Locate the records that matter
Service, VA, federal and private records have different custodians and authorization requirements.
Service and separation records
The service department or National Archives, depending on the branch, record and service dates. Discharge papers (DD214), duty assignments, orders, personnel records and relevant line-of-duty information.
Use the official custodian instructions. For Standard Form 180 (SF180), select the branch, separation date and record type in its destination table rather than sending every request to one address.
VA says it will request a DD214 after receiving a benefits application. A service member applying before discharge should provide the separation document once issued; it is not a document everyone can already possess.
Read military-records request instructionsOfficial references
Routine service treatment records
A military records custodian; its location depends on the branch and service dates. Outpatient medical and dental visits, entrance/separation exams, profiles and some summaries of hospital care.
Identify the relevant duty periods and care locations. Use the National Archives' current branch/date chart for personal copies. For Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD), follow the online-versus-other-channel records instructions.
For an online BDD application, the dedicated VA page says VA will retrieve service treatment records. With other filing methods, provide copies from the current service period. Respond if VA requests missing information.
Find the military health-records custodianOfficial references
VA medical-center and clinic records
VA health care. My HealtheVet on VA.gov provides online access for eligible registered patients. VA treatment notes, laboratory results, imaging reports and other VA health records.
Identify the VA facility and relevant treatment. You can download copies for yourself through VA's official record tool; VetCore does not accept the files.
VA can obtain relevant ordinary VA medical records without a private-record authorization. Separately protected Vet Center records have different instructions.
Review and download VA medical recordsOfficial references
Other federal records
The federal agency or military treatment facility holding those particular records. Relevant Social Security disability records or treatment at a military facility after discharge.
Identify the agency or facility and why its records relate to your claim. Give the relevant treatment dates or benefit information when asked.
VA may obtain relevant federal records through its development process. An agency's record request is separate from filing a VA application or requesting decision review.
Read how VA helps gather recordsOfficial references
Private medical records
The provider's medical-records office. Treatment from a non-VA doctor, clinic or hospital.
Submit relevant copies you have, obtain them yourself, or identify the provider and authorize VA to request them. Check the provider's records address and dates.
When a release is needed, 21-4142 authorizes access and 21-4142a identifies the providers. Do not send duplicates merely because the same information was already supplied through equivalent official online questions.
Authorize a records request through VAOfficial references
Inpatient and separately maintained military records
The treating facility or its records custodian, often NPRC for retired clinical records. Hospital admission records and some military mental-health treatment records maintained separately from routine STRs.
Identify the hospital or treatment facility, year and type of care. The National Archives recommends NA Form 13042 for a personal clinical-record request; it is not the disability application and is not mandatory in every request.
Tell VA that these records exist and where the treatment occurred. A routine STR file may contain a hospital summary without the full admission record.
Read clinical-record request instructionsOfficial references
Vet Center counseling records
The particular Vet Center; these protected records are distinct from ordinary VA medical-center records. Readjustment counseling records from a VA Vet Center.
Identify the Vet Center and relevant dates. If you want VA to request its records, follow the consent instructions rather than assuming VA can automatically retrieve them.
Current internal procedure calls for completed 21-4142 and 21-4142a. Vet Center records remain federal records; needing consent does not make the center a private clinic.
Read VA's treatment-record consent instructionsOfficial references
VA-paid community care
VA may already have the treatment records; otherwise they may still be held by the outside provider. Care provided outside VA under an authorized VA community-care arrangement.
Identify the provider and treatment dates. Check whether relevant records are in your VA record and respond if VA requests a release for missing provider-held records.
VA's internal instructions distinguish community-care records already in VHA possession from unobtained private records. VA payment alone does not establish where every record is held.
Read current VA records-development guidance