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Disability · Health care · Education
Nobody should pay to file a first claim
VA benefits are yours by service, not by purchase. Accredited veterans service organisations will prepare your claim for nothing — and the companies advertising to do it for a fee mostly cannot legally charge you at all.
$0What an accredited VSO charges to prepare your claim. Always, for everyone.
3Kinds of representative VA accredits. Anyone else cannot lawfully charge you.
What you may be owed
Four separate things, four separate claims
People say “VA benefits” as if it were one thing. It is at least four, they are decided by different parts of VA, and qualifying for one tells you very little about the others.
Compensation
Disability compensation
A monthly, tax-free payment for a condition caused or made worse by your service. It is rated in ten per cent steps, and the rating is about how much the condition limits you — not about how severe it sounds. Conditions can be rated years or decades after service.
va.gov/disability- Tax free, and paid monthly for as long as the rating stands
- You can ask for a higher rating if your condition worsens
- A denial can be appealed, and often is successfully
Health care
VA health care
Enrolment is separate from compensation — you do not need a disability rating to get VA health care. Where you sit in the priority groups decides what you pay, and many veterans who assume they earn too much are in fact eligible.
va.gov/health-care- You can enrol without any service-connected rating
- Priority group decides copays, not whether you are covered
- Enrolling does not stop you using other insurance
Education
Education and training
The Post-9/11 GI Bill and related programmes cover tuition, a monthly housing allowance and a books stipend. Benefits can sometimes be transferred to a spouse or child, and there are separate programmes for vocational rehabilitation.
va.gov/education- Covers tuition, housing and books, not just fees
- Transferable to family in some circumstances
- Separate help exists if a disability affects your work
Housing
VA home loan
A VA-backed loan usually needs no deposit and no private mortgage insurance, which is often the single largest financial benefit of service. The funding fee is waived entirely for veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability.
va.gov/housing-assistance- Usually no deposit and no mortgage insurance
- The funding fee is waived with a service-connected rating
- It can be used more than once in a lifetime
Free help
Free, accredited help — and the people to avoid
This is the part worth reading twice. Help with a VA claim is free from accredited veterans service organisations. A whole industry has grown up charging veterans for it anyway.
This is who you want
Accredited, and free
- VSO representatives — American Legion, VFW, DAV, county veteran service officers and others. Their claim help is always free.
- VA accredits three kinds of representative: VSO representatives, attorneys and claims agents. All three are searchable in VA's public accreditation register.
- Attorneys and claims agents may charge — but only after VA has made an initial decision, and their fee must be reasonable and is subject to VA review.
- You appoint a representative with VA Form 21-22 or 21-22a. It costs nothing and you can change your mind later.
This is who to walk away from
Unaccredited “claim consultants”
- Charging a fee to prepare or file an INITIAL claim appears to violate federal law. VA's own guidance is blunt: do not pay anyone to file a first claim.
- They typically ask for a percentage of your back pay, or several months of your future monthly award — often thousands of dollars.
- Promises of a guaranteed 100% rating, or of a decision by a certain date, are a warning sign. Nobody can promise either.
- Asking for your VA.gov login, or to receive your award payments on your behalf, is a reason to stop immediately.
How to check anyone in thirty seconds
VA publishes a public accreditation register. If the person or company offering to help is not in it, they are not accredited, and they cannot lawfully charge you to prepare a claim.
PACT Act
If you were near burn pits, Agent Orange or other toxins
The PACT Act of 2022 was the largest expansion of VA benefits in decades. It added conditions that VA now presumes are connected to toxic exposure — which means you do not have to prove the link yourself.
Presumed means you do not have to prove it
If your condition and your service both appear on the list, VA presumes the connection. That removes the hardest part of a claim.
It reaches back further than people expect
It covers exposures from Vietnam through the Gulf War and the post-9/11 conflicts, and it added new locations and new conditions to earlier presumptive lists.
A previous denial is not the end
If you were refused before the law changed, that decision was made under the old rules. It is worth asking an accredited representative whether your claim can be looked at again.
There is a toxic exposure screening
Any veteran enrolled in VA health care can ask for one. It is free, it takes a few minutes, and it is repeated periodically.
Health care
Priority groups, in plain terms
VA sorts enrolled veterans into eight priority groups. The group affects what you pay and how quickly you are enrolled — not whether you are worth treating. Many veterans never apply because they assume they earn too much, and are wrong.
| Group | Broadly who is in it | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Service-connected 50% or higher, or unemployable | No copays for care |
| 2–3 | Service-connected 10–40%, former POWs, Purple Heart recipients | Little or no copay for service-connected care |
| 4 | Housebound, or receiving aid and attendance | Care focused on high need |
| 5 | Non-service-connected, income below the threshold, or on Medicaid | Usually no copay for care |
| 6 | Certain exposures, recent combat veterans within the eligibility window | Special eligibility for related care |
| 7–8 | Income above the threshold | Enrolled, with copays |
This table is a plain-language summary, not the regulation. The exact rules turn on income thresholds that change each year and on your own service history — check your group with VA or an accredited representative.
VA health care priority groups
Where to go
All free, all official
Every one of these is free. None of them will ask you to pay to file a claim.
Questions
Straight answers, nothing hidden
No dropdowns on this one — the answers are printed, because these are the questions people are worried about.
Do I have to pay anyone to file a VA claim?
No — for an initial claim you generally cannot lawfully be charged. Accredited veterans service organisations prepare claims free, for everyone. Attorneys and claims agents may charge only after VA issues an initial decision. If a company wants money to file your first claim, stop.
How do I check whether someone is accredited?
VA publishes a public accreditation register you can search by name. If someone is not in it, they cannot lawfully represent you or charge you to prepare a claim. It takes thirty seconds — do it before you sign anything.
Can I get VA health care without a disability rating?
Yes. Enrolment in VA health care is separate from disability compensation, and you do not need a service-connected rating to enrol. Your priority group affects what you pay in copays rather than whether you can be seen. A great many eligible veterans never apply because they assume their income rules them out.
I was denied years ago. Is it worth trying again?
Often, yes — particularly since the PACT Act, which presumed certain conditions to be connected to toxic exposure. There are also routes to have a decision reviewed or submit new evidence. An accredited representative can tell you which fits, free.
What does a disability rating actually measure?
How much the condition limits you, not how serious it sounds. Ratings run 0 to 100 per cent in ten-point steps, and multiple conditions combine by VA's own method, not addition — which is why two 50% ratings do not make 100%.
Does using VA health care affect my other insurance?
No. Enrolling in VA health care does not stop you using Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE or private insurance, and it does not reduce those benefits. Many veterans use VA alongside other coverage.
Is the VA home loan really no deposit?
For most eligible borrowers, yes — a VA-backed purchase loan usually requires no down payment and no private mortgage insurance, which over the life of a loan is frequently the largest financial benefit of service. There is a funding fee, and it is waived entirely for veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability.
Does Fieldpost file claims or represent me?
No. We are not VA, we are not accredited, we do not prepare, file or appeal claims, and we could not lawfully charge you to do so. Everything here is general information. Use an accredited VSO — their help is free and they do this every day.
Next step
Start with someone accredited. It costs nothing.
You can have a VSO representative prepare your claim for free, today. Get the short version by email, or go straight to VA's finder — we would rather you were sitting with a VSO than reading us.