How to File a BDD Claim
Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) is VA’s pre-discharge claim path for eligible service members who have a known separation date. It lets VA begin reviewing a disability claim before you leave active duty. It is a filing window. It is not a signup page, not a rating promise, and not automatic.
Start on VA.gov. Count backward from your actual separation date. Do not wait for the calendar year on the orders. Veterans SOP teaches how this window works. We do not file the claim and we do not represent you with VA.
Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) is VA’s pre-discharge claim path for eligible service members who have a known separation date.
It lets VA begin reviewing a disability claim before you leave active duty. It is a filing window. It is not a signup page, not a rating promise, and not automatic.
Start on VA.gov. Count backward from your actual separation date. Do not wait for the calendar year on the orders.
Veterans SOP teaches how this window works. We do not file the claim and we do not represent you with VA.
Link: https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/when-to-file/pre-discharge-claim/
Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) is VA’s pre-discharge claim path for eligible service members who have a known separation date.
It lets VA begin reviewing a disability claim before you leave active duty. It is a filing window. It is not a signup page, not a rating promise, and not automatic.
Start on VA.gov. Count backward from your actual separation date. Do not wait for the calendar year on the orders.
Veterans SOP teaches how this window works. We do not file the claim and we do not represent you with VA.
Link: https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/when-to-file/pre-discharge-claim/
What BDD Is
BDD is a VA program that allows an eligible service member to file a claim for disability compensation 180 to 90 days before separation.
VA can review service treatment records, schedule exams, and work the claim while you are still on active duty. VA’s stated goal is a decision about 30 days after separation. A goal is not a guarantee.
The exam report is evidence. The decision letter is the decision.
BDD does not change who files the claim. You file it, or an accredited representative you choose files it. Veterans SOP does neither.
Who May Use BDD
VA says you may be eligible if all of these are true:
• You are a service member on full-time active duty, including a qualifying member of the National Guard, Reserve, or Coast Guard.
• You have a known separation date.
• That date is 180 to 90 days away.
• You can attend VA exams for 45 days after you submit the claim.
VA also asks you to submit a completed Separation Health Assessment — Part A Self-Assessment with the claim.
You generally cannot use BDD if the claim needs special handling. VA lists examples such as case management for a serious injury or illness, terminal illness, waiting for discharge while treated at a VA hospital or military treatment facility, a character of discharge determination, or not being available for exams during that 45-day period.
If you are not sure you fit the window, read the official page before you file. Do not force a BDD label onto a claim that is outside the dates.
Before You Begin
Have the following ready:
• Your known separation or retirement date
• A way to sign in to VA.gov
• A completed Separation Health Assessment — Part A Self-Assessment
• Copies of records you already have about the conditions you will list
• Dependent information, if it applies
• Direct deposit information, if you want payment set up
• Time on your calendar to attend exams for 45 days after you submit
If you file the BDD claim online at VA.gov, VA says it will get your service treatment records. If you do not file online, you need to provide a copy of your service treatment records for the current period of service with the claim.
Write three dates on paper before you start:
• Separation date
• 180 days before that date
• 90 days before that date
Those three dates are the window.
The Filing Window
File as early as 180 days before separation. File no later than 90 days before separation.
A 2027 separation date does not mean you wait until 2027. Early 2027 dates can put the 180-day mark in 2026.
VA says you can add medical conditions to the claim until day 90 before the expected discharge date.
Those conditions stay with the original claim. If you add a condition after you have less than 90 days left, VA may not process that added condition until after discharge.
After 90 days, BDD is closed. You can still file a standard disability claim before you separate.
How to File
1. Confirm you are inside the 180-to-90-day window and can attend exams for 45 days.
2. Complete the Separation Health Assessment — Part A Self-Assessment.
3. Go to VA.gov.
4. Sign in.
5. Open the disability claim path and file the pre-discharge claim through BDD.
6. List the conditions you are claiming.
7. Upload the Part A form and any records you are submitting yourself.
8. Submit the claim.
9. Write down the date you submitted it.
10. Keep the next 45 days open for exams.
The best starting point VA names is filing online at VA.gov. Paper filing and intake-site filing also exist. Follow the current instructions on the official BDD page.
Official pages:
How to file a VA disability claim
Separation Health Assessment Part A
After You File
Stay available for VA exams for 45 days from the date you submitted the claim.
If VA schedules an exam, keep it unless VA cancels it. Private diagnoses and therapist records can be useful evidence.
They do not automatically cancel the exam.
The exam report is not the rating. After the exam, keep copies of what you submitted and watch for the decision letter.
If some military or medical records are missing, request them and write down the request date. Do not invent the missing page.
If You Have Less Than 90 Days Left
You cannot file a new BDD claim.
You can still begin a standard disability claim before discharge. Submit the claim with the supporting evidence you have. VA says it will help gather evidence it needs to decide the claim.
Do not wait for BDD language if the window has already closed. File the claim that is still available.
After You Separate
Benefits granted from a BDD claim generally cannot start earlier than the day after you leave active duty.
VA’s goal is a decision close to that date. The date that controls what happens next is the date on the decision letter, not the date you hoped for.
Read the letter before you react. Write down every date on it. Finding a date is not the same as knowing which date controls the next step.
What This Page Is
This page is education. It explains VA’s BDD window so you can see whether it applies to your separation date.
Veterans SOP does not file BDD claims.
We do not represent you with VA. We do not promise a rating or a timeline.
Questions about the course How to Navigate the VA System:
(858) 353-9001