What it is
VA Form 21-686c is the Application Request to Add and/or Remove Dependents. If you are rated 30 percent or higher, dependents increase your monthly compensation. This form is how you tell VA who counts and who no longer counts.
When you use it
File it after a marriage, birth, adoption, stepchild moving in, a child turning 18 and continuing in school, dependency of a parent, a divorce, a child aging out at 18, a child finishing or leaving school between 18 and 23, or a dependent's death.
What to gather before you fill it out
- Spouse: marriage certificate, prior marriages of both spouses, and how each ended.
- Child under 18: birth certificate or adoption decree.
- Child 18 to 23 in school: VA Form 21-674 (Request for Approval of School Attendance).
- Dependent parent: VA Form 21P-509 (Statement of Dependency of Parent(s)).
- Removal: divorce decree, death certificate, or date the child stopped attending school.
How to submit
File online at VA.gov (fastest, and it auto-attaches 21-674), upload the PDF, mail to the Evidence Intake Center, or fax to the number on the form.
Common pitfalls
- Waiting more than one year after the qualifying event. Under 38 CFR 3.401(b), VA uses the latest of several dates; filing inside one year protects the earlier effective date.
- Expecting the increase to start the same month. Per 38 CFR 3.31, added benefits begin the first day of the calendar month after the effective date.
- Not reporting a divorce or a child aging out. The overpayment will be collected back from you later.
- Skipping 21-674 for an 18-to-23 student. Without it, the child is removed at 18.
Related forms
VA Form 21-674 (school attendance), VA Form 21P-509 (dependent parent), VA Form 21-526EZ.