38 CFR §3.400
Effective Dates
The date your money starts from — usually the date VA received your claim, with important exceptions.
Read the official text of 38 CFR §3.400In plain English
The effective date is the date your entitlement begins. It drives your back pay, and it is often worth more than the rating increase itself.
The general rule is the later of the date the VA received the claim or the date entitlement arose. But there are exceptions that can push the date back years — a claim filed within one year of separation, an intent to file, new and relevant evidence in a supplemental claim, or a clear and unmistakable error in an old decision.
What the rule actually requires
- General rule: the date of receipt of the claim, or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later.
- A claim received within one year of discharge can be effective the day after separation.
- An intent to file preserves the effective date for up to one year while you gather evidence.
- Increases can be effective up to one year before the claim if the evidence shows the increase was factually ascertainable in that window.
Why this matters to your claim
A correct rating with a wrong effective date still costs a veteran tens of thousands of dollars. When we review a file, the effective date is checked as carefully as the percentage.
This is our plain-English summary, written for veterans — it is not the regulation itself and it is not legal advice. The controlling text is the current official version, linked above. The VA makes all final decisions about eligibility and payment.
Official text of 38 CFR §3.400
