VACAStart here
Veteran-first support
YOUR CLAIM. YOUR EVIDENCE. YOUR NEXT MOVE.
You do not have to figure out the VA claims process alone.
VACA helps you move from the first question to a fully developed claim packet, then keeps working with you through examinations, decisions, grants, denials, and the next review step.
Understand
Translate decisions, examinations, medical records, and VA language into clear issues.
Develop
Identify every supportable direct, secondary, aggravation, presumptive, TERA, and alternative path.
Build
Organize evidence, lay statements, nexus questions, examination preparation, and the submission packet.
Continue
Track progress, verify a grant, rebut a denial, protect deadlines, and choose the next action.
Discover
Look beyond the obvious condition for secondary, aggravation, exposure, rating, TDIU, effective-date, procedural, and medically plausible leads—without presenting unverified ideas as established facts.
Where should I begin?
Begin with the step that matches what you already have. VACA will identify what is missing and bring you back to the correct next step.
- New claim: start with Current conditions.
- VA decision received: start with Ask or review.
- C-file available: start with C-file / full jacket.
- Examination scheduled: start with Prepare for exams.
- Unsure what may be claimable: start with Discover possible claims.
- Already tracking claims: open Claims workspace.
STEP 2
Secure your VACA session
Your signed-in VACA account protects your private claims workspace. The private beta code is required only when creating a new trial account, not each time you search or ask VACA.
Account access
Sign in once to search, ask questions, save claim work, and continue from another device.
Sign in or manage my accountRedact before review
Use targeted excerpts whenever possible. Clear the conversation when using a shared computer.
ASK, REVIEW, OR CONTINUE
Tell VACA what is in front of you.
You can ask a question, paste a redacted decision or medical excerpt, or use one of the focused starting prompts.
Your question or redacted excerpt
Ask VACA
Sharing document text?Remove personal identifiers before sending.
Open this step to load the security check.
Press Ctrl + Enter to send. VACA develops and organizes evidence but cannot guarantee a VA outcome.
STEP 4
List every current condition before choosing a claim theory.
Include diagnosed conditions, persistent symptoms, surgeries, treatment, medications, functional limitations, and conditions that may be connected to another disability.
STEP 5
Connect the conditions to actual service facts.
VACA can work from duty history, military occupational specialty, locations, incidents, service treatment records, and credible lay evidence. An in-service diagnosis is not required for every direct-service theory.
STEP 6
Review the C-file in focused, redacted batches.
Start with the rating decision, favorable findings, evidence list, code sheet, C&P examinations, DBQs, medical opinions, STRs, and exposure-development records. A full C-file is usually too large for one request, so VACA will build a review sequence.
What VA granted, denied, deferred, and rated.
Diagnoses, findings, nexus reasoning, and defects.
Events, symptoms, duties, locations, and exposures.
Develop missing evidence and overlooked theories.
Before importing:Use only redacted text files. Files are read locally in this browser.
Text files are read locally in your browser. For PDF, DOCX, or image records, paste redacted OCR or selected text. VACA does not store the original file.
Before sending:Confirm the text contains no personal identifiers or unrelated third-party information.
STEP 7
Build the exposure or injury history with enough detail to prove it.
Describe the source, frequency, duration, route, proximity, ventilation, protective equipment, and the military records that can corroborate the activity.
BROAD CLAIM DISCOVERY
Think beyond the condition already written on the claim.
This is the brainstorming and research stage. VACA may identify possible, plausible, and exploratory leads from symptoms, service duties, injuries, exposures, medications, surgeries, altered body mechanics, mental-health effects, rating rules, and procedural errors. A lead is not treated as a fact until the evidence supports it.
Established verified by controlling evidence
Strongly supported substantial support
Plausible development-worthy theory
Exploratory research lead requiring proof
MY CLAIMS
Choose one claim and one next action.
This is the new Veteran-facing claims overview. Your saved claims and priorities appear here without opening the Legacy workspace.
Checking private workspace access...
VACA is loading your saved claims and next actions.
Loading your claims...
Need an original advanced tool? Use the permanent Legacy VACA workspace item at the bottom left. It is preserved separately and will not open automatically.
STEP 8
Turn the facts into a complete claim strategy.
VACA should identify the strongest route first, preserve every other supportable route, classify the evidence, expose weaknesses, and convert every gap into a development task.
STEP 9
Prepare before the examiner sees the claim.
VACA will identify what must already be in the file, what facts to explain accurately, what legal and medical questions the examiner must answer, and how to challenge an inadequate report.
STEP 10
Assemble a packet that is easy to understand and hard to ignore.
Keep the submission focused: claim theory, chronology, favorable evidence, exposure or event proof, medical support, lay evidence, nexus question, rating evidence, and a direct response to every prior denial reason.
STEP 11
Keep each claim moving.
This lightweight tracker stays only in this browser. Use it to record the current stage, the next action, and a target date. Do not enter claim numbers or personal identifiers.
STEP 12
A decision is not the end of the work.
After a grant, verify the condition, percentage, diagnostic code, effective date, secondary issues, deferred issues, and TDIU. After a denial, preserve favorable findings, identify the exact defect, obtain missing evidence, and choose the correct next review lane.
Verify the full award
- Correct condition and theory
- Correct rating and diagnostic code
- Correct effective date
- Secondary and deferred issues
- Future-exam or reduction risk
Build the rebuttal
- Preserve favorable findings
- Identify the precise denial element
- Challenge inadequate opinions
- Develop new and relevant evidence
- Select Supplemental, HLR, Board, or Court path
POSSIBILITY WORKSPACE
Push a possible avenue as far as the facts can support it.
This workspace does not change the active claim. It develops an idea, finds support and conflicts, identifies every usable theory, and shows what verification or professional opinion would move it forward.
New, emerging, community, occupational, environmental, medical, legal, historical, or scientific ideas are welcome.
VACA identifies the strongest route, alternatives, useful sources, missing proof, and practical next action.
A lead remains a lead until evidence or qualified professional review supports a stronger conclusion.
Saved avenues remain possible leads—not evidence—and can be developed from your private workspace.
UNIVERSAL DOCUMENT ACCESS
Document center
Organize redacted record references and jump directly to the correct review tool. Original medical files remain outside VACA under the existing privacy rule.
PRIVACY FIRST
Redact personal information before sharing
Protect your privacy before asking VACA—or anyone else—to review a document. VACA does not collect, receive, or store uploaded medical documents.
Recommended free Windows option: PDF24 Creator
PDF24 Creator is a Windows desktop program that works offline, so your document stays on your computer.
Download PDF24 Creator from the official PDF24 websiteVACA does not receive a document when you use this link. It opens only PDF24’s official download page.
- Remove personal identifiers: Social Security numbers, VA file numbers, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, signatures, barcodes and QR codes, and any unrelated third-party information.
- Use a true redaction tool: do not cover information by drawing black boxes, shapes, or highlights. Covered text may still be searchable, selectable, or removable.
- Save a separate redacted copy: keep the original unchanged in your secure files.
- Verify before sharing: reopen the redacted copy, search for the protected information, and try to select or copy the text. Confirm it is gone and inspect every page.
Privacy reminder: Do not upload sensitive documents to online tools unless you understand and accept that privacy risk. An offline tool keeps the redaction work on your computer.
DEADLINES AND NEXT MOVES
Deadline center
Deadlines are calculated from your saved claim dates. Verify official notices before filing.