Thousands of veterans and other claimants may have had benefits delayed, missed or underpaid after the Department of Veterans Affairs incorrectly classified mail as belonging to unidentified claimants, a federal watchdog has found. The errors involved documents that contained enough information for staff to determine who had submitted them.
The review examined mail handled by the Veterans Benefits Administration, or VBA, between July 2018 and March 1, 2025, with additional cases assessed in June and July 2026. According to the VA Office of Inspector General, (OIG) about 35,100 of more than 164,000 mail packets were incorrectly certified as “unidentifiable,” creating the risk that claims or supporting evidence were never linked to the appropriate electronic claims folder.
Misclassified Documents Led to Missed Claims and Underpayments
VA processes applications, medical records and other submitted material as “mail packets.” When staff cannot match a packet with a claimant, it can be classified as unidentifiable. The OIG found that about 21 percent of the packets in its review population were identifiable despite having been placed in that category.
The financial consequences were measurable. According to the watchdog, veterans and other claimants were underpaid by at least $822,000 because of mail-processing errors. The report also estimated that about 19,900 packets contained potential impact errors, meaning they could still affect benefit decisions once properly processed.
An estimated 3,800 packets contained claim forms that might have resulted in new or increased benefits. In one case, a Vietnam-era veteran submitted a disability claim for prostate cancer in June 2023 along with military discharge documents, medical records, a Social Security number and a date of birth. The packet was still marked unidentifiable.
The veteran filed again in February 2024 and later received a 100 percent disability rating. According to the OIG, he appeared to have been underpaid by approximately $34,782 because the award took effect from his later filing rather than the original June 2023 application.
Another Vietnam-era veteran submitted a disability claim in February 2019 involving a lower back condition, high blood pressure and diabetes related to Agent Orange exposure. The OIG later found that information already available in VA systems could have identified him. His claim was not processed until March 2026, nearly seven years later, after investigators alerted the VBA. It did not result in additional benefits.
Investigators Found Gaps in Access, Training and Oversight
The review identified problems across several parts of the mail-certification process. VBA staff were required to search VA systems, document identification efforts and, when necessary, contact claimants before declaring mail unidentifiable. The OIG estimated that 97 percent of the reviewed packets contained procedural deficiencies.
Resource gaps were also documented. VBA reported that 40 percent of claims assistants who could be assigned mail-processing work did not have phones available for required calls. The report also found that 39 of 116 claims assistants lacked active access to the Compensation and Pension Record Interchange, a system containing health records and identifying information.
Quality controls provided another concern. Of 208 quality reviews related to mail processing during fiscal year 2025, none specifically examined unidentifiable mail. Investigators also found no mandatory national training dedicated to handling these cases.
The OIG issued five recommendations covering documentation, system access, record storage, quality reviews and training. VBA agreed with four and agreed in principle with the fifth. Its planned actions include updated documentation requirements by September 30, 2026, improved system access by October 30, 2026, mandatory training by January 31, 2027, and mail-specific quality reviews by July 1, 2027.
The OIG said it will continue monitoring those corrective actions. Additional packets reviewed in June and July 2026 showed no significant change from the problems identified during the initial review.
