Guides / Client intake checklist

VA Claims Agent Client Intake Checklist: From First Call to a File Ready for Work

Taking on a veteran client is a regulated sequence, not a handshake. Accreditation first, then the power of attorney on VA Form 21-22a, then a written fee agreement that 38 CFR 14.636 will actually enforce, then a conflict check, and only then the evidence. Get the order right and the file is clean; get it wrong and the fee, or the accreditation, is at risk.

Step zero: be accredited before you act

Before any intake can begin, the agent must already hold VA accreditation from the Office of General Counsel. Representing a claimant before VA without accreditation is not a shortcut, it is a violation that can end a career before it starts. The accreditation exam, the character and fitness review, and the application on VA Form 21a are the gate. Everything below assumes you have already walked through it.

Step 1: get the power of attorney on file with VA Form 21-22a

A veteran becomes your client when VA Form 21-22a, Appointment of Individual as Claimant's Representative, is signed by the claimant and accepted by VA. Until the appointment is on the veteran's record, you are not the representative of record, and you should not be filing, calling VA on the veteran's behalf, or holding yourself out as their agent.

Do not confuse the 21-22a with VA Form 21-22. The 21-22 appoints an organization, a VSO, while the 21-22a appoints an individual, which is the form independent claims agents and attorneys use. The appointment is revocable by the claimant at any time, so treat the POA as living paperwork: confirm it is on file at intake, and re-verify it if the relationship ever goes quiet. Our 21-22a power of attorney guide walks through the appointment rules in detail.

Step 2: sign a written fee agreement and file it with VA

Fee rules for agents live in 38 CFR 14.636, and they are strict by design. The core requirements:

• The agreement must be in writing, signed by the claimant and the agent, and filed with VA. Handshake deals and unsigned understandings are not fee agreements.
• No fees before a VA decision. You may not charge or collect a fee for services rendered before VA issues a decision on the claim. There are no upfront fees, no retainers for pre-decision work, and no creative invoicing around this rule.
• The 20 percent rule. A fee is presumed reasonable when it does not exceed 20 percent of past-due benefits awarded. Fees above 33 and 1/3 percent of past-due benefits are presumed unreasonable. Between those lines, reasonableness is judged on the factors in the regulation, and fee disputes go to OGC on petition for review.
• Direct payment. When the fee agreement authorizes it, VA can pay the agent's fee directly out of the veteran's past-due benefits, which is how most agents actually get paid. The direct-pay mechanics and the paperwork that makes them work are covered in our fee agreement and direct pay checklist.

File the signed agreement with VA promptly and keep a countersigned copy in the client file. A fee the veteran agreed to verbally is a fee you cannot collect.

Step 3: run a real conflict check

The standards of conduct in 38 CFR 14.632 require agents to avoid representing interests that conflict with a client's, among other duties. At intake, that means a written conflict check before you agree to represent anyone: search your client roster and matter log for the same veteran, for opposing parties in the same matter, and for any prior representation that could limit what you can argue now.

Log the check with a date, even when it comes back clean. If a potential conflict surfaces, the representation generally cannot proceed without resolving it, and some conflicts cannot be cured at all. The standards of conduct guide covers 14.632 in full, and the consequences of getting this wrong run through suspension and cancellation of accreditation.

While you are at it, review your intake advertising against the same regulation. Misleading advertising and solicitation involving undue influence are prohibited, so the promises on your website and the pitch in your intake call have to match what you can actually deliver.

Step 4: collect the evidence that matters first

Agents waste the most time chasing records in the wrong order. At intake, collect in this sequence:

1. The decision letter and its reasons and bases. If there is a prior decision, everything flows from it. The reasons and bases tell you what VA found, what it considered, and what was missing. No decision letter, no strategy.
2. Intent-to-file status. Check whether an intent to file is active and when it expires. An expiring ITF changes every deadline in the case.
3. Service treatment records. The foundation of most claims. If the veteran does not have them, plan the request now; they take the longest to arrive.
4. Private treatment records. Current diagnoses and ongoing treatment live here. Get authorizations signed at intake so requests go out the same week.
5. Lay and buddy statements. Symptoms, in-service events, and functional impact in the veteran's own words, plus corroboration from people who saw it happen.
6. Prior claims file. What VA already considered determines what counts as new evidence later. Pull it early.

Scan everything into the client file the day it arrives. A record you cannot find is a record you do not have.

Step 5: run the intake interview and lock the calendar

The intake interview is where you learn what the paperwork will not tell you: the veteran's goals, the full condition list, work history for unemployability angles, and any upcoming VA exams or deadlines. Take notes as if opposing counsel will read them, because a fee dispute reviewer might. Confirm contact information and preferred communication method, and set expectations about timelines honestly; the one-year AMA appeal clocks and any active intent-to-file date go into your calendar before the call ends.

Close the intake with a short written summary to the client: what you were hired to do, what happens next, and what you need from them. It prevents most misunderstandings and it is the document you will be grateful for if the relationship ever sours.

Intake mistakes that cost agents money and accreditation

• Starting work before the POA is accepted. Calls to VA and filings made before you are the representative of record create a paper trail of unauthorized practice.
• Verbal fee deals. An unsigned fee agreement is unenforceable, and OGC will not rescue a fee you never put in writing.
• Charging before a VA decision. Pre-decision fees violate 38 CFR 14.636 regardless of what the client agreed to.
• Skipping the decision letter. Building a strategy without the reasons and bases is guessing with someone else's benefits.
• No conflict log. A clean check you did not write down is, for practical purposes, a check you did not do.

Sources

• VA Office of General Counsel: Accreditation, VA's official page on agent and attorney accreditation.
• 38 CFR 14.636, payment of fees for representation. Full text: eCFR 14.636.
• 38 CFR 14.632, standards of conduct. Full text: eCFR 14.632.
• 38 CFR 14.629, requirements for accreditation. Full text: eCFR 14.629.

This page is for general information only, not legal advice. Claim strategy depends on individual circumstances, so consult an accredited claims agent, attorney, or VSO before making filing decisions.