DISABILITYVA program

Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD)

Pre-discharge program allowing servicemembers to file a disability claim 90 to 180 days before separation so VA can begin processing before the member leaves the military.

Available to servicemembers 90 to 180 days from separation

Fill Form 21-526EZ View on VA.gov

Step-by-step guide

What VA looks for: Filing 180 to 90 days before separation

Full-time active duty with a known separation dateAny service member on full-time active duty, including Guard and Reserve members in a full-time Active Guard Reserve role. VA cannot accept a pre-discharge claim without a known separation date.
180 to 90 days left when VA receives the claimThe count runs from the date VA receives the claim to your anticipated release from active duty. A claim filed earlier than 180 days out is denied with a letter asking you to file again later, unless by the time VA finds it the count has already dropped to 180 days or fewer.
Available for VA exams for 45 daysYou can get to VA exams for 45 days starting from the date VA receives the claim.
Service treatment records from this period of serviceThe 21-526EZ and VA's manual call for a copy of your service treatment records from your current period of service with the claim. VA.gov says VA gets them for you when you file online. If VA does not have them while 90 or more days remain, the claim moves out of BDD.
Separation Health Assessment Part AA completed Separation Health Assessment Part A self-assessment goes with the claim. VA does not request exams until it has this form and your service treatment records, and if it does not have the form while 90 or more days remain, the claim moves out of BDD.
The conditions you are claimingEach condition you list is decided like any first claim: a condition you have now, something that happened in service, and a link between the two. The compensation chapter covers these.
A discharge VA can check after you separateAfter you separate, VA checks your discharge date and that your character of discharge is other than dishonorable before it releases the decision.

Source: M21-1 X.i.6.A (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); Separation Health Assessment Part A (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.303 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: evidence needed for your disability claim (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.12 (opens in new tab)

Where are you in your timeline?

Filing 180 to 90 days before separation
A BDD claim is a disability compensation claim on VA Form 21-526EZ, filed while you are still on full-time active duty. Filed in this window with the records BDD asks for, VA can do your exams before you leave the service. The decision reaches you after you separate and VA checks your discharge.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.A (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)
Fewer than 90 days left, or a claim BDD does not take
You can still file a pre-discharge claim on VA Form 21-526EZ. VA handles it outside BDD, through the standard claim process, and helps gather the evidence it needs. BDD also does not take claims that need case management for a serious injury or illness, involve a terminal illness, come from someone waiting for discharge in a VA or military hospital, need a character of discharge decision, or come from someone enrolled in IDES. Claims needing exams in a foreign country are generally outside BDD, except exams set up through VA offices in Landstuhl, Germany, or Camp Humphreys, Korea.
1. A known separation dateA pre-discharge claim needs a known separation date. With fewer than 90 days left, the claim is still accepted outside BDD.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)
Adding conditions after you file
You can add conditions to a BDD claim until day 90 before your expected discharge, and they join the original claim. Conditions added with fewer than 90 days left go outside BDD, and VA may not work on them until after you separate. A condition added after you separate, while the BDD claim is still open, becomes a separate claim.
1. When VA receives the added conditionThe days left on active duty on the date VA receives the added condition decide whether it joins the BDD claim.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab)

What to gather, and what it shows VA

Documents for this benefit: what each is, what it shows VA, and how VA gets it
Document	What it shows	How VA gets it	Have it?
Service treatment records Medical records from your current period of service, such as sick call notes, injury reports, and treatment at military clinics and hospitals.	What happened in service and what was treated	A copy goes to VA with the claim, however you file. VA.gov says VA gets them for you when you file online, and VA helps get copies from your military treatment facility when it can. VA does not request exams until it has the records, and if it does not have them while 90 or more days remain, the claim moves out of BDD.	Yes
Separation Health Assessment Part A A self-assessment of your health that DoD and VA examiners use at separation. VA publishes it with its public DBQ forms.	The health concerns you report at separation	Download it from VA, complete it, and send it to VA with the claim. VA accepts it unsigned. It goes to VA, not into BeneVets.
Your anticipated separation date The anticipated release from active duty date in your separation paperwork.	That the claim falls in the BDD window	The date goes in item 8 of VA Form 21-526EZ. VA checks it against military service data.	Yes
Separation papers (DD214) The record of your service dates, branch, and character of discharge.	Your discharge date and character of discharge	VA checks your discharge after you separate and does not ask for the DD214 before then. A DD214 settles it; without one, VA uses DoD service data. A copy you have can go to VA.	Yes
VA exams before you separate The general medical exam and any specialist exams VA requests for the conditions you claim, done while you are still on active duty.	A condition you have now and how severe it is	VA requests the exams once it has your service treatment records and Separation Health Assessment Part A. Some exams, such as sleep studies, may not finish before discharge, and that alone does not move the claim out of BDD.
Private medical records Records from doctors, hospitals, and therapists outside the military and VA.	A condition you have now and when it started	Two routes. Send copies to VA yourself, or complete VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a so VA can request them from each provider. The provider details go on the VA forms, not into BeneVets.
Buddy statements Written statements from people who saw what happened in service or see how a condition affects you now.	What others saw, during service or now	VA Form 21-10210, Lay/Witness Statement. The witness completes it and it goes to VA with your claim.
Your own statement Your written account of when a problem started, what happened in service, and how it affects you now.	When it started and how it affects you	VA Form 21-4138, Statement in Support of Claim. You write it and send it to VA. BeneVets does not collect it.

