United States – October 27, 2026 -- Before you hand your VA disability file to a lawyer, seven questions can show whether that lawyer is accredited, what they may legally charge, and who will actually work your case. VA checks its own examiners, but nobody automatically checks the attorney you are about to trust with your service treatment records, DD-214 and private doctor's notes.
Accreditation is a number you can verify
Accreditation under 38 U.S.C. § 5901 is a legal status, not a website slogan. VA recognizes three tracks under 38 C.F.R. § 14.629: attorney, claims agent and VSO representative. Ask for the accreditation number, then check it against VA's Office of General Counsel accredited representative search before you sign anything.
Nobody can charge you before VA's first decision
Under 38 U.S.C. § 5904(c)(1), no one may charge a fee for work on your original claim before VA issues its first decision. After that, 38 C.F.R. § 14.636(f) sets the ceiling: a 20% fee is presumed reasonable, and anything above 33 1/3% is presumed unreasonable unless the attorney proves otherwise.
A standard VA fee agreement is contingency-based, so the fee comes out of back pay actually recovered, not out of your pocket up front. Ask what you owe if the claim recovers nothing. If an attorney describes a flat charge, make them explain why theirs works differently.
VA can pull an attorney's accreditation mid-case
Under 38 C.F.R. § 14.633, VA's Office of General Counsel can suspend or cancel accreditation for misconduct, incompetence or improper fees. Ask what happens to your file and timeline if that occurs, who takes over, and whether your paperwork transfers cleanly.
A good attorney pulls your actual C-file
Some attorneys build a case from your memory. Others obtain your C-file: service treatment records, prior rating decisions and exam results. If a shoulder MRI from three years ago never reached your VA file, the gap either gets caught before filing or surfaces for the first time in a denial letter.
A denied claim has three routes, each with its own clock
You can file a Supplemental Claim with new evidence, request a Higher-Level Review with a senior adjudicator's second look and no new evidence, or appeal to the Board. Ask which route fits your specific denial and why.
Ask who reads your evidence in six months
Some firms sign you up with an attorney, then pass you to paralegals and case managers, sometimes without attorney review until a hearing is scheduled. Ask who reads your evidence and who talks to you when something changes.
Nobody can guarantee an outcome
No attorney, accredited or not, can guarantee a rating; only VA's rating decision does that. Claims agents can represent you through VA's appeals process but generally cannot take you into federal court. VSO representatives typically serve without charging a fee, though availability and caseload vary.
If you switch attorneys, evidence already submitted stays in your file, though a new attorney needs time to review it. Under 38 C.F.R. § 1.577(a), you have the same right to review and copy your C-file that your representative has. If you disagree with your attorney's strategy, you can raise it directly and end the representation if it is not resolved.