Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This statute allows review of an eligible agency decision by a higher-level adjudicator. It sets filing requirements and provides for review using the existing evidentiary record.
This is a review for errors in the earlier decision, rather than an opportunity to submit new evidence. The law also addresses what happens when the reviewer identifies a duty-to-assist error requiring correction.
How this helps your claim
Organize a review request around specific errors supported by the record already before VA. If the missing proof is new, compare the Supplemental Claim process before choosing a lane.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Check the notice date and the time allowed to request review.
- Identify existing documents supporting the alleged factual or legal error.
- Review any return for duty-to-assist correction and the resulting new decision.
Explain the alleged error using the existing record
Higher-Level Review addresses an eligible decision through a more senior adjudicator. A useful error explanation identifies the disputed finding, the material already in the record and the applicable factual or legal concern. This is different from asking the reviewer to consider a new report.
Keep the request and the decision being reviewed together. If the outcome identifies a duty-to-assist error, read the return instructions rather than treating that result as an immediate grant. Correction and a later decision are separate procedural events.
Can an informal conference turn this into a new-evidence review?
No. The existing-record limitation remains. A conference can identify errors in the prior decision but should not be assumed to permit new factual evidence. Distinguish an argument about an old medical opinion from a newly obtained opinion and understand the applicable review options before filing.
Official statutory text
38 USC § 5104B
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.
§ 5104B. Higher-level review by the agency of original jurisdiction
(a) In General.—(1) A claimant may request a review of the decision of the agency of original jurisdiction by a higher-level adjudicator within the agency of original jurisdiction.
(2) The Secretary shall approve each request for review under paragraph (1).
(b) Time and Manner of Request.—(1) A request for higher-level review by the agency of original jurisdiction shall be—
(A) in writing in such form as the Secretary may prescribe; and
(B) made within one year of the notice of the agency of original jurisdiction’s decision.
(2) Such request may specifically indicate whether such review is requested by a higher-level adjudicator at the same office within the agency of original jurisdiction or by an adjudicator at a different office of the agency of original jurisdiction. The Secretary shall not deny such request for review by an adjudicator at a different office of the agency of original jurisdiction without good cause.
(c) Decision.—Notice of a higher-level review decision under this section shall be provided to the claimant (and any representative of such claimant) and shall include a general statement—
(1) reflecting whether evidence was not considered pursuant to subsection (d); and
(2) noting the options available to the claimant to have the evidence described in paragraph (1), if any, considered by the Department.
(d) Evidentiary Record for Review.—The evidentiary record before the higher-level adjudicator shall be limited to the evidence of record in the agency of original jurisdiction decision being reviewed.
(e) De Novo Review.—A review of the decision of the agency of original jurisdiction by a higher-level adjudicator within the agency of original jurisdiction shall be de novo.
Related references
- 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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