Claim Raven explanation
What this means
A clothing allowance can apply when a service-connected disability requires an appliance that damages clothing or prescribed skin medication that irreparably damages outergarments. This statute also addresses recurring payments and eligibility reviews.
The printed statutory dollar amount is not a current allowance quote. The statute provides for automatically recurring annual payments until an applicable stopping condition; eligibility and review requirements still matter.
How this helps your claim
Identify the particular appliance or medication and the actual clothing damage. Compare any payment or renewal issue with the later statutory recurring-payment provision and the applicable current VA guidance.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Confirm the appliance or medication is associated with a service-connected disability.
- Document the kind of clothing damage and the medical prescription or device use.
- Check the allowance decision, continuing eligibility, and the official rate for the applicable year.
Describe the actual clothing damage and its cause
The allowance concerns specified appliances or prescribed skin medication associated with service-connected disability. Records should identify the device or treatment and the damage it causes, rather than only showing that clothing wears out over time.
Keep eligibility and the applicable annual amount separate. The statute addresses recurring payments and review conditions, while current VA information supplies the adjusted amount. An older dollar figure in the statutory body should not be treated as the payment due for the current year.
Does any medical device or skin prescription qualify automatically?
No. The relationship to service-connected disability and the specified clothing-damage requirements matter. Identify the actual appliance or prescribed medication and its documented effect. Routine use alone does not establish every condition, and eligibility should not be inferred solely from another person's allowance.
Official statutory text
38 USC § 1162
OLRC release through Public Law 119-102 (July 12, 2026). Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The statutory text is shown here; publisher source credits and editorial notes remain in the linked official release.
§ 1162. Clothing allowance
(a) Eligibility Requirements.—The Secretary, under regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe, shall pay a clothing allowance of $716 11 See Special Benefit Allowance Rates note below. per year to each veteran who—
(1) because of a service-connected disability, wears or uses a prosthetic or orthopedic appliance (including a wheelchair) which the Secretary determines tends to wear out or tear the clothing of the veteran; or
(2) uses medication which—
(A) a physician has prescribed for a skin condition which is due to a service-connected disability; and
(B) the Secretary determines causes irreparable damage to the veteran’s outergarments.
(b) Continuous Nature of Payments.—Payments made to a veteran under subsection (a) shall continue on an automatically recurring annual basis until the earlier of the following:
(1) The date on which the veteran elects to no longer receive such payments.
(2) The date on which the Secretary determines the veteran is no longer eligible pursuant to subsection (c).
(c) Reviews of Claims.—(1) The Secretary shall, in accordance with this subsection, conduct reviews of a claim on which a clothing allowance for a veteran under subsection (a) is based to determine the continued eligibility of the veteran for such allowance.
(2) The Secretary shall prescribe standards for determining whether a claim for a clothing allowance is based on a veteran’s wearing or use of a prosthetic, orthopedic appliance (including a wheelchair), or medication whose wear or tear or irreparable damage on a veteran’s outergarments or clothing is as likely as not subject to no change for the duration of such wearing or use.
(3)(A) If the Secretary determines, pursuant to standards prescribed under paragraph (2), that a claim for a clothing allowance is based on wear or tear or irreparable damage that is as likely as not subject to no change, the veteran shall continue to be deemed eligible for receipt of a clothing allowance under this section until the Secretary—
(i) receives notice under subparagraph (B); or
(ii) finds otherwise under subparagraph (C) or (D).
(B) The Secretary shall require a veteran who is receiving a clothing allowance under subsection (a), based on the wearing or use of a prosthetic, orthopedic appliance (including a wheelchair), or medication, to notify the Secretary when the veteran terminates the wearing or use of such a prosthetic, orthopedic appliance, or medication.
(C) For each veteran who is receiving a clothing allowance under subsection (a), based on the wearing or use of a prosthetic, orthopedic appliance (including a wheelchair), or medication, the Secretary shall periodically review the veteran’s Department records for evidence that the veteran has terminated the wearing or use of such a prosthetic, orthopedic appliance, or medication.
(D) If a veteran who is receiving a clothing allowance under subsection (a), based on the wearing or use of a prosthetic, orthopedic appliance (including a wheelchair), or medication, has received such clothing allowance beyond the prescribed or intended lifespan of such prosthetic, orthopedic appliance, or medication, the Secretary may periodically request the veteran to attest to continued usage.
(4) If the Secretary determines that a claim for a clothing allowance under subsection (a) does not meet the requirements of paragraph (3)(A), then the Secretary may require the veteran to recertify the veteran’s continued eligibility for a clothing allowance under this section periodically, but not more frequently than once each year.
(5) When reviewing a claim under this subsection, the Secretary shall evaluate the evidence presented by the veteran and such other relevant evidence as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(d) Determination Regarding Continued Eligibility.—If the Secretary determines, as the result of a review of a claim conducted under subsection (c), that the veteran who submitted such claim no longer meets the requirements specified in subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
(1) provide to the veteran notice of such determination that includes a description of applicable actions that may be taken following the determination, including the actions specified in section 5104C of this title; and
(2) discontinue the clothing allowance based on such claim.
Related references
- 38 USC § 5104C: Choosing a VA Decision Review Option
- 38 USC § 5107: Benefit of the doubt in VA claims
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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