eFolder

The eFolder is the VA's electronic claims folder, the system where a veteran's claims records are maintained. It holds what a C-file holds: the claim applications and supporting forms, the evidence the VA received or obtained, examination reports, correspondence, and the decisions the VA issued. Claims records began as paper folders, and older paper material was scanned in, so a long claims history and a recent one sit in the same system.

Two people can read it. A veteran requests a copy of the file on VA Form 20-10206, the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request form. A VA-accredited representative or VSO the veteran has appointed can open the eFolder directly, without a separate records request, because the appointment grants that access. Representation through a recognized VSO is free.

What arrives is filed the way the agency filed it. Documents come as PDFs in the order the VA received them rather than indexed by topic, so nothing separates a lab result from a decision letter except reading. A record also enters the eFolder only when it is submitted or requested, which is why a record can be complete at a clinic and absent from the claims file.