VA Laws & Regulations: Disability Claim Rules: Page 12

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1. 38 CFR § 3.10
   Regulation

   How VA calculates a surviving spouse’s DIC rate

   A surviving spouse’s DIC payment starts with the applicable basic rate and can include increases for an eight-year total-disability history, qualifying children, aid and attendance, housebound status, or a temporary child-related amount.

   2026-09-17
2. 38 CFR § 3.22
   Regulation

   DIC when a veteran was totally disabled before death

   Section 1318 can provide DIC when the veteran’s death was not service connected but a service-connected disability was continuously rated totally disabling for the qualifying period before death.

   2026-09-17
3. 38 CFR § 3.33
   Regulation

   Reevaluation of denied DIC claims after a new presumption

   A person whose DIC claim was denied before a new or changed service-connection presumption may elect reevaluation when the earlier claim might have been decided differently under the new law.

   2026-09-17
4. 38 CFR § 3.50
   Regulation

   Who VA recognizes as a spouse or surviving spouse

   This section connects spouse and surviving-spouse status to a marriage VA recognizes and, for a survivor, to the relationship at the veteran’s death, cohabitation rules, and remarriage rules.

   2026-09-17
5. 38 CFR § 3.52
   Regulation

   When VA may deem an attempted marriage valid

   VA can treat an attempted marriage as valid for survivor benefits when a legal impediment made it invalid but the claimant did not know of the impediment and the other requirements are met.

   2026-09-17
6. 38 CFR § 3.53
   Regulation

   Continuous cohabitation for a surviving spouse

   A separation does not always break VA’s continuous-cohabitation requirement. The reason for living apart, the veteran’s conduct, and the surviving spouse’s intent are central.

   2026-09-17
7. 38 CFR § 3.54
   Regulation

   Marriage-duration rules for VA survivor benefits

   The date and length of the marriage can affect eligibility for survivors pension, death compensation, or DIC, with different alternatives for each benefit.

   2026-09-17
8. 38 CFR § 3.55
   Regulation

   When survivor eligibility can return after remarriage ends

   This section contains benefit-specific exceptions that can preserve or restore survivor eligibility after a remarriage, divorce, annulment, death, or the end of a marriage-like relationship.

   2026-09-17
9. 38 CFR § 3.152
   Regulation

   How VA treats a claim for death benefits

   A survivor generally must file the prescribed claim for death benefits. A surviving spouse’s or child’s DIC or compensation claim is also treated as a claim for survivors pension and accrued benefits, subject to the rule’s limits.

   2026-09-17
10. 38 CFR § 3.153
    Regulation

    When a Social Security application counts as a VA death claim

    This regulation describes when a jointly prescribed Social Security application counts as a VA death-benefit claim. Current 38 U.S.C. 5105 also covers an application on any document indicating intent to apply for survivor benefits.

    2026-09-17
11. 38 CFR § 3.205
    Regulation

    Evidence VA can use to establish a marriage

    VA may accept public or church records, an original certificate, an officiant’s statement, eyewitness statements, evidence of a marriage recognized without a ceremony, or other reliable secondary evidence.

    2026-09-17
12. 38 CFR § 3.209
    Regulation

    Evidence of birth, age, and family relationship

    This section lists records and statements VA may use to establish a person’s birth, age, or relationship when those facts affect benefit eligibility.

    2026-09-17
13. 38 CFR § 3.210
    Regulation

    How VA establishes a child’s relationship to a veteran

    VA uses different evidence for a biological child, adopted child, or stepchild. The required proof depends on the claimed relationship and the records legally available.

    2026-09-17
14. 38 CFR § 3.250
    Regulation

    How VA decides whether a parent is dependent

    VA considers a parent’s income, estate, necessary expenses, household obligations, and overall ability to maintain a reasonable way of life when deciding dependency for compensation.

    2026-09-17
15. 38 CFR § 3.312
    Regulation

    When a service-connected disability caused or contributed to death

    VA grants service connection for the cause of death when a service-connected disability was the principal cause or contributed substantially and materially to death.

    2026-09-17
16. 38 CFR § 3.323
    Regulation

    How VA combines multiple disability ratings

    When a person has two or more compensable service-connected disabilities, VA combines their evaluations under the rating schedule’s table and rules rather than adding the percentages directly.

    2026-09-17
17. 38 CFR § 3.330
    Regulation

    What happens after a missed VA examination

    When a veteran later reports for an examination after benefits were reduced or terminated for an earlier failure to report, VA applies the abandoned-claim and missed-examination rules to decide what can resume.

    2026-09-17
18. 38 CFR § 3.351
    Regulation

    Aid and attendance and housebound status for pension and survivors

    This section identifies who can receive increased pension, DIC, death compensation, or spouse-related compensation because of a need for regular aid and attendance or qualifying housebound status.

    2026-09-17
19. 38 CFR § 3.354
    Regulation

    VA’s insanity exception for a discharge-related offense

    This section defines insanity for a narrow VA benefit question and directs VA to examine evidence from the time of an offense that led to court-martial, discharge, or resignation.

    2026-09-17
20. 38 CFR § 3.356
    Regulation

    Permanent incapacity for self-support before age 18

    VA decides whether a child became permanently incapable of self-support because of a physical or mental condition by age 18. The decision is based on the individual record, not the rating schedule used for veterans.

    2026-09-17
21. 38 CFR § 3.362
    Regulation

    Offsets between section 1151 benefits and federal recoveries

    When the same VA-caused disability or death supports both section 1151 benefits and a Federal Tort Claims Act judgment or settlement, VA may offset specified amounts to prevent duplicate recovery.

    2026-09-17
22. 38 CFR § 3.363
    Regulation

    The historical pre-1962 bar to section 1151 benefits

    This narrow rule addresses administrative awards, settlements, compromises, or judgments based on the same disability or death that became final before December 1, 1962.

    2026-09-17
23. 38 CFR § 3.380
    Regulation

    Service connection for asthma and other allergic diseases

    VA must decide allergic conditions from the full evidence and may not routinely dismiss asthma, urticaria, or another allergic disease as merely constitutional or developmental.

    2026-09-17
24. 38 CFR § 3.381
    Regulation

    Service connection for dental treatment eligibility

    VA can recognize certain dental conditions for outpatient treatment even when the condition is not compensable. The analysis considers the tooth, entry condition, service treatment, timing, trauma, and treatment class.

    2026-09-17
25. 38 CFR § 3.402
    Regulation

    Effective dates for surviving-spouse benefit increases

    This section sets effective-date rules for a surviving spouse’s aid-and-attendance, housebound, and certain Medicaid nursing-home benefit changes.

    2026-09-17