For attorneys and claims agents

Which one am I?

An attorney is a member in good standing of a State bar who has met VA's standards (38 CFR 14.627(d)). A claims agent has met the same standards, with a written examination in place of the bar (38 CFR 14.627(c), 14.629(b)).

VA's Office of the General Counsel accredits both in your own name, on your own application (38 CFR 14.629(b)) — and only accredited agents and attorneys may charge fees, under a fee agreement (38 CFR 14.636(b)).

Also a service organization representative? The claim's power-of-attorney form decides the hat: through the organization, no fee; in your own name on VA Form 21-22a, the fee rules apply (38 CFR 14.631(a), 14.636(b)).

Keys only your firm holds

Your firm's key is made when your firm registers, wrapped under your own people's passwords and a recovery code you hold.

Whoever runs the server cannot read your records. There is a test that proves exactly that.

The honest cost: lose every password and the recovery code, and no one can recover the records.

The money

Fee terms are chosen by you. Under a direct-pay agreement of 20 percent or less, the fee comes from VA, out of past-due benefits, after the Veteran is paid — money the firm has earned, not client money held (38 CFR 14.636(h)(1)). A larger fee is the claimant's to pay (38 CFR 14.636(g)(2)). The software records fees and expenses; it never holds or moves money.

The software itself: one price for each person who uses it. No plans, no bundles and no discounts — nobody pays less than you do.

Filed documents do not change

A filed document is sealed. A later change is a new version that names what it replaces, so what was filed stays exactly what was filed.

The whole claims file, in

A ZIP of several hundred scans is read, sorted, checked for duplicates and filed as evidence, with page numbering stamped onto a copy.

What each document appears to be is recorded as recorded — never as verified until a person verifies it.