How Pay Vets Now works
You file your own VA disability claim. We give you the software to do it right. Here is exactly what happens at each step.
Step 0 — You decide you are ready to file
If you have not filed yet, or you filed once and the VA denied you, or you think your current rating is wrong, this is the moment. Before you do anything else, understand: the VA owes you only what you claim and prove. Pay Vets Now is the software that helps you claim and prove it.
Step 1 — Intake (10 minutes)
Sign up at payvetsnow.com/start with your email. We ask for the bare minimum: name, SSN, branch, approximate service dates, discharge status, state, and which conditions you are claiming. That is enough to generate your first two documents.
Step 2 — Lock your effective date TODAY
The single most valuable thing we do for every veteran on day one is generate your Intent to File (VA Form 21-0966). Filing this today — even before you have any evidence — locks the effective date for your claim. That preserves up to one year of retroactive back pay while you gather records. This form is available in the free Starter tier. Submit it on VA.gov or mail it in as soon as you download it.
Step 3 — The AI Concierge reads your intake and orients you
For each condition you claimed, our AI Concierge tells you:
- The 38 CFR diagnostic code and rating tiers (10/30/50/70/100)
- What VA looks for at each rating level
- Whether your condition might be presumptive (PACT Act, Agent Orange, Gulf War, Camp Lejeune, etc.)
- What evidence you need
- Common denial reasons and how to pre-empt them
The Concierge provides information, not personalized legal advice. For specific legal advice, we direct you to a VA-accredited attorney or a free VSO.
Step 4 — Generate your claim packet
Subscribe to the Claim Plan ($100 today + $50/month for 6 months = $400 total) and we generate:
- VA Form 21-526EZ — your actual claim form, pre-filled with your intake data, ready for you to review + sign + submit
- VA Form 21-4138 Statement in Support — your narrative explaining how each condition is connected to service, drafted from your intake
- Records Recovery Packet — a ZIP containing: SF-180 (DD-214 + Service Treatment Records from NPRC), VA 10-5345 (medical records from your VA Medical Center), VA 3288 (Claims File if you have filed before), and HIPAA authorization letters for any private providers you have seen
Step 5 — You send the records requests
Print the Records Recovery Packet. Sign each letter. Mail them (we print return addresses for each destination). Records typically arrive in 30–90 days depending on source. You can start your claim without them and add them as they come in.
If you do not have a stable mailing address, the Claim Plan includes the Pay Vets Now Mailbox — a Miami-based virtual address that receives and digitally delivers your records. Envelope scans show up in your dashboard; you click Open and the contents get OCR-scanned and filed into your evidence record automatically.
Step 6 — You file on VA.gov
When your evidence is ready, we walk you through the submission on VA.gov screen by screen. You sign in with ID.me, upload your 21-526EZ and supporting documents, and hit submit. You are the filer of record. The claim belongs to you.
Step 7 — We track the claim with you
The VA takes 4–6 months on average to issue a decision (FY25 average is 130 days). During that time, you will:
- Attend one or more Compensation and Pension (C&P) exams with a VA contract examiner. We give you a per-condition preparation guide: what to expect, what to bring, what to say, and critically what NOT to say.
- Receive letters from the VA. Upload them; we interpret each one in plain English and tell you what action (if any) is required.
- Watch deadlines. We track every VA-imposed response window and email you reminders.
Step 8 — You get your decision
When the VA issues your rating decision, you upload it to your dashboard. We break it down: every condition granted, every condition denied, every rating, the effective date for each, and how VA calculated your combined rating. Plus we calculate the back pay you are owed and when it will arrive.
Step 9 — If you are denied (or under-rated), you appeal
38% of initial claims are denied in whole or part. If that happens to you, we help you prepare the appeal:
- Higher-Level Review — a more senior VA adjudicator re-reviews the same evidence (4–5 months)
- Supplemental Claim — you submit new and relevant evidence (4–5 months)
- Board of Veterans Appeals — a Veterans Law Judge hears your case (12–29 months depending on path)
We help you prepare the paperwork for HLR and Supplemental Claims at the software level. For Board appeals, we recommend you use a VA-accredited attorney, and we refer you to one — accredited attorneys charge a 20% contingency on past-due benefits under 38 CFR 14.636 and only if they win. Free representation through DAV, VFW, American Legion, or your county VSO is always available too.
What makes this different from a claim shark
Claim-shark consulting firms (VA Claims Insider, Trajector, Veterans Guardian, and dozens of clones) charge $10,000 to $20,000 in flat fees for services federal law prohibits them from providing. Those firms are now banned in New Jersey, New York, Maine, California, and Alabama. Pay Vets Now charges a flat $400 software subscription. We never take a percentage of your VA benefits. We never file anything on your behalf. We are software.
What makes this different from a free VSO
Nothing replaces a free VSO for veterans with time to wait. DAV, VFW, American Legion, PVA, AMVETS, VVA, and county VSOs provide free, accredited representation, and we surface them on every page of our site. But those VSOs are overwhelmed — veterans routinely wait 4-8 weeks for appointments. Pay Vets Now gives you AI-assisted drafting tonight, records recovery on day one, and a 24/7 Concierge that never takes a lunch break. For many veterans, both paths run in parallel: we handle the software, the VSO handles the representation.