Department of Veterans Affairs M21-1, Part I, Chapter 5 Veterans Benefits Administration December 11, 2015 Washington, DC 20420 Key Changes The table below describes the changes included in this revision of Veterans Changes Included in Benefits Manual M21-1, Part I, “Claimants Rights and Responsibilities,” This Revision Chapter 5, “Appeals.” Minor editorial changes have also been made to Note: update incorrect or obsolete references update obsolete terminology, where appropriate reassign alphabetical designation to individual blocks, where necessary, to account for new and/or deleted blocks within a topic, and bring the document into conformance with M21-1 standards. Reason(s) for the Change Citation To update the procedural table with procedures related to the M21-1, Part I, September 2015 update to Chapter 5, Section B, VA Form 21-0958, Notice of Disagreement with procedures for each of the following steps: Topic 3, Block b (I.5.B.3.b) Step 4: Did the appellant request a Decision Review Officer review process? new Step 5: Did the appellant request a traditional appellate review process? new Step 6: The appellant did not specify the DRO review process or the traditional appellate review process on the NOD, regardless of the format or form version of the NOD. To update the procedures for sending a Request for Application for to reflect the use of the Letter Creator (which was already NOD Letter available prior to this change) instead of using Personnel Computer Generated Letters (PCGL). To delete old as no longer necessary now that the Letter Creator tool -- has the necessary language and capability to create the Request for Application for NOD Letter. To add a reference to I.3.B.1 about notifying accredited representatives of communication with claimants by phone or written correspondence. Rescissions None By Direction of the Under Secretary for Benefits Authority Signature
Department of Veterans Affairs M21-1, Part I, Chapter 5 Veterans Benefits Administration December 11, 2015 Washington, DC 20420 Key Changes Changes Included in This Revision The table below describes the changes included in this revision of Veterans Benefits Manual M21-1, Part I, “Claimants Rights and Responsibilities,” Chapter 5, “Appeals.” Note: Minor editorial changes have also been made to update incorrect or obsolete references update obsolete terminology, where appropriate reassign alphabetical designation to individual blocks, where necessary, to account for new and/or deleted blocks within a topic, and bring the document into conformance with M21-1 standards. Reason(s) for the Change Citation To update the procedural table with procedures related to the September 2015 update to VA Form 21-0958, Notice of Disagreement with procedures for each of the following steps: Step 4: Did the appellant request a Decision Review Officer review process? new Step 5: Did the appellant request a traditional appellate review process? new Step 6: The appellant did not specify the DRO review process or the traditional appellate review process on the NOD, regardless of the format or form version of the NOD. M21-1, Part I, Chapter 5, Section B, Topic 3, Block b (I.5.B.3.b) To update the procedures for sending a Request for Application for NOD Letter to reflect the use of the Letter Creator (which was already available prior to this change) instead of using Personnel Computer Generated Letters (PCGL). To delete old as no longer necessary now that the Letter Creator tool has the necessary language and capability to create the Request for Application for NOD Letter. -- To add a reference to I.3.B.1 about notifying accredited representatives of communication with claimants by phone or written correspondence. Rescissions None Authority By Direction of the Under Secretary for Benefits Signature
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