Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA)

A Board Appeal sends your case to the Board of Veterans' Appeals, where a Veterans Law Judge decides it. Unlike the two regional-office lanes, the Board gives you the option to submit additional evidence and to testify at a hearing — and the judge is independent of the office that made the original decision.

The three Board options

When you file a Board Appeal, you choose one of three tracks:

When to choose the Board

• You want an independent judge, not the regional office, to decide
• You want to testify and have the judge hear your story directly
• You have additional evidence and want it weighed by a judge
• You've already tried a Higher-Level Review or Supplemental Claim and were denied

The deadline

File within one year of the decision to preserve your effective date and back pay. After the year, you can still appeal but benefits may only run from the new filing date.

How the process works

1. We file the Board Appeal and select the track that fits your case.
2. If evidence submission: we submit additional evidence within 90 days of filing.
3. If a hearing: we prepare you to testify and represent you at the hearing (video or in person).
4. The judge decides — grant, remand for further development, or deny.

How long it takes

Direct review is the fastest Board option, typically around one year. Evidence submission and hearing options take longer — often 1.5 to 2 years or more, depending on the Board's docket.

What we do

We pick the right Board track, build the written argument, submit any additional evidence within the 90-day window, and — if you choose a hearing — prepare you to testify and argue your case in front of the judge. If the Board remands, we stay on the case through the regional office's follow-up work.