You can't build a claim file out of records you don't have. The good news: you have a legal right to all of them, and most are free. Here is exactly where each one comes from, so you can gather the set before you need it, not the week it's due.
Your DD-214 and military personnel records
Your DD-214 and official military personnel file come from the National Archives. Request them free through its online eVetRecs system at archives.gov/veterans. Recently separated veterans can often get records fastest through milConnect, the Department of Defense's own portal. Start this early: mailed requests for older records can take weeks or longer.
Your service treatment records
Service treatment records are your medical records from active duty: sick call, injuries, exams, deployment health screenings. For recently separated service members, the military transfers these to the VA. Older records come through the same National Archives request as your personnel file. When you ask, ask for the complete medical record, not just a summary.
Your VA medical records
If you use VA health care, you can download your own records for free. Sign in at VA.gov and use the Blue Button tool to pull your VA health summary, notes, labs, and more. Download a fresh copy once or twice a year so your file stays current without any extra effort.
Your private medical records
Civilian doctors, urgent care, imaging centers, physical therapy, and mental health providers all hold records that can matter. Federal law (HIPAA) gives you the right to copies of your own records from any provider; a reasonable copying fee is sometimes allowed. Call each office, ask for the medical records or health information department, and request everything they have on you, with the dates.
Three habits that save you later
- Ask for everything, once. Requesting the complete record up front beats going back three times for the pages you missed.
- Keep the original, share copies. Whatever arrives, protect it and hand out duplicates only.
- File it the day it arrives, with a dated name, in the right folder, using the system in how to organize your VA claim documents.
Where MusterVault helps
As each record comes in, MusterVault holds it encrypted on your own computer, sorted by category, and searchable by the text inside scanned pages, so the file you spent months gathering is never a pile again. Free, offline, no account.