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Free tool · 38 CFR Part 3 · PACT Act

Presumptive Condition Matcher

Four questions. Answer them and we will write you a presumptive eligibility brief — the cohorts you fall in, the conditions VA presumes, and the rule behind each one.

Source
38 CFR § 3.307–3.320
Time
About 90 seconds

Question 01 of 04

How did you serve?

Some presumptions require active duty; Guard and Reserve service counts for periods of federal active duty.

How did you serve?

00conditions
in your brief

What a presumptive condition is

Under 38 CFR Part 3, certain conditions are presumed service-connected when they manifest within a specific timeframe after military service, or when you served in a place VA has recognised as exposing you to something. The presumption means VA accepts the medical link between your service and the condition without requiring additional proof of direct causation — it replaces the nexus, which is the single hardest piece of evidence to get.

Common presumptive categories include chronic diseases that appear within one year of discharge, conditions linked to specific deployment locations such as Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam or burn pit exposure in Southwest Asia, and diseases associated with former prisoners of war. The PACT Act of 2022 expanded presumptive coverage for veterans exposed to toxic substances, adding over 20 new conditions including several types of cancer and respiratory illnesses — and VA continues to add more (bladder, ureter, and several blood cancers became presumptive in 2025), so check VA.gov for the latest list.

A presumption is not an automatic grant. It removes the need to prove your condition is linked to service, but VA may still schedule a C&P exam, and the presumption can be rebutted by evidence pointing to another cause. You still need a current diagnosis of every condition you claim.

What to do next

  1. File an Intent to File (ITF) — if you file your complete claim within one year of it, VA uses the intent’s date as the start of your benefits instead of your claim’s later filing date, which can mean months of additional back pay (38 CFR § 3.155(b)).
  2. Get or confirm a current diagnosis for each condition you plan to claim.
  3. File your claim, identifying the presumptive category that applies to your service.

Not matching a presumptive category does not mean you have no claim. Most VA claims are granted through direct service connection — a current diagnosis, an in-service event, and a medical nexus linking them. Explore your condition in the condition guides or evaluate a nexus letter with the nexus letter evaluator.