VA claims agent exam study guide

Quick answer: Study the actual text of the statutes and regulations OGC names: 38 U.S.C. chapters 1, 11, 13, 15, 51, 53, 59, 71, and 72, and 38 CFR parts 1, 3, 4, 14, 19, and 20. Weight your time toward 38 CFR Part 3 (compensation, pension, effective dates) and 38 CFR 14.629 (accreditation rules), and practice reading exact regulatory language.

Sources checked October 5, 2026. Independent guide, not affiliated with VA. Not legal advice.

The VA accredited claims agent exam is a test of whether you can read and apply veterans benefits law, not a test of how much you can memorize. VA's Office of General Counsel (OGC) publishes the syllabus, a 75 percent passing score, and the retake rule. This guide turns that syllabus into a study plan: what to learn, in what order, and how to practice.

The confirmed syllabus

OGC says the exam questions are "primarily based on information which can be found in" title 38 U.S. Code chapters 1, 11, 13, 15, 51, 53, 59, 71, and 72, and title 38 CFR parts 1, 3, 4, 14, 19, and 20 (VA OGC accreditation page). That is the entire confirmed syllabus. VA does not publish a question-by-question breakdown, so anyone who tells you the exact number of questions per topic is reporting, not quoting. Here is what each block covers in plain terms:

• 38 CFR part 14: accreditation requirements, standards of conduct, fee rules, and the suspension and cancellation process. This is the law of your future practice. Start here.
• 38 CFR part 3: adjudication of claims, including service connection rules, effective dates, evidence standards, and the duty to assist. This is the biggest substantive block.
• 38 CFR part 4: the Schedule for Rating Disabilities, combined ratings, and rating principles such as resolving doubt in the claimant's favor.
• 38 CFR parts 19 and 20: the appeals system under the modernized review system (AMA): higher-level review, supplemental claims, and Board of Veterans' Appeals options.
• 38 CFR part 1: general provisions, including VA's disclosure and privacy rules.
• Title 38 U.S. Code chapters: the statutes behind the regulations. Chapter 11 (compensation for service-connected disability), chapter 13 (dependency and indemnity compensation), chapter 15 (pension), chapter 51 (claims and procedures, including the duty to assist in 5103A and benefit of the doubt in 5107), chapter 59 (agents and attorneys), and chapters 71 and 72 (Board and Court review) matter most.

How the exam works

Confirmed facts first. The exam is online and offered several times per year on pre-determined dates (VA OGC). You take it only after OGC makes an affirmative character-and-fitness determination (38 CFR 14.629(b)(6)). The passing score is 75 percent or more, and you may sit for the exam no more than twice in any 6-month period (38 CFR 14.629(b)(6)).

The format details, 40 multiple-choice questions, 60 minutes, closed book, come from VA's own welcome letter to approved applicants, which this site quotes on the exam format page. VA's public pages do not repeat those details. They are well sourced, but they are reported details rather than confirmed public facts, so the instructions OGC sends you are the final authority on test day. Plan as though you cannot look anything up: learn the rules, not the page numbers.

Study order: what to learn first

Study in the order that builds on itself:

1. Part 14 (accreditation, fees, conduct). Sections 14.627 through 14.637: definitions, accreditation requirements, power of attorney, fee agreements and fee presumptions, and standards of conduct. You will use this material every day as an agent, and the exam tests it directly. See our 38 CFR 14.629 explained guide and the fee rules.
2. Part 3 (adjudication). Service connection (3.303 through 3.310), effective dates (3.400), evidence and the duty to assist (3.102, 3.103, 3.159), and rating-related provisions (3.321, 3.340 through 3.350). See the 38 CFR part 3 study guide.
3. Part 4 (ratings). Rating principles: 4.1 through 4.7, combined ratings (4.25), functional loss (4.40), and total disability based on individual unemployability (4.16). You do not need to memorize the schedular percentages for every condition; learn how the tables work.
4. Parts 19 and 20 (appeals). The three AMA review options, evidence submission windows, and Board dockets. See AMA basics for agents.
5. Title 38 U.S. Code chapters. Read the statutes after the regulations, because the CFR is where the testable detail lives. Focus on 5103 and 5103A (notice and duty to assist), 5107 (benefit of the doubt), 5110 (effective dates), 5904 (recognition of agents and attorneys), and 7104 through 7266 (Board and Court review).
6. Part 1. A lighter read at the end: general provisions and disclosure rules.

How to study: methods that work for a law exam

This is an applied law test. Reading alone will not get you to 75 percent. Use these methods:

• Active recall. After reading a section, close the book and write the rule in your own words. If you cannot state the rule without looking, you do not know it yet.
• Practice questions. Every study session should end with questions, not more reading. Try the free quiz, then 20 sample questions with full explanations.
• Spaced repetition. Revisit each topic on a schedule: the next day, three days later, a week later. Our study plan builds this in with 2-, 4-, and 6-week schedules.
• Learn the distractors. The exam loves mirror-image traps (suspension versus cancellation, new and material versus new and relevant, direct review versus evidence submission). For each rule, learn what its most tempting wrong version looks like.
• Audio review. Our podcast covers the full syllabus in conversational episodes, playable at 0.5x to 2x, for review during commutes or workouts.

What not to study

The syllabus is broad, but the exam is not a general-knowledge test. Do not spend time on state workers' compensation law, Social Security disability rules, medical diagnosis, or the VA health care system. Stick to title 38 veterans benefits law, and within part 4, learn rating principles rather than memorizing every diagnostic code's percentages.

A realistic timeline

If the material is new to you, plan on 4 to 6 weeks of steady study, roughly an hour a day. If you already work in veterans benefits or a related field, 2 weeks of focused review can be enough. Either way, the study plan page has day-by-day schedules. Remember the retake rule when you schedule: no more than two sittings in any 6-month period, so do not sit for the exam as a practice run (retake rules).