VA new and material evidence: what 3.156 says.

The short version

Section 3.156 is titled "New evidence," and it answers a basic question: after VA has finally decided a claim, what has to be added to the file to get it looked at again? The answer depends on which system the claim sits in. The regulation text in the eCFR (current as of October 29, 2026) has separate paragraphs for older "legacy" claims and for the modernized review system that includes the supplemental claim. This page explains what each paragraph says. It does not advise anyone which route to use, and the review system in force for a particular claim depends on facts about that claim that this page cannot assess.

The base definition

The section opens with a one-sentence definition: "New evidence is evidence not previously part of the actual record before agency adjudicators." Everything else builds on that. Evidence is only "new" if the decision-makers did not have it in the file before.

Paragraph (a): new and material evidence for legacy claims

Paragraph (a) applies to claims to reopen decided prior to the effective date provided in 38 CFR 19.2(a). It says a claimant may reopen a finally adjudicated legacy claim by submitting new and material evidence, and it adds a definition of material evidence: "existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim."

Then it states the screen that evidence must pass. New and material evidence "can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim." Broken into plain steps, a document has to satisfy four tests:

1. It was not already in the record (new).
2. It is not just a repeat of what was there at the last final denial (not cumulative or redundant).
3. It relates to a fact the claim still needs (material).
4. It raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

A worked comparison with invented facts: a claim was denied because no evidence showed a current diagnosis. A new medical record documenting a diagnosis is new, is not repetitive of the earlier file, speaks to the very fact that was missing, and plausibly helps. A second copy of the same service treatment record that was already in the file fails the first and second tests.

Paragraph (b): pending legacy claims

Paragraph (b) addresses timing for legacy claims not under the modernized review system. New and material evidence received before the appeal period expires, or before the appellate decision if a timely appeal was filed (including evidence received before an appellate decision and referred to the agency of original jurisdiction by the Board of Veterans' Appeals without consideration in that decision under 38 CFR 20.1304(b)(1)), is treated as filed in connection with the claim that was pending at the beginning of the appeal period.

Paragraph (c): service department records

Paragraph (c) is a separate route that applies "notwithstanding any other section in this part." If, at any time after VA decides a claim, VA receives or associates with the file relevant official service department records that existed but were not associated with the file when VA first decided the claim, VA will reconsider the claim. The regulation lists examples: service records related to a claimed in-service event, injury or disease, even if they do not mention the veteran by name; additional service records forwarded later by the Department of Defense or service department; and declassified records that could not be obtained earlier because they were classified.

There are limits. The paragraph does not apply to records VA could not have obtained because they did not exist when it decided the claim, or because the claimant failed to provide enough information for VA to identify and obtain the records. An award made on those records is effective on the date entitlement arose or the date VA received the previously decided claim, whichever is later, or another date authorized by Part 3. A retroactive evaluation must be supported adequately by medical evidence.

Paragraph (d): new and relevant evidence for supplemental claims

Paragraph (d) applies on or after the effective date in 38 CFR 19.2(a). A claimant may file a supplemental claim as prescribed in 38 CFR 3.2501. If new and relevant evidence, as defined in 3.2501(a)(1), is presented or secured with respect to the supplemental claim, the agency of original jurisdiction will readjudicate the claim taking into consideration all of the evidence of record. The definition of "new and relevant" lives in 3.2501, which this page did not read, so the details of that standard are not stated here. Note the difference in vocabulary: paragraph (a) says "material" and "reasonable possibility," while paragraph (d) says "relevant" and points to a separate section.

A side-by-side summary