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38 U.S.C. § 503 — Administrative error; equitable relief

submitted 35 years ago by Pub. L. 102-83 to r/title-38-VETERANS-BENEFITS · 200 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

If a government mistake stopped someone from getting VA benefits, the Secretary can grant fair relief. This includes paying money to anyone the Secretary decides deserves it. The same relief applies if a veteran or family member relied on a wrong VA decision.

(a) Fixing government mistakes If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs decides that someone didn't get VA benefits because of an administrative error — a mistake by the federal government or one of its employees — the Secretary can give relief to make up for it. That relief can include paying money to anyone the Secretary decides fairly deserves it. (b) Relief for relying on a wrong decision If the Secretary decides that a veteran, a surviving spouse, a veteran's child, or someone else lost something because they relied on a VA decision about their eligibility or entitlement to benefits — without knowing that decision was actually wrong — the Secretary can also give relief for that loss. Again, this can include paying money to anyone the Secretary decides fairly deserves it. (c) Yearly report to Congress By April 1 each year, the Secretary must send Congress a report on what happened with every case that was recommended for this kind of equitable relief during the previous calendar year. This reporting requirement ends after December 31, 2026 — no report is required after that date.
the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain
(a)

If the Secretary determines that benefits administered by the Department have not been provided by reason of administrative error on the part of the Federal Government or any of its employees, the Secretary may provide such relief on account of such error as the Secretary determines equitable, including the payment of moneys to any person whom the Secretary determines is equitably entitled to such moneys.

(b)

If the Secretary determines that a veteran, surviving spouse, child of a veteran, or other person has suffered loss as a consequence of reliance upon a determination by the Department of eligibility or entitlement to benefits, without knowledge that it was erroneously made, the Secretary may provide such relief on account of such error as the Secretary determines is equitable, including the payment of moneys to any person whom the Secretary determines is equitably entitled to such moneys.

(c)

Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing a statement as to the disposition of each case recommended to the Secretary for equitable relief under this section during the preceding calendar year. No report shall be required under this subsection after December 31, 2026.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 102–83, § 2(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 386; amended Pub. L. 106–419, title IV, § 403(c)(1), Nov. 1, 2000, 114 Stat. 1864; Pub. L. 109–233, title IV, § 403, June 15, 2006, 120 Stat. 411; Pub. L. 111–275, title VIII, § 808, Oct. 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 2893; Pub. L. 113–175, title IV, § 403, Sept. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 1905; Pub. L. 114–58, title IV, § 404, Sept. 30, 2015, 129 Stat. 535; Pub. L. 114–228, title IV, § 404, Sept. 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 940; Pub. L. 115–62, title IV, § 404, Sept. 29, 2017, 131 Stat. 1164; Pub. L. 115–251, title I, § 164, Sept. 29, 2018, 132 Stat. 3171; Pub. L. 116–159, div. E, title IV, § 5402, Oct. 1, 2020, 134 Stat. 751; Pub. L. 117–180, div. E, title II, § 203, Sept. 30, 2022, 136 Stat. 2137; Pub. L. 118–83, div. B, title III, § 335, Sept. 26, 2024, 138 Stat. 1542; Pub. L. 119–37, div. G, title IV, § 7402, Nov. 12, 2025, 139 Stat. 654.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit
  • 1991Enacted · Pub. L. 102-83 · 105 Stat. 386
  • 2000Amended · Pub. L. 106-419 · 114 Stat. 1864
  • 2006Amended · Pub. L. 109-233 · 120 Stat. 411
  • 2010Amended · Pub. L. 111-275 · 124 Stat. 2893
  • 2014Amended · Pub. L. 113-175 · 128 Stat. 1905
  • 2015Amended · Pub. L. 114-58 · 129 Stat. 535
  • 2016Amended · Pub. L. 114-228 · 130 Stat. 940
  • 2017Amended · Pub. L. 115-62 · 131 Stat. 1164
  • 2018Amended · Pub. L. 115-251 · 132 Stat. 3171
  • 2020Amended · Pub. L. 116-159 · 134 Stat. 751
  • 2022Amended · Pub. L. 117-180 · 136 Stat. 2137
  • 2024Amended · Pub. L. 118-83 · 138 Stat. 1542
  • 2025Amended · Pub. L. 119-37 · 139 Stat. 654

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 102-83 on 1991-08-06.

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