A supplemental claim is a request for VA to reconsider a previously denied claim based on new and relevant evidence. Under the AMA system, a supplemental claim is one of the three review lanes available when you disagree with a decision. It is often the best choice when you have additional evidence that was not available or not submitted during the original claim. New and relevant evidence means evidence that was not previously part of the record and that tends to prove or disprove a matter at issue. This can include new medical records, a new medical opinion, buddy statements, service records that were not previously available, or any other evidence that addresses the reason your claim was denied. The new evidence does not need to be conclusive on its own but it must be relevant to the issue that led to the denial. If your claim was denied because of a negative medical opinion, a new favorable medical opinion would be new and relevant evidence. If your claim was denied for lack of a current diagnosis, medical records showing a diagnosis would qualify. Supplemental claims can be filed at any time. There is no deadline, though filing within one year of the previous decision can preserve your original effective date. When you file a supplemental claim, VA has the full duty to assist, meaning VA will help you develop additional evidence. This makes the supplemental claim lane different from higher-level review, where VA only looks at evidence already in the file.
A supplemental claim is filed on VA Form 20-0995. It is reviewed by the same regional office that issued the original decision, but by a different adjudicator than the one who made the prior determination.
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).