Records and statements go to VA. BeneVets never asks you to upload or type them here.

Steps, in order

Count the days to your separation date
Find your anticipated release from active duty date and count back. The BDD window is 180 to 90 days before that date, counted to the day VA receives the claim. The 21-526EZ instructions encourage filing as close to day 180 as you can, so exams can be scheduled and done before discharge.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)
Get free help from a VSO
Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you. VA.gov lists filing with an accredited representative as one of the two ways to file a BDD claim.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab)
Get your service treatment records
Get a copy of your service treatment records from your current period of service to send with the claim, however you file. VA.gov says VA gets them for online claims, but if VA does not have them while 90 or more days remain, the claim moves out of BDD. VA can help get copies from your military treatment facility.
Source: VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)
Complete the Separation Health Assessment Part A
Download the Separation Health Assessment Part A from VA, complete it, and include it with the claim. VA does not schedule BDD exams until it has this form, and the claim moves out of BDD if VA does not have it while 90 or more days remain.
Source: Separation Health Assessment Part A (opens in new tab); VA public Disability Benefits Questionnaires (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab)
List your conditions on paper
On paper, list each condition you plan to claim, when it started, and the service event it relates to. Keep the list with your papers; BeneVets does not ask for it.
Handle private medical records
For each private provider, send copies of the records to VA, or complete VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a so VA can request them.
Source: 38 CFR 3.159(c)(1) (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4142 (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4142a (opens in new tab)
Ask witnesses for statements
Ask people who saw an event in service, or who see its effects now, whether they will complete VA Form 21-10210. Your own account goes on VA Form 21-4138.
Source: M21-1 V.ii.1.B (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-10210 (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4138 (opens in new tab)
Add your dependents
If you have a spouse, children, or dependent parents, list them for VA. A spouse or child goes on VA Form 21-686c, sent with your claim. VA pays added compensation for dependents once the combined rating is 30% or more.
Source: VA Form 21-686c (opens in new tab); VA.gov: add dependents to your disability benefits (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab)
Have your bank details ready
VA Form 21-526EZ asks for direct deposit details, because federal benefits are paid by electronic transfer. These details go on VA's form only. BeneVets does not collect them.
Source: VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)
File your claim
File VA Form 21-526EZ in the window. Check the BDD Program Claim box and enter your anticipated release date in item 8. The BeneVets fill flow can prefill identity, contact, and service fields; the conditions and evidence sections are completed on VA's form.
Source: VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.A (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab)
Go to the exams VA schedules
Stay available for VA exams for 45 days from the date VA receives the claim, and go to each one. VA requests the general exam and any specialist exams together. If you cannot attend in that time, and the delay is not on VA's side, the claim is handled outside BDD.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VA claim exam (opens in new tab)
Add any new conditions by day 90
To add a condition to the BDD claim, get it to VA by day 90 before your expected discharge. VA does not ask for a second Separation Health Assessment, and requests exams for the new condition.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab); VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab)
If your separation date moves, tell VA
If you stay on active duty past your anticipated date, VA tries to reach you for the new date. With a new date 180 days or less away, VA moves the claim date to match. If the new date is more than 180 days away, or VA cannot reach you after three tries, VA denies the claim and asks you to file again when you are in the window. If you are referred into IDES while the BDD claim is pending, VA closes the BDD claim and you file your VA claim through IDES.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab)
Track your claim
Track the claim on VA.gov and answer any VA request for records or forms.
Source: M21-1 III.i.2.D (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to file a VA disability claim (opens in new tab)
After you separate, keep your DD214
After you separate, VA checks your discharge date and character of discharge before it releases the decision. A DD214 settles it. Keep your copy; VA uses DoD service data when one is not on file.
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab); VA.gov: request your military service records (opens in new tab)
Read the decision, condition by condition
The decision reaches you after you separate. Each condition is a separate issue with its own review option: a Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995), a Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996), or a Board Appeal (VA Form 10182).
Source: M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.151(c) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab); VA Form 20-0995 (opens in new tab); VA Form 20-0996 (opens in new tab); VA Form 10182 (opens in new tab)

Good to know

It is a disability compensation claim

BDD uses the same form as any first compensation claim, VA Form 21-526EZ, with the BDD box checked and your release date filled in. What VA looks for in each condition is in the compensation chapter.

Source: M21-1 X.i.6.A (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)

Your claim date is the day after you separate

For a pre-discharge claim, VA uses the first day after your anticipated release from active duty as the date of claim, no matter when VA received it. A compensation claim received within 1 year after separation can take the day after separation as its effective date.

Source: M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.400(b)(2)(i) (opens in new tab)

The decision comes after you separate

VA can rate the claim while you are on active duty, but it does not release the decision until after you separate and it has checked your discharge date and character of discharge.

Source: M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab)

IDES is a separate path

If you cannot do your duties because of an injury or illness, your doctor refers you to the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES). BDD does not take claims from service members enrolled in IDES; IDES has its own VA claim.

Source: VA.gov: pre-discharge claim (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.B (opens in new tab); M21-1 X.i.6.C (opens in new tab)

BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you