;
(2) Considering law not already considered by the agency of original jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, statutes, regulations, and court decisions;
(3) Reviewing additional evidence received by the Board, if, pursuant to Rule 1305 (§ 20.1305(c) of this part), the appellant or the appellant's representative waives the right to initial consideration by the agency of original jurisdiction, or if the Board determines that the benefit or benefits to which the evidence relates may be fully allowed on appeal;
(4) Requesting an opinion under Rule 906 (§ 20.906 of this part);
(5) Supplementing the record with a recognized medical treatise; or
(6) Considering a matter over which the Board has original jurisdiction.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7102, 7103(c); 38 U.S.C. 7104(a), 7105 (2016)).
[67 FR 3104, Jan. 23, 2002, as amended at 69 FR 53808, Sept. 3, 2004; 76 FR 17547, Mar. 30, 2011. Redesignated at 84 FR 177, Jan. 18, 2019, as amended at 84 FR 4337, Feb. 15, 2019; 84 FR 34788, July 19, 2019]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 20.5: The right to representation in a Board appeal
- 38 CFR § 19.30: What VA sends with a legacy Statement of the Case
- 38 CFR § 19.34: Appealing a finding that a legacy appeal was late
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