About
Built by a veteran. Sourced from the regulation.
My Claim Packet is an independent educational resource. The public library stays free so veterans can learn the rating schedule, look up diagnostic codes, and walk into a conversation with a VSO, attorney, or physician already knowing what the regulation says. The paid dashboard is the place that brings that information together so you can see where you stand — and keep the power in your hands.
Mission
We teach the regulation. That’s it. Every guide on this site is grounded in 38 CFR Part 4 (the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities), with the exact CFR vocabulary the rater is required to use, paraphrased only where it helps a veteran understand what they’re reading. We don’t prepare claims, we don’t give personal legal or medical advice, and we don’t promise any outcome.
Our position is simple: a veteran who understands the rating schedule before they file ends up with a better-supported claim, a better-organized C&P exam, and a better-informed conversation with whoever helps them — whether that’s a VA-accredited VSO, a claims agent, or an attorney.
Built by a veteran, for veterans
I’m Jesse — 12 years in the Army as a CH-47 Chinook Flight Engineer (MOS 15U), with about 3,000 flight hours. Now 100% service-connected.
I built My Claim Packet because the VA disability system is designed to be confusing. I watched too many of my brothers and sisters leave benefits on the table they earned — not because they didn’t deserve them, but because nobody explained the system in a way that actually made sense.
The public site is a condition dictionary: condition guides, a consolidated VA rating-schedule / diagnostic-code catalog, DBQ guides, and VA Math. Those stay free. Detailed pages are marked when their rating summaries have completed editorial review; entries still awaiting review point readers to the controlling regulation.
The $59-per-year Founding Veteran Pass unlocks the dashboard. That is not a claims-filing service and it is not someone speaking for you. It is the place that puts you and this information together so you understand where you stand and what your options are when you talk with a VSO — instead of taking the VSO’s word for it. You can VSO-shop, work with an accredited representative, or organize a DIY filing. The power stays with the veteran.
A small annual fee is the alternative I wanted to the $3,000–$10,000 some claim companies and claim sharks charge. Public guides stay free, because that is the resource I wish I’d had.
Use this site. Share it. And if it helps you have a more informed conversation with your VSO, clinician, or accredited representative — that’s why I built it.
— Jesse, Founder
How this site is different
CFR-sourced, not paraphrased to death
Reviewed rating summaries are checked against 38 CFR Part 4 and link to the controlling source. Catalog entries that have not completed editorial review are labeled and do not display tactical filing guidance.
2026 rates, refreshed annually
Every dollar figure on the site reflects the FY2026 pay tables effective Dec 1, 2025. When the December 2026 COLA hits, the rate constants update in one file and the entire catalog picks up the new numbers. No stale figures lingering in old guides.
Public library stays free. Clear paid boundary.
Condition guides, the rating-schedule / diagnostic-code catalog, DBQ guides, VA Math, and the browser-only Service Fingerprint remain public. The $59 Founding Veteran Pass pays for the dashboard: saved conditions, evidence checklists, statement builders, and a VSO review packet you can export. It organizes information so you can speak with a VSO from a position of knowledge. It does not file a claim or speak for you.
We will not sell personal claim data or let advertising change our educational conclusions. Any advertising, sponsorship, affiliate link, or paid partnership will be clearly identified. You see the disclosure; you decide.
What we won’t do
These limits aren’t marketing copy — they’re the line between an educational resource and the things only an accredited representative is allowed to do for you. We will not:
- Prepare, file, or submit your VA claim
- Give you personalized legal or medical advice about your specific case
- Promise or estimate a rating outcome for any individual
- Substitute for an examination by a licensed physician
- Substitute for representation by a VA-accredited VSO, claims agent, or attorney
The VA decides every claim on its own facts. Nothing on this site is a guarantee of any specific rating or benefit. If you need someone to actually file or argue your claim, find an accredited representative at va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation.
Who this is for
Veterans filing an initial disability claim
Learn the rating schedule before your C&P so you can describe symptoms in CFR vocabulary, not vague terms.
Veterans filing a supplemental or HLR
Diagnose why the prior decision came in low and identify the missing evidence.
Veterans pursuing TDIU
Understand schedular vs extraschedular eligibility and what your work history needs to show.
Family members helping a veteran
Translate the dense CFR language into something you can use to support the claim.
VSOs and accredited reps cross-referencing
Quick diagnostic-code lookup with the rating tiers, evidence checklist, and common secondaries already laid out.
Veterans dealing with denials or under-ratings
See the exact tier criteria you may have been rated under and identify what evidence could push you up.
How the site is maintained
- Detailed rating summaries are published through an explicit review list. Pages that have not completed review remain limited to catalog identification and primary-source links instead of presenting unverified rating tactics.
- Compensation rates refresh annually after the December COLA. All dollar figures read from a single constants file so the update is one edit, not 250 finds-and-replaces.
- A build-time guard catches the worst category of drift — flagship pages advertising rating tiers that don’t exist in the CFR — before any wrong content reaches a veteran.
- Corrections are welcomed. If you spot a tier that’s wrong, a CFR citation that’s stale, or a dollar amount that doesn’t match the current pay tables, please email us using the contact below — with the URL of the page and what you saw.
Independence
My Claim Packet is independent and not endorsed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “My Claim Packet” is a private educational project — not a government program, not a law firm, not a claims-preparation service.
Support the work
If the public library saved you time or helped you ask better questions of a VSO, optional support helps cover hosting, research, and the next annual compensation-rate update.
My Claim Packet is run by one person, not a nonprofit. Contributions support the public library and are separate from the paid Founding Veteran Pass.
Not affiliated with the VA. Donations cover hosting and content maintenance and are not tax-deductible (My Claim Packet is not a 501(c)(3)).
Contact & feedback
Corrections, broken links, missing guides, or feedback on any page: use the contact page or email support@vadisabilitymax.com. The faster a CFR error gets reported, the faster it gets fixed for the next veteran reading the same page.