File before leaving active duty
Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) is a pre-discharge disability-claim process for qualifying service members. Its usual filing window is 180 to 90 days before the expected separation date. Dates alone do not determine eligibility.
1. Prepare before the BDD window opens
Use the time before the filing window to understand compensation, check your claim history, and locate records.
Confirm the expected separation date when known. Identify the conditions you want VA to consider and ask where your current-period service treatment records are held.
Why this matters
Preparation can begin before BDD filing is available. BDD is distinct from the military's Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES).
Before 180 days remain: prepare and read the current instructions. A date planner does not authorize filing or establish program eligibility.
Review BDD requirements and choose the correct claim process.
Date unknown or changed
Ask your transition or personnel office about the expected date. If it changes after filing, tell VA promptly. The planner updates its dates, but only VA can determine how the claim will be handled.
Official references
2. Check the filing window and other requirements
The public BDD instructions cover full-time active duty, a known separation date, filing with 180 to 90 days remaining, and availability for examinations during the 45 days after filing.
Review the requirements together, including special-handling circumstances and where you will be available for exams. If VA previously decided an issue, compare the correct review application before submitting it again.
Why this matters
A date in the window does not establish eligibility. A previously denied condition does not automatically become a new initial claim because you are currently on active duty.
Documents for this step
- VA Form 21-526EZ — Disability compensation application
Use the PDF for a paper disability-compensation application. The official online application includes its own questions.
Required for the stated circumstances - VA Form 20-0995 — Request a Supplemental Claim
A previously decided issue pursued through Supplemental Claim procedures; current M21 permits complete Supplemental applications from active-duty participants to be developed with pending BDD claims
conditional
The filing window includes day 180 and day 90. The 45-day exam-availability period starts with VA's receipt of the claim; it is separate from the 180-to-90-day window.
Complete the self-assessment and follow records instructions for your filing method.
Fewer than 90 days remain
You can still file an appropriate pre-discharge claim through the standard process. Being outside BDD does not close the disability-claim process.
Overseas and special handling
Use the official overseas instructions for the Landstuhl or Camp Humphreys BDD office. IDES enrollment, serious illness or injury requiring case management, hospitalization awaiting discharge, and character-of-discharge questions can require different handling. Ask the official contact rather than treating the calendar as a decision.
Official references
3. Complete the self-assessment and locate records
The Separation Health Assessment (SHA) Part A records your own health history before the clinical assessment. It is separate from an examiner-completed DBQ.
Complete the current SHA Part A using its official guidance. For online BDD, VA's dedicated page says it will obtain your service treatment records. For another filing method, that page says to provide copies of current-period service treatment records with your claim.
Why this matters
Filing methods have different instructions for supplying service treatment records. Keep available copies and respond if VA asks for more.
Documents for this step
- Separation Health Assessment — Part A
BDD self-assessment submitted with the claim
required - Service treatment records
Copies with a non-online BDD filing; online applicants follow VA's retrieval instructions and any individual request
conditional
Prepare these before filing when possible. A missing SHA Part A can delay VA's examination request; it should not be described as an automatic permanent disqualification.
Submit the correct application through VA within the applicable window.
Official wording differs
The dedicated BDD page gives different instructions for online and other filing methods. VA's general evidence page and M21 BDD text broadly refer to submitting copies. VetCore follows the dedicated public channel instructions and preserves the discrepancy for editorial review. Follow any request sent for your claim.
If the self-assessment or records are missing
Current M21 directs VA to contact the service member and follow up. Examinations generally await a completed SHA Part A and substantially complete current-period records. Later handling depends on what is obtained and time remaining; this guide does not decide removal from BDD.
DD214 not yet issued
You do not need to possess a future separation document to start an appropriate active-duty application. Provide the DD214 or other separation document once it becomes available, using VA's instructions.
Official references
4. File through VA and keep your confirmation
BDD uses the applicable compensation application and pre-discharge development; it is not a separate claim type that always overrides an earlier decision.
Continue to VA to apply online, or use the current paper application and official compensation submission instructions. Include SHA Part A, follow your method's records instructions, and retain the confirmation.
Why this matters
VA begins development after it receives the applicable application.
Documents for this step
- Official disability-compensation online application
Complete the questions in VA’s application. A separate paper VA Form 21-526EZ is not required for this method.
Required for the stated circumstances - VA Form 21-526EZ — Disability compensation application
Use the PDF for a paper disability-compensation application. The official online application includes its own questions.
Required for the stated circumstances - Separation Health Assessment — Part A
BDD self-assessment
required - VA Form 20-0995 — Request a Supplemental Claim
Applicable Supplemental issue, rather than listing a previously denied issue only on 21-526EZ
conditional - Official Supplemental Claim online application
For an applicable previously denied issue, follow the Supplemental process and pre-discharge instructions.
conditional
Apply while 180 to 90 days remain and review all other requirements. An intent to file is not a required first step for every BDD claim.
Keep VA’s submitted-application confirmation or receipt notice, plus a copy of what you sent. A saved draft is not a submitted application.
Confirm exam scheduling and respond to VA's requests.
Official references
5. Attend examinations and respond to requests
VA schedules claim examinations to gather the medical information it needs. A claim examination is separate from treatment.
Keep contact information current. Confirm appointments, ask the scheduling contact for accommodations, and notify VA promptly if your location or availability changes. Submit new evidence through VA's official channel.
Why this matters
The 45-day availability requirement is a practical scheduling requirement. It should not become an invented automatic failure rule for every delayed exam.
Be available during the 45 days after filing. Current M21 says VA-caused delays and rare exams that cannot be completed before discharge should not automatically remove a claim from BDD.
Provide separation documents when issued and monitor the actual claim with VA.
Adding another condition
VA's public page says conditions added while at least 90 days remain may be included with the original BDD claim. Later additions can be developed separately outside BDD and may not be processed until after separation; the original BDD issues do not automatically become denied.
Official references
6. Provide separation documents when available
VA needs to confirm the actual release from active duty and relevant service information before finalizing the applicable award.
Provide the DD214 or equivalent separation document when issued. Tell VA if the actual separation date or forwarding contact information changes, and retain copies of what you send.
Why this matters
An anticipated separation date is a planning date, not proof that you separated or a promised payment date.
Documents for this step
- DD214 or other official separation or service verification, when available
Provide after issue; an active-duty applicant may not yet have it
conditional
When documents become available; respond promptly to an actual VA request.
Read the decision issue by issue after VA sends it.
Official references
7. Understand what happens after separation
BDD aims to complete development before discharge and deliver a decision soon afterward. A program goal is not a guaranteed decision or payment date.
Check your actual VA claim status and requests. When the decision arrives, read the outcome, evaluation, effective date, reasons, and review instructions for each issue.
Why this matters
Some issues may be decided while others are deferred. Deferred means VA needs more work on that issue, not that it denied it.
Current M21 describes a goal of a decision within 30 days after discharge. Individual processing and payment dates depend on the claim; do not use the timeline as an estimate of approval or first payment.
Compare review choices if you disagree, or use the increase guide for later worsening of an already rated condition.