Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: nobody may charge you a fee for helping with a VA claim before VA has issued its initial decision. That is federal law. Accredited Veterans Service Organizations help free of charge at every stage. And there is a gap in the law worth knowing about: since 2006, charging an unauthorised fee is no longer itself a federal crime under the section that used to make it one.
The fee bar
[38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(1)] Except as provided in paragraph (4), in connection with a proceeding before the Department with respect to benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, a fee may not be charged, allowed, or paid for services of agents and attorneys with respect to services provided before the date on which a claimant is provided notice of the agency of original jurisdiction’s initial decision under section 5104 of this title with respect to the case. The limitation in the preceding sentence does not apply to fees charged, allowed, or paid…
— 38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(1); 38 U.S.C. 5905, as amended by Pub. L. 109-461, title I, § 101(g), Dec. 22, 2006, 120 Stat. 3408
Read the timing. The bar runs until the date you are given notice of the agency of original jurisdiction’s initial decision. Before that point, a fee may not be charged, allowed, or paid for an agent’s or attorney’s services on the claim. After a decision, a properly accredited representative may charge for helping you challenge it.
So the common pitch — help with the initial application in exchange for a share of the back pay — is asking for a fee the statute says may not be charged.
The gap, stated precisely
Section 5905 used to make it a crime to solicit, contract for, charge or receive an unauthorised fee. Public Law 109-461 struck that clause in 2006. What remains of the section criminalises something else entirely — wrongfully withholding a benefit due to a claimant.
The precise position, which matters: section 5905 was not repealed. It still exists and still carries a criminal penalty, but for a different act. Charging an unauthorised fee remains barred by section 5904 — it is simply no longer listed as a crime in section 5905’s text. Other general laws may still reach a given scheme; that is outside what the sections themselves say.
We are stating it that carefully because the loose version — section 5905 was struck — is wrong, and a reader who repeats it to a company that is charging them will be corrected and disbelieved on the rest.
What this means practically
- You do not need to pay anyone to file an initial claim. Ever.
- Accredited VSOs assist free, at every stage, including appeals.
- Be careful with “consulting” or “coaching” framing. Some operators describe the same work in words chosen to sit outside the accreditation and fee rules.
- A percentage of back pay for an initial claim is the clearest warning sign. It is the fee structure the statute addresses most directly.
- Check accreditation before signing anything, and keep whatever you sign.
Getting the offset back
Why this page exists
Because the removal of the criminal penalty in 2006 changed the enforcement picture without changing the rule, and an industry grew in the space that left. The rule still binds. What changed is what happens to someone who ignores it — which makes knowing the rule yourself more valuable, not less.
Related: the benefit people are most often charged to claim · the net worth rules.
General information drawn from the Code of Federal Regulations, the United States Code and VA published materials, not legal or benefits advice. VA figures are adjusted annually and every figure here carries the period it applies to. Nothing here is advice about disability ratings. You can apply for VA benefits yourself, for free, and accredited Veterans Service Organizations assist free of charge – we sell nothing and receive nothing from anyone who charges for claims help.