According to the VA’s M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual , Veterans may submit a specific request for Permanent & Total(P&T) status related to receipt of compensation benefits.
There are two requirements for this type of request: A request for P&T status must be received on a prescribed form for SC or increased evaluation, and it must specify the SC issue or issues that are associated with the claimed P&T status.
The VA instructs its staff to handle requests for P&T status that do not identify the associated issue(s) as incomplete applications except when only one SC disability exists and when a single SC disability exists to presume that the claim for P&T status is associated with the single SC disability.
Note: This type of request carries some risk of a rating reduction that the veteran must be aware of as you are going to be reexamined and any improvement of the condition(s) will be noted by the examiner.
Per the VA’s M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, “A request for P&T status for compensation purposes is inherently tied to an underlying claim for SC or increased evaluation. Thus, development of the underlying claim satisfies any development need associated with the request for P&T status.”
Note: Requests for P&T status may be routinely addressed as entitlement to Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) in the rating decision.
We recommend that if you are going to file for P&T status you only do it for your disabilities which are not ‘static’ which means they are scheduled for a future exam. You can find out which disabilities are ‘static’ or not by reviewing your rating codesheet. If you don’t have access to your rating code sheet your representative should.
See more directly in the VA’s M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual here: https://www.knowva.ebenefits.va.gov/system/templates/selfservice/va_ssnew/help/customer/locale/en-US/portal/554400000001018/content/554400000014119/M21-1-Part-III-Subpart-ii-Chapter-2-Section-B-Claims-for-Disability-Compensation-and-or-Pension-and-Claims-for-Survivors-Benefits?query=requesting%20permanent%20and%20total#1j
Good luck!
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