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Code of Federal Regulations (Last Updated: July 5, 2024) |
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Title 38 - Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief |
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Chapter I - Department of Veterans Affairs |
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Part 3 - Adjudication |
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Subpart A - Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation |
§ 3.850 - General. |
§ 3.851 - St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC. |
§ 3.852 - Institutional awards. |
§ 3.853 - Incompetents; estate over $25,000. |
§ 3.854 - Limitation on payments for minor. |
§ 3.855 - Beneficiary rated or reported incompetent. |
§ 3.856 - Change of name of female fiduciary. |
§ 3.857 - Children's benefits to fiduciary of surviving spouse. |
Rating Considerations Relative to Specific Diseases |
§ 3.370 - Pulmonary tuberculosis shown by X-ray in active service. |
§ 3.371 - Presumptive service connection for tuberculous disease; wartime and service on or after January 1, 1947. |
§ 3.372 - Initial grant following inactivity of tuberculosis. |
§ 3.373 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.374 - Effect of diagnosis of active tuberculosis. |
§ 3.375 - Determination of inactivity (complete arrest) in tuberculosis. |
§ 3.378 - Changes from activity in pulmonary tuberculosis pension cases. |
§ 3.379 - Anterior poliomyelitis. |
§ 3.380 - Diseases of allergic etiology. |
§ 3.381 - Service connection of dental conditions for treatment purposes. |
§ 3.382 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.383 - Special consideration for paired organs and extremities. |
§ 3.384 - Psychosis. |
§ 3.385 - Disability due to impaired hearing. |
§§ 3.376--3.377 - [Reserved] |
Claims |
§ 3.150 - Forms to be furnished. |
§ 3.151 - Claims for disability benefits. |
§ 3.152 - Claims for death benefits. |
§ 3.153 - Claims filed with Social Security. |
§ 3.154 - Injury due to hospital treatment, etc. |
§ 3.155 - How to file a claim. |
§ 3.156 - New evidence. |
§ 3.157 - Report of examination or hospitalization as claim for increase or to reopen. |
§ 3.158 - Abandoned claims. |
§ 3.159 - Department of Veterans Affairs assistance in developing claims. |
§ 3.160 - Status of claims. |
§ 3.161 - [Reserved] |
Protection |
§ 3.950 - Helpless children; Spanish-American and prior wars. |
§ 3.951 - Preservation of disability ratings. |
§ 3.952 - Protected ratings. |
§ 3.953 - Pub. L. 85-56 and Pub. L. 85-857. |
§ 3.954 - Burial allowance. |
§ 3.957 - Service connection. |
§ 3.958 - Federal employees' compensation cases. |
§ 3.959 - Tuberculosis. |
§ 3.960 - Section 306 and old-law pension protection. |
§§ 3.955--3.956 - [Reserved] |
Forfeiture |
§ 3.900 - General. |
§ 3.901 - Fraud. |
§ 3.902 - Treasonable acts. |
§ 3.903 - Subversive activities. |
§ 3.904 - Effect of forfeiture after veteran's death. |
§ 3.905 - Declaration of forfeiture or remission of forfeiture. |
Apportionments |
§ 3.450 - General. |
§ 3.451 - Special apportionments. |
§ 3.452 - Situations when benefits may be apportioned. |
§ 3.453 - Veterans compensation or service pension or retirement pay. |
§ 3.454 - Veterans disability pension. |
§ 3.458 - Veteran's benefits not apportionable. |
§ 3.459 - Death compensation. |
§ 3.460 - Death pension. |
§ 3.461 - Dependency and indemnity compensation. |
Ratings and Evaluations; Basic Entitlement Considerations |
§ 3.300 - Claims based on the effects of tobacco products. |
§ 3.301 - Line of duty and misconduct. |
§ 3.302 - Service connection for mental unsoundness in suicide. |
Ratings for Special Purposes |
§ 3.350 - Special monthly compensation ratings. |
§ 3.351 - Special monthly dependency and indemnity compensation, death compensation, pension and spouse's compensation ratings. |
§ 3.352 - Criteria for determining need for aid and attendance and “permanently bedridden.” |
§ 3.353 - Determinations of incompetency and competency. |
§ 3.354 - Determinations of insanity. |
§ 3.355 - Testamentary capacity for insurance purposes. |
§ 3.356 - Conditions which determine permanent incapacity for self-support. |
