Upon receipt of an application for benefits, VA must determine if it is b. Criteria for Substantially substantially complete. If not, then VA is required to send a Section 5103 not Complete notice. However, VA is obligated under to notify the applicant of the Applications information and proper forms necessary to substantiate the claim. A substantially complete application must include the following claimant’s name and relationship to the Veteran, if applicable sufficient service information for the VA to verify the Veteran’s service, if applicable benefit claimed disability(ies) on which the claim for benefits is based (Exposure to certain agents such as Agent Orange or anthrax, with no corresponding disability or symptomatology, is not a disability for VA purposes.) signature of the claimant or another legally authorized individual, and statement of income for Veterans pension, Survivors pension, or Parents' Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), if claimed. A faxed or photocopied signature is acceptable for VA claims purposes. The successful submission of an electronic application satisfies the signature requirement. Beginning March 24, 2015, all claims governed by VA’s adjudication regulations must be filed on standard forms prescribed by the Secretary, regardless of the type of claim or posture in which the claim arises. For more information on individuals authorized to sign Reference: claims for incompetent, underage, or physically incapacitated claimants see c. Notification Regional offices (ROs) must ensure that all claimants receive the required Requirements notification regarding the information and evidence that is necessary to for a Complete substantiate claims. This statutory obligation, based on , is met when the Application notice is provided to claimants on a standard EZ application form when filing a claim through the Fully Developed Claim (FDC) program, or a claim through the standard claims process through online claims submission via eBenefits, or the Stakeholder Enterprise Portal (SEP), or when an automated Section 5103 notice is generated during the establishment of the end product (EP), via the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), or Letter Creator. In rare instances, ROs may still need to send claimants the traditional Section 5103 notice letter but when one of the above methods was not utilized in only the filing of the claim.
b. Criteria for Substantially Complete Applications Upon receipt of an application for benefits, VA must determine if it is substantially complete. If not, then VA is not required to send a Section 5103 notice. However, VA is obligated under to notify the applicant of the information and proper forms necessary to substantiate the claim. A substantially complete application must include the following claimant’s name and relationship to the Veteran, if applicable sufficient service information for the VA to verify the Veteran’s service, if applicable benefit claimed disability(ies) on which the claim for benefits is based (Exposure to certain agents such as Agent Orange or anthrax, with no corresponding disability or symptomatology, is not a disability for VA purposes.) signature of the claimant or another legally authorized individual, and statement of income for Veterans pension, Survivors pension, or Parents' Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), if claimed. A faxed or photocopied signature is acceptable for VA claims purposes. The successful submission of an electronic application satisfies the signature requirement. Beginning March 24, 2015, all claims governed by VA’s adjudication regulations must be filed on standard forms prescribed by the Secretary, regardless of the type of claim or posture in which the claim arises. Reference: For more information on individuals authorized to sign claims for incompetent, underage, or physically incapacitated claimants see c. Notification Requirements for a Complete Application Regional offices (ROs) must ensure that all claimants receive the required notification regarding the information and evidence that is necessary to substantiate claims. This statutory obligation, based on , is met when the notice is provided to claimants on a standard EZ application form when filing a claim through the Fully Developed Claim (FDC) program, or a claim through the standard claims process through online claims submission via eBenefits, or the Stakeholder Enterprise Portal (SEP), or when an automated Section 5103 notice is generated during the establishment of the end product (EP), via the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), or Letter Creator. In rare instances, ROs may still need to send claimants the traditional Section 5103 notice letter but only when one of the above methods was not utilized in the filing of the claim.