Missing records are one of the most frustrating obstacles in the VA claims process. Whether service treatment records were destroyed in the 1973 National Archives fire, lost during a move between facilities, or simply misfiled, the VA has specific obligations when your records cannot be located.
When the VA determines that records are missing, it has a heightened duty to assist. This means the VA must make extra efforts to help you establish your claim through alternative evidence. The VA cannot simply deny your claim because the records are gone — the absence of records does not mean the absence of the condition.
For missing service treatment records, the VA should search multiple sources including the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), any service branch-specific archives, hospital records from military treatment facilities, and any available morning reports or unit records. If the records were likely destroyed in the 1973 fire (which affected millions of Army and Air Force records from 1912 to 1964), the VA acknowledges this and applies the heightened duty to assist.
Alternative evidence that can substitute for missing service treatment records includes buddy statements from fellow service members who witnessed the injury or condition, personal journals or contemporaneous letters that mention the condition, photographs from the service period, civilian medical records from shortly after discharge that reference a service-related condition, and any partial records that may have survived.
The VA is also required to inform you specifically about what alternative evidence can be submitted. If the VA fails to send you this notice, it has not met its duty to assist, which is grounds for appeal.
If the VA loses records that were previously in your claims file — not original service records but evidence you submitted — you have the right to resubmit the evidence and the VA should take responsibility for the loss. Keep copies of everything you submit to the VA. If you submitted evidence electronically through VA.gov, there should be a digital record of the submission.
Note: This article references sections of the VA's M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual. The VA periodically reorganizes the M21-1 and section numbers may have changed since this article was written. For the most current section references, visit the VA's public M21-1 Web Automated Reference Material System (WARMS).