§ 3.357 - Civil service preference ratings. |
§ 3.358 - Compensation for disability or death from hospitalization, medical or surgical treatment, examinations or vocational rehabilitation training (§ 3.800). |
§ 3.359 - Determination of service connection for former members of the Armed Forces of Czechoslovakia or Poland. |
§ 3.360 - Service-connected health-care eligibility of certain persons administratively discharged under other than honorable condition. |
§ 3.362 - Offsets under 38 U.S.C. 1151(b) of benefits awarded under 38 U.S.C. 1151(a). |
§ 3.363 - Bar to benefits under 38 U.S.C. 1151. |
Dependency, Income and Estate |
Ratings and Evaluations; Service Connection |
§ 3.303 - Principles relating to service connection. |
§ 3.304 - Direct service connection; wartime and peacetime. |
§ 3.305 - Direct service connection; peacetime service before January 1, 1947. |
§ 3.306 - Aggravation of preservice disability. |
§ 3.308 - Presumptive service connection; peacetime service before January 1, 1947. |
§ 3.309 - Disease subject to presumptive service connection. |
§ 3.310 - Disabilities that are proximately due to, or aggravated by, service-connected disease or injury. |
§ 3.311 - Claims based on exposure to ionizing radiation. |
§ 3.312 - Cause of death. |
§ 3.313 - Claims based on service in Vietnam. |
§ 3.314 - Basic pension determinations. |
§ 3.315 - Basic eligibility determinations; dependents, loans, education. |
§ 3.316 - Claims based on chronic effects of exposure to mustard gas and Lewisite. |
§ 3.317 - Compensation for certain disabilities occurring in Persian Gulf veterans. |
§ 3.318 - Presumptive service connection for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. |
§ 3.319 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.320 - Claims based on exposure to fine particulate matter. |
§ 3.321 - General rating considerations. |
§ 3.322 - Rating of disabilities aggravated by service. |
§ 3.323 - Combined ratings. |
§ 3.324 - Multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities. |
§ 3.325 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.326 - Examinations. |
§ 3.327 - Reexaminations. |
§ 3.328 - lndependent medical opinions. |
§ 3.329 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.330 - Resumption of rating when veteran subsequently reports for Department of Veterans Affairs examination. |
§ 3.340 - Total and permanent total ratings and unemployability. |
§ 3.341 - Total disability ratings for compensation purposes. |
§ 3.342 - Permanent and total disability ratings for pension purposes. |
§ 3.343 - Continuance of total disability ratings. |
§ 3.344 - Stabilization of disability evaluations. |
§§ 3.331--3.339 - [Reserved] |
§§ 3.318--3.320 - [Reserved] |
§§ 3.319--3.320 - [Reserved] |
Hospitalization Adjustments |
§ 3.551 - Reduction because of hospitalization. |
§ 3.552 - Adjustment of allowance for aid and attendance. |
§ 3.556 - Adjustment on discharge or release. |
§ 3.557 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.558 - Resumption and payment of withheld benefits; incompetents with estates that equaled or exceeded statutory limit. |
§ 3.559 - [Reserved] |
§§ 3.553--3.555 - [Reserved] |
Adjustments and Resumptions |
§ 3.650 - Rate for additional dependent. |
§ 3.651 - Change in status of dependents. |
§ 3.652 - Periodic certification of continued eligibility. |
§ 3.653 - Foreign residence. |
§ 3.654 - Active service pay. |
§ 3.655 - Failure to report for Department of Veterans Affairs examination. |
§ 3.656 - Disappearance of veteran. |
§ 3.657 - Surviving spouse becomes entitled, or entitlement terminates. |
§ 3.658 - Offsets; dependency and indemnity compensation. |
§ 3.659 - Two parents in same parental line. |
§ 3.660 - Dependency, income and estate. |
§ 3.661 - Eligibility Verification Reports. |
§ 3.665 - Incarcerated beneficiaries and fugitive felons - compensation. |
§ 3.666 - Incarcerated beneficiaries and fugitive felons - pension. |
§ 3.667 - School attendance. |
§ 3.668 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.669 - Forfeiture. |
§§ 3.662--3.664 - [Reserved] |
Evidence Requirements |
§ 3.200 - Testimony certified or under oath. |
