M21-1 and 38 CFR changes, week of Oct 26, 2026

Added

• October 29, 2026
• Office of General Counsel (OGC) has concluded that the RO does not have jurisdiction to consider a CUE claim where BVA has
• OGC has concluded that when BVA limits its decision to whether new and material/relevant evidence was submitted, it does not decide the merits of the issues raised in the claim.
• require the approval of the division manager or a reviewer the division manager delegates.
• Ratings prepared by Decision Review Officers (DROs) require the approvals discussed above if the ratings address
• For more information on documenting approval of rating decisions, see the
• Use the table below to prepare a proposed or final CUE decision.
• agree with the finding of CUE

and 21 more added passages

Removed

• August 12, 2024
• General Counsel has concluded that the RO does not have jurisdiction to consider a CUE claim where BVA has
• General Counsel has concluded that when BVA limits its decision to whether new and material/relevant evidence was submitted, it does not decide the merits of the issues raised in the claim.
• require the approval of the division manager, or a designated reviewer.
• Ratings prepared by Decision Review Officers (DROs) require the approvals discussed above if they address
• For more information on documenting approval of rating decisions, see
• Use the table below to prepare a CUE decision.

and 8 more removed passages

Added

• secondary review of unidentifiable mail
• October 28, 2026
• Secondary Review of Unidentifiable Mail
• Mail packets marked as unidentifiable mail will route to the UM FIRST AUTH queue for an independent secondary review by a designated employee other than the initial reviewer.
• The secondary reviewer must complete the identification steps outlined in this block and document the results before confirming the mail packet’s classification as unidentifiable.
• Secondary reviews are completed by a(n)

and 18 more added passages

Removed

• supervisory review of unidentifiable mail
• August 3, 2026
• Definition of Unidentifiable Mail
• Supervisory Review of Unidentifiable Mail
• Packets marked as unidentifiable mail will route to the UM FIRST AUTH queue for review by
• an intake processing center (IPC) supervisor (at least GS-12 assistant coach or above) when mail is processed by an RO, or
• a Centralized Support Division (CSD)
• Supervisory Program Support Assistant.

and 20 more removed passages

Added

• October 28, 2026
• Always accept older versions of forms submitted via Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) applications for electronic claims submission as the form versions may significantly lag behind the release of new form versions.
• via the Accredited Representative Portal (ARP), see
• M21-1, Part II, Subpart iii, 4.B
• with or without the VSO's signature if received between June 19, 2012, and April 21, 2013.
• submitted through legacy VBA applications between March 22, 2015, and May 3, 2015, do not show an electronic signature from the Veteran.
• For more information on establishment of POA through ARP, see
• M21-1, Part II, Subpart iii, 4.B.1.b

and 12 more added passages

Removed

• January 22, 2026
• Always accept older versions of forms submitted via the Stakeholder Enterprise Portal (SEP) and Veterans Online Application (VONAPP) Direct Connect (VDC).
• The form versions included in Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) applications for electronic submission may significantly lag behind the release of new form versions.
• via SEP/VDC, see
• M21-1, Part II, Subpart iii, 4.B.1.c
• with or without the VSO's signature if received between June 19, 2012 (the date the first revision of the form containing a VSO signature block was released to the public), and April 21, 2013 (the date the first revision of the form containing the VSO signature block was made available in SEP/VDC).
• submitted through SEP/VDC between March 22, 2015, and May 3, 2015, do not show an electronic signature from the Veteran.
• For more information on requirements for establishment of POA through VDC/SEP, see

and 13 more removed passages