VA decision review success rates and wait times

Higher-Level Review

In a Higher-Level Review, a more senior VA reviewer takes a new look at the same evidence. You can't add new evidence. In August 2026, VA made 30,458 Higher-Level Review decisions and granted 6,693 of them, a monthly grant rate of 22.0% (VA AMA Metrics Report, data through August 31, 2026).

Supplemental Claim

A Supplemental Claim asks VA to decide again with new and relevant evidence that VA hasn't considered before. In August 2026, VA made 72,398 Supplemental Claim decisions and granted 33,081 of them, a monthly grant rate of 45.7% (VA AMA Metrics Report, data through August 31, 2026).

How long does a Supplemental Claim take?

Supplemental Claims that VA finished in August 2026 took an average of 56.5 days from start to finish (VA AMA Metrics Report, data through August 31, 2026). That's VA's average days to complete, and it's the best answer to how long one takes. Yours could be shorter or longer.

You'll also see a second number: 49.8 average days pending for the 156,004 Supplemental Claims still waiting on August 31, 2026. That measures how long the open claims have waited so far, not how long a finished claim took, so it isn't a completion time.

How long does a Higher-Level Review take?

Higher-Level Reviews that VA finished in August 2026 took an average of 135.6 days from start to finish (VA AMA Metrics Report, data through August 31, 2026). That's VA's average days to complete for the month. Your review could take more or less time.

The 158.5 average days pending figure is a different measure. It's how long the 183,966 Higher-Level Reviews still open on August 31, 2026 had been waiting so far, not how long a finished review took.

Board of Veterans' Appeals dockets

If you appeal to the Board, you pick one of three dockets. On August 31, 2026, 156,848 appeals were pending across the three (VA AMA Metrics Report, data through August 31, 2026). Average days pending shows how long the appeals still waiting had been open so far, not how long a finished appeal took.

This report covers the Board's workload, not how often the Board grants. For Board outcomes, see VA disability appeal statistics.

How VA defines these numbers

These definitions describe the VA AMA Metrics Report tables each figure comes from (data through August 31, 2026).

Monthly grant rate

Monthly grants divided by monthly decisions for the named review lane in Part 1, sections M-N. In plain terms, it's grants divided by decisions for that lane in the report month.

Average days to complete

VA average duration of completed requests (ADC) during the report month.

Average days pending

VA average days pending (ADP) for the requests currently in the queue.

Higher-Level Review pending

Pending requests awaiting a final HLR decision, including HLR returns after a duty-to-assist error or difference of opinion.

Supplemental Claim pending

Pending Supplemental Claim requests in the AMA Timeliness Appendix.

Board pending

Appeals pending on the Board Direct Review, Evidence Submission, and Hearing dockets.

Next steps

Source

Every number on this page comes from the VA Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) Metrics Report workbook, with data through August 31, 2026. VA is the original publisher of these figures. VA posts the report monthly on its AMA Metrics Report page.

Cite this page

VA is the original publisher of these figures. If you quote a number, name the VA AMA Metrics Report and its data date with it.

Claim Raven. VA Decision Review Success Rates and Wait Times. Data through August 31, 2026, from the VA Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) Metrics Report. https://claimraven.com/va-decision-review-statistics