The VA pays from your filing date — not from when the pain started. Back pay doesn't reach backward into the months you spent thinking it over. At the gap between a 30% and 70% rating:
One 5-minute form — an Intent to File — locks in today's date for 12 months while your claim gets built. It's the first thing we walk you through on the free call. The clock doesn't care when you were ready.
Missing any one of them usually means denied — no matter how real the condition is. This is the part nobody teaches veterans.
Pain isn't a diagnosis. A named condition from a clinician is. The VA can't rate a symptom — only a documented condition.
An injury, event, or exposure connected to your service — in your records, or supported by statements from people who were there.
The medical opinion connecting leg 1 to leg 2. This is the leg most denied claims are missing — nobody ever wrote the sentence that connects them.
A denial usually doesn't mean the condition isn't real.
It usually means one leg was never put in the file.
Real VA "combined ratings" math with current 2026 rates. 40 + 20 = 50 in VA math — see for yourself. No email required.
Estimate only. The VA makes all rating determinations. Combined-ratings method per 38 CFR §4.25; rates per VA.gov 2026 tables.
We review your service, your conditions, and your current rating — and tell you honestly whether there's a case worth building. If there isn't, we say so and point you to free help.
Evidence roadmap, medical-opinion coordination, buddy-statement drafts, and C&P exam prep — assembled the way raters actually read. Every deliverable and timeline in writing before you pay.
You review every document, confirm it's accurate, and submit it yourself through VA.gov. Your claim, your signature — and 100% of your back pay stays yours.
We'll tell you what the rest of this industry won't: free help exists, and for some veterans it's the right call.
| Free VSOs | vetclaimprep.com | Back-pay firms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | One flat fee — paid once, told to you before anything else | Often 5× your monthly increase — $15,000–20,000+ from your back pay |
| Your back pay | All yours | All yours — we never touch it | They take their cut first |
| Attention on your file | Officers carry hundreds of cases — often minutes per file | A dedicated case manager building your evidence | Varies — volume-driven |
| Who files | They can file for you | You file — your claim, your signature | Varies |
Find a free accredited VSO anytime: va.gov/ogc/accreditation.asp
One flat fee, one dedicated team, the whole build. You keep 100% of your back pay — we never take a percentage.
Yes — and they're good people doing important work. VA-accredited VSOs like the VFW, DAV, and American Legion will help you file at no cost, and for many veterans that's the right call. What we offer is different: education on how rating decisions actually get made, and a dedicated team building your evidence file. If free help fits you better, we'll tell you that on the call.
No. We prepare everything and you submit it yourself through VA.gov. It's your claim, your signature, and your back pay stays 100% yours. We're a preparation and education service.
No — and anyone who promises you a number is lying to you. The VA decides. What we can tell you is what the rating criteria say and what your file is missing. We only build claims from what's true; we never exaggerate anything.
Some claims need an independent medical opinion — and some don't need one at all, because certain conditions are connected to your service by law (the PACT Act covers a long list for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Gulf veterans). When one is needed, we tell you exactly what it will cost before you pay us anything — never hidden, never marked up.
No. Vet Claim Prep LLC is a private company and is not affiliated with or accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Free claims assistance is always available from VA-accredited representatives.
Take the questionnaire. If we can help, we'll book your free strategy call. If we can't, we'll say so and point you to who can.