Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, Filing of Representatives' Fee Agreements and Motions for Review of Such Fee Agreements

Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, is used to obtain basic information necessary to determine whether an individual may be accredited as an agent or attorney for purposes of representation of claimants before VA. The information requested includes basic identifying information, as well as certain information concerning training and experience, military service, and employment. The information is used to evaluate qualifications, ensure against conflicts of interest, and to establish that statutory and regulatory eligibility requirements, e.g., good character and reputation, are met. 38 U.S.C. § 5904(a); 38 C.F.R. § 14.629(b)(1). Once completed, VA Form 21a is forwarded by the applicant to VA and evaluated manually by an OGC employee to determine whether initial eligibility requirements are met. Applicants for accreditation as claims agents who meet these requirements are then notified that they are eligible to take the VA accreditation examination. VA also contacts character references listed on the form. Applicants are advised to contact their local VA Regional Counsel to make arrangements to take the examination. All completed examinations are forwarded by the Regional Counsel to OGC for grading. Applicants who pass the examination, whose character references are satisfactory, and who otherwise meet the good character and reputation requirement are issued a letter notifying them that they are authorized to represent claimants. Applicants for accreditation as attorneys are not required to pass an examination, but must meet all other qualification requirements. All applicants who do not qualify for accreditation are informed of the reasons for the denial. Agent applicants who are denied accreditation because they did not achieve a passing score on the examination may retake the examination. Without this form, VA would have no standardized formal means of documenting applicant qualifications. The information collected under VA Form 21a will be expanded under the final rule to account for additional accreditation requirements imposed by Congress in Public Law No. 109-461.

The latest form for Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, Filing of Representatives' Fee Agreements and Motions for Review of Such Fee Agreements expires 2022-03-31 and can be found here.