§ 3.201 - Exchange of evidence; Social Security and Department of Veterans Affairs. |
§ 3.202 - Evidence from foreign countries. |
§ 3.203 - Service records as evidence of service and character of discharge. |
§ 3.204 - Evidence of dependents and age. |
§ 3.205 - Marriage. |
§ 3.206 - Divorce. |
§ 3.207 - Void or annulled marriage. |
§ 3.208 - Claims based on attained age. |
§ 3.209 - Birth. |
§ 3.210 - Child's relationship. |
§ 3.211 - Death. |
§ 3.212 - Unexplained absence for 7 years. |
§ 3.213 - Change of status affecting entitlement. |
§ 3.214 - Court decisions; unremarried surviving spouses. |
§ 3.215 - Termination of marital relationship or conduct. |
§ 3.216 - Mandatory disclosure of social security numbers. |
§ 3.217 - Submission of statements or information affecting entitlement to benefits. |
Accrued |
§ 3.1000 - Entitlement under 38 U.S.C. 5121 to benefits due and unpaid upon death of a beneficiary. |
§ 3.1001 - Hospitalized competent veterans. |
§ 3.1002 - Political subdivisions of United States. |
§ 3.1003 - Returned and canceled checks. |
§ 3.1007 - Hospitalized incompetent veterans. |
§ 3.1008 - Accrued benefits payable to foreign beneficiaries. |
§ 3.1009 - Personal funds of patients. |
§ 3.1010 - Substitution under 38 U.S.C. 5121A following death of a claimant. |
§§ 3.1004--3.1006 - [Reserved] |
Reductions and Discontinuances |
§ 3.500 - General. |
§ 3.501 - Veterans. |
§ 3.502 - Surviving spouses. |
§ 3.503 - Children. |
§ 3.504 - Parents; aid and attendance. |
§ 3.505 - Filipino veterans and their survivors; benefits at the full-dollar rate. |
Incompetents, Guardianship and Institutional Awards |
Concurrent Benefits and Elections |
§ 3.700 - General. |
§ 3.701 - Elections of pension or compensation. |
§ 3.702 - Dependency and indemnity compensation. |
§ 3.703 - Two parents in same parental line. |
§ 3.704 - Elections within class of dependents. |
§ 3.707 - Dependents' educational assistance. |
§ 3.708 - Federal Employees' Compensation. |
§ 3.710 - Civil service annuitants. |
§ 3.711 - Improved pension elections. |
§ 3.712 - Improved pension elections; surviving spouses of Spanish-American War veterans. |
§ 3.713 - Effective dates of improved pension elections. |
§ 3.714 - Improved pension elections - public assistance beneficiaries. |
§ 3.715 - Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, as amended. |
§§ 3.705--3.706 - [Reserved] |
Effective Dates |
§ 3.400 - General. |
§ 3.401 - Veterans. |
§ 3.402 - Surviving spouse. |
§ 3.403 - Children. |
§ 3.404 - Parents. |
§ 3.405 - Filipino veterans and their survivors; benefits at the full-dollar rate. |
Administrative |
§ 3.100 - Delegations of authority. |
§ 3.102 - Reasonable doubt. |
§ 3.103 - Procedural due process and other rights. |
§ 3.104 - Binding nature of decisions. |
§ 3.105 - Revision of decisions. |
§ 3.106 - Renouncement. |
§ 3.107 - Awards where not all dependents apply. |
§ 3.108 - State Department as agent of Department of Veterans Affairs. |
§ 3.109 - Time limit. |
§ 3.110 - Computation of time limit. |
§ 3.111 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.112 - Fractions of one cent. |
§ 3.113 - Signature by mark. |
§ 3.114 - Change of law or Department of Veterans Affairs issue. |
§ 3.115 - Access to financial records. |
Regulations Applicable to Programs in Effect Prior to January 1, 1979 |
§ 3.250 - Dependency of parents; compensation. |
§ 3.251 - Income of parents; dependency and indemnity compensation. |
§ 3.252 - Annual income; pension; Mexican border period and later war periods. |
§ 3.256 - Eligibility reporting requirements. |
§ 3.257 - Children; no surviving spouse entitled. |
§ 3.260 - Computation of income. |
§ 3.261 - Character of income; exclusions and estates. |
§ 3.262 - Evaluation of income. |
§ 3.263 - Corpus of estate; net worth. |
§ 3.270 - Applicability of various dependency, income and estate regulations. |
§§ 3.253--3.255 - [Reserved] |
§§ 3.258--3.259 - [Reserved] |
Regulations Applicable to the Improved Pension Program Which Became Effective January 1, 1979 |
§ 3.271 - Computation of income. |
§ 3.272 - Exclusions from income. |
§ 3.273 - Rate computation. |
§ 3.274 - Net worth and VA pension. |
