How to Submit VA Medical Records for an SSDI Application

If you get your care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, SSA can often obtain your VA treatment records electronically after you sign Form SSA-827 at application. Sometimes the electronic route does not reach everything, and then you step in with VA's own release form, VA Form 10-5345. Knowing which form does what, and when each one is needed, keeps your VA evidence from stalling your SSDI claim.

How SSA Obtains VA Treatment Records

Two rules govern the exchange. First, SSA's operating instructions at POMS DI 22505.022 state plainly that the Veterans Health Administration does not disclose medical records to SSA or the DDS without a valid Form SSA-827, the Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration. Your signature on that form is the key that starts the process.

Second, once the authorization exists, the pipes are wide. In November 2016, SSA announced a partnership with VA under which all of SSA's disability case processing sites, including every state DDS, can receive medical records electronically from all VA facilities. For most claimants with recent VA treatment, the examiner's request and the electronic exchange do the work.

Step 1: List Your VA Sources on the Application

The DDS can only develop evidence it knows about. On the Adult Disability Report, Form SSA-3368-BK, list every VA facility that treated you: your VA medical center, community-based outpatient clinics, VA mental health services, and any VA specialty clinics. Include facility names, cities, and approximate treatment dates.

If you have a VA disability compensation claim, provide your VA file or claim number when the application asks. That number helps SSA and the DDS connect your records to the right VA file.

Treat VA providers like any other medical source on the form. A missing facility is a facility whose records are never requested, and VA facilities often hold exactly the longitudinal treatment history a disability claim runs on.

One category deserves special attention: community care. When VA sends you to a private doctor or hospital outside the VA system, VA pays the bill, but the treating records often live in that outside provider's chart rather than in your VA file. List the community provider itself, by name and address, on Form SSA-3368-BK. If you only list the VA facility that referred you, the examiner may request the referral paperwork and never reach the actual treatment notes.

Step 2: Sign the SSA-827

The SSA-827 you sign at filing covers VA records the same way it covers a private hospital's records. It authorizes the release of your medical history, diagnoses, treatment records, and psychological information to SSA and the state DDS for the purpose of determining your benefits.

Keep a copy of the signed form for yourself. If a VA records office later says it never had authorization, your copy plus the DDS request letter resolves the dispute quickly.

When You Must Submit VA Form 10-5345 Yourself

VA Form 10-5345, "Request for and Authorization to Release Health Information," is VA's own release form, described on VA's forms pages at va.gov. You use it when the SSA-827 route does not fit:

• You want VA to send records to you personally or to your representative, rather than to SSA directly.
• The DDS asks you to obtain records its electronic requests did not reach, such as care from community providers paid by VA, older archived files, or records held in VA records centers rather than at your treating facility.
• You are assembling evidence before filing and want your own complete set.

VA protects certain especially sensitive categories of health information under its own federal confidentiality rules, so the form asks you to initial separately for those categories when you want them released. VA also publishes a companion version of the form for requesting copies of your own health information, so read the form pages at va.gov and pick the one that matches what you need.

Submit the completed form through VA's online medical records request pages at va.gov, which VA says is the fastest route, or by mail or fax using the instructions VA publishes with the form. Keep your transmission confirmation either way.

Getting Your Own VA Records First

You often do not need to wait on anyone. VA.gov gives you tools to review, print, and download your VA health record online, including lab and test results, visit notes, and other parts of your chart. Downloading your recent VA records yourself and submitting them to the DDS, with the barcode instructions from your DDS letters, can put current evidence in the folder while the formal requests are still processing.

For older treatment or files that are not in the online tools, use the records request route above. Your own copies also give you a checklist to compare against what the DDS actually collected.

A simple tracking habit works well for VA evidence. Keep one page listing each VA facility and community provider you told SSA about, the date you were last in contact with the DDS about it, and what the examiner said was still missing. VA claims involve more moving parts than a single private clinic, and a written list keeps the follow-up calls short and factual.

VA Disability Records Count as Evidence Too

A VA compensation rating decision, with its compensation and pension examination reports, is evidence SSA can consider. Keep in mind the limit: under 20 CFR 404.1504, a decision by another agency about whether you are disabled is not binding on SSA. SSA will make its own determination, while still reading the underlying exams and treatment records, which are often the most useful part of what VA holds.

If a VA exam report or disability benefits questionnaire is thorough, make sure the VA facility that holds it appears in your source list so the examiner pulls it.

Confirming SSA Received Your VA Evidence

Use the same confirmation habits as any other evidence. If you faxed records, keep the confirmation page showing the page count. If VA mailed records for you, use a trackable method. Then call the DDS examiner, identify your claim, and ask whether the VA records appear in your electronic folder.

If weeks pass with no sign of the VA records, say so. The examiner can reissue the request, and you can pursue the records yourself in parallel through VA Form 10-5345. The claim does not have to sit still while one records office works through a backlog.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does SSA automatically receive my VA medical records when I apply for SSDI? No. SSA's instructions at POMS DI 22505.022 state that the VA health system will not disclose medical records to SSA or the DDS without a valid Form SSA-827. Once you sign that authorization, SSA has been able to receive records electronically from VA facilities since the agencies' 2016 partnership.

Do I need VA Form 10-5345 if I already signed Form SSA-827? Usually not for VA treatment records that SSA or the DDS requests directly. You need the VA form when you want VA to send records to you or your representative, or when the DDS asks you to obtain records that the electronic exchange did not reach.

How do I get copies of my own VA health records for my claim? VA.gov lets you review, print, and download much of your VA health record online, including lab results and visit notes, and VA's records pages explain how to request complete or older files.

This article is general information about SSA filing procedures, not legal advice. Program rules, forms, and processing details change over time, and every situation is different. Consult a qualified representative or contact SSA directly for guidance on your specific claim.