MST VA Claims: Markers, Delayed Reports, and VA Form 21-0781

What this claim is, and what it is not

VA's MST compensation page defines MST as sexual assault or sexual harassment experienced during military service. It can happen to anyone. VA lists examples on that page.

The disability claim is for a current mental or physical condition related to that event. It is not a court-martial. It is not a requirement that you reported the event the same week. It is not a requirement that you already have a VA rating to get MST-related health care.

VA.gov is clear on care. VA provides free MST-related treatment. You do not need documentation of the event or a disability rating. Every VA medical facility has a VHA MST coordinator. Every regional office has male and female VBA MST outreach coordinators.

The actual rule

PTSD service connection has three parts in § 3.304(f): a diagnosis in accordance with § 4.125(a), a medical link between current symptoms and an in-service stressor, and credible supporting evidence that the claimed stressor occurred.

For personal assault, including MST, § 3.304(f)(5) changes how that third part can be shown. Evidence from sources other than the veteran's service records may corroborate the account. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• records from law enforcement, rape crisis centers, mental health counseling centers, hospitals, or physicians
• pregnancy tests or tests for sexually transmitted diseases
• statements from family members, roommates, fellow service members, or clergy

Evidence of behavior changes following the claimed assault is one type of relevant evidence. Examples include a request for a transfer, deterioration in work performance, substance abuse, episodes of depression, panic attacks, or anxiety without an identifiable cause, or unexplained economic or social behavior changes.

VA will not deny a PTSD claim based on in-service personal assault without first advising the claimant that evidence from sources other than service records, or evidence of behavior changes, may constitute credible supporting evidence, and allowing the claimant to furnish that evidence or tell VA where it is. VA may submit evidence it receives to an appropriate medical or mental health professional for an opinion on whether it indicates that a personal assault occurred.

That notice-and-opportunity rule is why a thin denial that never asked about markers is a process problem.

VA's MST page uses the same idea. Direct evidence can include clergy statements, counseling records, statements from family or fellow service members, crisis-center or police reports, later civilian medical notes, and diaries. Indirect evidence can include work, weight, relationship, or substance-use changes, and symptoms such as anxiety, depression, panic, or feeling disconnected. VA also lists pregnancy or STI tests, transfer requests, unexplained counseling visits, and treatment for physical injuries around that time, whether or not they were reported as MST. VA says the indirect evidence does not need to show a clear cause.

The form: 21-0781, not 21-0781a

VA Form 21-0781 is now the statement form for mental health conditions related to an in-service traumatic event. The form name is Statement in Support of Claimed Mental Health Disorder(s) Due to an In-Service Traumatic Event(s). Revision date: March 2024. VA.gov last updated that page June 13, 2025.

As of June 28, 2024, VA discontinued VA Form 21-0781a, Statement in Support of Claim for Service Connection for PTSD Secondary to Personal Assault. VA now wants MST, personal assault, combat, and other traumatic events reported on 21-0781.

VA.gov says the form is optional. It can help VA identify records and other evidence. If you already completed a 21-0781a, the online 21-526EZ still lets you choose that you have already filled out 21-0781/21-0781a and want to upload it.

VA's evidence page still tells people filing PTSD or other mental-health conditions to submit a completed 21-0781. Use the current form.

You do not have to write a complete narrative if you cannot. Approximate dates, locations, units, and marker sources help VA search. The regulation does not require a same-day official report.

Restricted records

Some service members used restricted reporting. That is a DoD process designed to limit who sees the report. VA.gov lists DOD reporting forms and investigative reports as evidence types. It does not publish a public, step-by-step unrestrict kit on the MST compensation page.

What you can do without inventing a process: tell VA, on 21-0781 or in a statement, that a report was made, whether it was restricted or unrestricted, the approximate date, the installation, and the office if you know it. 38 CFR § 3.159(c)(2) requires VA to make as many requests as necessary for relevant federal records, and it requires you to give enough information to search. Some records will need your authorization. A VBA MST coordinator can help identify what to request.

Do not assume a restricted report is gone. Do not assume VA already has it. Do not assume you must unrestrict it before you can file. You can file the claim and let VA request what it is allowed to obtain.

If there was no report at all, § 3.304(f)(5) is the reason the claim can still be developed. Markers exist because official files are often silent.

What to look at, and what to send

You do not need a perfect packet. You need a current diagnosis or persistent symptoms, a description of the in-service event that you can give, and any marker or other-source evidence that exists.

Useful pages, when they exist: a sudden transfer, a drop in performance, unexplained medical visits, pregnancy or STI testing, civilian therapy notes, and statements from people who saw the change. A lay statement can describe the change. It does not have to describe the assault.

If VA schedules an exam, go if you can. Request the provider gender you need. You may ask for a chaperone on a sensitive physical exam. VA.gov.

If a prior MST claim was denied, VA says it has changed how it processes these claims. The MST page encourages a decision review and a call to the VBA MST coordinator.

Mistakes to avoid

Waiting to file because there is no official report. § 3.304(f)(5) exists for that fact pattern.

Using the discontinued 21-0781a as if it were required. Use 21-0781.

Sending only a combat-style stressor statement and never listing markers. The regulation asks VA to look at other sources. Help it look.

Skipping MST-related care because the claim is pending. Care does not require a rating.

FAQ

Do I have to have reported the MST in service?

No. § 3.304(f)(5) lets VA use other-source evidence and behavior changes. VA.gov says a delayed or missing official report is a situation the process is built to handle.

Is VA Form 21-0781a still the MST form?

No. VA discontinued 21-0781a on June 28, 2024. Use VA Form 21-0781. If you already completed a 21-0781a, VA still lets you upload it with an online 21-526EZ.

Is 21-0781 required?

VA.gov calls it optional, and also says it can help. The evidence page still tells PTSD and other mental-health filers to submit it. Completing it is the safer practice. It is not a promise of a grant.

What is a marker?

A marker is evidence of a change after the event: a transfer request, a drop in performance, new mental-health symptoms, substance-use problems, unexplained social or financial changes, or medical testing around that time. § 3.304(f)(5); VA MST page.

Can I get MST care without a disability rating?

Yes. VA provides free MST-related care without documentation of the event and without a rating.

Primary sources

• 38 CFR § 3.304
• 38 CFR § 3.159
• VA Form 21-0781 (last updated June 13, 2025)
• Military sexual trauma and disability compensation (last updated June 30, 2025)
• Evidence needed for your disability claim
• VA claim exam (C&P exam)
• Disability compensation for PTSD

Educational only. Not legal or medical advice. Confirm against the veteran's actual notice and current eCFR / VA.gov. For claim-specific help, use a VA-accredited VSO, claims agent, or attorney.

# My Claim Packet blog drafts , batch 03 (POST 21 to 30)

Educational drafts for Codex. Author: Jesse, Founder. Date: 2026-08-16. Do not invent ratings, dollar recoveries, or guaranteed outcomes.