§ 3.275 - How VA determines the asset amount for pension net worth determinations. |
§ 3.276 - Asset transfers and penalty periods. |
§ 3.277 - Eligibility reporting requirements. |
§ 3.278 - Deductible medical expenses. |
§ 3.279 - Statutory exclusions from income or assets (net worth or corpus of the estate). |
Relationship |
§ 3.50 - Spouse and surviving spouse. |
§ 3.52 - Marriages deemed valid. |
§ 3.53 - Continuous cohabitation. |
§ 3.54 - Marriage dates. |
§ 3.55 - Reinstatement of benefits eligibility based upon terminated marital relationships. |
§ 3.56 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.57 - Child. |
§ 3.58 - Child adopted out of family. |
§ 3.59 - Parent. |
§ 3.60 - Definition of “living with”. |
General |
§ 3.1 - Definitions. |
§ 3.2 - Periods of war. |
§ 3.3 - Pension. |
§ 3.4 - Compensation. |
§ 3.5 - Dependency and indemnity compensation. |
§ 3.6 - Duty periods. |
§ 3.7 - Individuals and groups considered to have performed active military, naval, air, or space service. |
§ 3.8 - Philippine and Insular Forces. |
§ 3.9 - Philippine service. |
§ 3.10 - Dependency and indemnity compensation rate for a surviving spouse. |
§ 3.11 - Homicide. |
§ 3.12 - Benefit eligibility based on character of discharge. |
§ 3.13 - Discharge to change status. |
§ 3.14 - Validity of enlistments. |
§ 3.15 - Computation of service. |
§ 3.16 - Service pension. |
§ 3.17 - Disability and death pension; Mexican border period and later war periods. |
§ 3.20 - Surviving spouse's benefit for month of veteran's death. |
§ 3.21 - Monetary rates. |
§ 3.22 - DIC benefits for survivors of certain veterans rated totally disabled at time of death. |
§ 3.23 - Improved pension rates - Veterans and surviving spouses. |
§ 3.24 - Improved pension rates - Surviving children. |
§ 3.25 - Parent's dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) - Method of payment computation. |
§ 3.26 - Section 306 and old-law pension annual income limitations. |
§ 3.27 - Automatic adjustment of benefit rates. |
§ 3.28 - Automatic adjustment of section 306 and old-law pension income limitations. |
§ 3.29 - Rounding. |
§ 3.30 - Frequency of payment of improved pension and parents' dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC). |
§ 3.31 - Commencement of the period of payment. |
§ 3.32 - Exchange rates for foreign currencies. |
§ 3.33 - Reevaluation of Claims for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Involving Presumptions of Service Connection Following Enactment of Public Law 117–168. |
§ 3.40 - Philippine and Insular Forces. |
§ 3.41 - Philippine service. |
§ 3.42 - Compensation at the full-dollar rate for certain Filipino veterans residing in the United States. |
§ 3.43 - Burial benefits at the full-dollar rate for certain Filipino veterans residing in the United States on the date of death. |
§ 3.12a - Minimum active-duty service requirement. |
§§ 3.18--3.19 - [Reserved] |
Special Benefits |
§ 3.800 - Disability or death due to hospitalization, etc. |
§ 3.801 - Special acts. |
§ 3.802 - Medal of Honor. |
§ 3.803 - Naval pension. |
§ 3.804 - Special allowance under 38 U.S.C. 1312. |
§ 3.805 - Loan guaranty for surviving spouses; certification. |
§ 3.806 - Death gratuity; certification. |
§ 3.807 - Dependents' educational assistance; certification. |
§ 3.808 - Automobiles or other conveyances and adaptive equipment; certification. |
§ 3.809 - Specially adapted housing under 38 U.S.C. 2101(a)(2)(A)(i). |
§ 3.810 - Clothing allowance. |
§ 3.811 - Minimum income annuity and gratuitous annuity. |
§ 3.812 - Special allowance payable under section 156 of Pub. L. 97-377. |
§ 3.813 - Interim benefits for disability or death due to chloracne or porphyria cutanea tarda. |
§ 3.816 - Awards under the Nehmer Court Orders for disability or death caused by a condition presumptively associated with herbicide exposure. |
§ 3.809a - Special home adaptation grants under 38 U.S.C. 2101(b). |
Retirement |
§ 3.750 - Entitlement to concurrent receipt of military retired pay and disability compensation. |
§ 3.751 - Statutory awards; retired service personnel. |
§ 3.752 - [Reserved] |
§ 3.753 - Public Health Service. |
§ 3.754 - Emergency officers' retirement pay. |