Dates decide what is still available to you
This is the page where being wrong costs the most, so it is deliberately the page that calculates nothing. What follows is what the rules say. What applies to your decision is on your decision.
Keep the paperwork
Keep the complete decision notice, its date, the exact issue names, and proof of anything you send. The date you first called, or started gathering records, is not the date VA received a filing. If a submission matters, keep the receipt.
The deadlines that are real
| Action | Ordinary window |
|---|---|
| Higher-Level Review | Within 1 year of the decision on your initial claim or Supplemental Claim |
| Board appeal | Within 1 year of the decision on your initial claim, Supplemental Claim, or Higher-Level Review |
| Board appeal, contested claims | Within 60 days of the date on the decision letter |
| Appeal a Board decision to court | Received by the court within 120 days of the date the Board mailed its decision |
That last one is not a formality. The court's rule is that the Notice of Appeal must be received within 120 days — posting it on day 119 is not enough. CAVC appeal instructions.
Intent to file is not a deadline extension
An intent to file can establish a potential earlier start date for a benefit if you then complete the actual application in time. VA currently applies it to disability compensation, pension, DIC, and Supplemental Claims for disability. It does not extend the window to request a review, and it does not apply to supplemental claims for benefits other than disability. VA intent-to-file guidance.
What does not stop the clock
None of these preserve a review deadline on their own:
- a phone call, however long, and however helpful the person was
- a records request, including a request for your own claims file
- a Patient Advocate complaint or a report about an examination
- contacting a congressional office
- waiting for a document you have asked for
If a deadline is close and a record has not arrived, that is a reason to file and keep developing the evidence, not a reason to wait. Ask someone qualified before you let a date pass.
Why this page will not do the arithmetic
Contested claims, legacy appeals, motions, disputes about whether notice was properly sent, and tolling questions all change the analysis, and a website cannot see any of them. 38 C.F.R. §3.2500 governs continuous pursuit and which routes remain open; VA's effective-date guide is an introduction.
If a date is near, use the instructions on your own decision and get accredited help now rather than after.
Rules and forms change, and exceptions apply. Follow the instructions on your own decision letter and the linked governing sources. This site does not track your deadlines or file anything for you.
Reviewed October 6, 2026