Table of Contents
VA Form 21-22 Printable, Fillable in PDF – If you choose to have a service organization help you with your claim, VA Form 21-22, Appointment of Veterans Service Organization as Claimant’s Representative (also known as the VA Power of Attorney VA Form 21-22), should be utilized instead. Powers of Attorney are not recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to litigate a VA claim, according to the VA. For a claimant’s representative to be recognized by the VA, the representative must be selected by VA criteria. The electronic version of the form was updated in February 2017 to include various additional features that were not available in the paper version. The paper version of the form was issued on February 1, 2019.
What Is The Purpose Of VA Form 21-22?
- If a service member or veteran needs assistance with their VA benefits application, they may turn to a Veteran Service Organization (VSO). It is a veterans organization that assists military personnel on terminal leave, veterans, and their families in the process of filing for Veterans Administration benefits. The VA Form 21-22 has a list of VSOs that may be accessed online.
- The form is a legally binding agreement between a claimant and a government agency or a service organization, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the American Legion, or the Vietnam Veterans of America, to obtain permission to represent a veteran, as well as to prepare and prosecute a claim before the Veterans Administration (VA).
- A veteran’s VA file as well as his or her medical data are made available to the approved party when the form is signed. They may represent the veteran in court as well as in medical institutions if they so choose.
- For lawyers and agents who want to collect a fee for their services, the VA Form 21-22A, “Appointment of Attorney or Agent as Claimant’s Representative,” is a form that is quite similar. No one may access information about a claim without first submitting one of these forms (also known as a “third-party permission form”), since they all include the veteran’s written approval to release information.
Instructions For VA Form 21-22
The Social Security Number (SSN) and a Service Number (SN) must be readily available when filling out the application for benefits form. Although it is common for a VA file number to be the same as a social security number, this is not always the case. There are a variety of methods for obtaining a VA Service Number:
- Inspect the documentation you have with the VA.
- Contact the Department of Veterans’ Benefits or the Department of Veterans’ Education.
- Try using your Social Security Number instead of your file number; it will work even if the file number is different.
Additionally, the form should match the following requirements:
- It must be signed by the claimant or by the claimant’s legal representative.
- The claimant’s spouse, parent, another family, or friend may complete the form if the claimant is incompetent, underage, or otherwise incapable; the director of the hospital where health care is delivered can also complete the form.
- To submit the form, it should be sent to the relevant VA office.
How To Fill Out VA Form 21-22 (Veterans Affairs)?
The form is one page long and provides a list of organizations that have been recognized as providing services. The following are the instructions for completing VA Form 21-22:
- Fill out the form with the veteran’s name and the VA file number;
- input the name of the group that has been selected to represent them;
- When filling out the form, if the individual completing it is not a veteran, you must supply their social security number, insurance number, and your connection to the veteran.
- Check the box to confirm authorization and offer approval to the disclosure of medical records if it is necessary to do so.
Reminder for the completion of the form:
- sufficient information to allow the veteran or claimant to be identified
- the name of the group dedicated to serving others;
- signature of the veteran or claimant together with the date of service
- With the date, the signature of a representative working on behalf of the service organization is required.
Box 3B of VA Form 21-22 is not required to be completed. There will be no need to check that the individual representative specified in box 3B is accredited if the form is submitted in its entirety. There is no restriction on who may act on this form; it records the appointment of the full-service organization specified in Box 3A and does not restrict action to a single representative within that organization.
What Is The Procedure For Revoking VA Form 21-22?
Revocation of the VA Form 21-22 is possible at any time, and the agent or attorney may be dismissed at any time as well. It must be presumed that the receipt of a new POA completed by the claimant would result in the cancellation of an existing one unless the claimant explicitly specifies otherwise.
The form may be withdrawn by submitting a formal revocation to the Veterans Administration. To inform the VA that the existing VSO representative is no longer required as the veterans representative, complete the VA 21-4138 Form. A copy of the statement should be provided to both the VA and the existing representative, either by mail or personal delivery, as appropriate. The claimant retains a second copy of the document.
A new representative will almost certainly want to thoroughly evaluate a claim to provide the best counsel; this may take some time. When an appeal is pending before the Board of Veterans Appeals, some VSOs choose not to represent the veterans.