Utah Rules on Who May Be Paid to Help With a VA Claim

Utah has the most detailed claim-assistance chapter in this catalog. If someone is charging you a percentage of a retroactive award to file a claim, most of what they are doing is prohibited here. Accreditation is mandatory. Section 71A-4-102, subsection 1: each person offering to assist veterans in applying for VA benefits shall "(a) be accredited, in compliance with the provisions of C.F.R., Title 38... or, if under the supervision of an accredited attorney, meet the provisions of C.F.R., Title 38, pertaining to authorized claim representation under an attorney; and (b) disclose in writing, in a format approved by the department that the claimant can retain, the federal laws, regulations, and rules governing assistance for VA benefits." "Accredited" is defined in section 71A-4-101 as an organization, representative, agent or attorney to whom the VA has granted authority to assist claimants. So the first question to ask anyone offering help is their VA accreditation, and it is verifiable on VA's own accreditation search. The disclosure form, and what it must say. Subsection 2 requires the disclosure to include the person's name, business address, business phone number and "the registration number from the VA"; "a statement of the claimant's rights regarding the assistance for VA benefits, including that there is no charge to the claimant or a member of the claimant's family for assistance with the initial benefits application"; and a statement that any income accruing to the assisting person from selling a product or other services to the claimant "is both justified and reasonable as compared with income from similar products and services available in the state." That middle item is the one to look for. The form itself must tell you, in writing, that help with an initial application is free. The form cannot be edited. Subsection 3: "No provisions of the form may be struck out or designated as nonapplicable." If a page has been crossed through or marked not applicable, that is itself a violation. Signatures, copies and a state filing. Subsection 4: completed disclosure forms shall be "signed by both the person providing assistance and the claimant" and "retained for three years by the assisting person". Subsection 5: copies go to "the veteran on the day the form is completed and signed" and "the department within five working days." So a copy of your form should reach the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs within a week. If you were never given a form, or you have one and the department never received it, that is checkable. Any fee agreement must be in writing first. Subsection 6: a person seeking compensation for work that federal law does allow "shall, before rendering any services, document in a written agreement the terms of the compensation signed by both parties that complies with 38 C.F.R. 14.636." The five prohibitions, in subsection 7. A person may not: receive compensation for preparing, presenting or prosecuting, or advising, consulting or assisting with, a VA benefits matter "except as permitted under federal law or regulation"; "receive compensation for referring an individual to another person" to do that work; "receive, with respect to an individual's VA benefits matter, compensation for services rendered before the date on which a notice of disagreement, decision review, or appeal is filed, whichever comes first"; "guarantee, either directly or by implication, that any individual will receive specific VA benefits or that any individual will receive a specific level, percentage, or amount of VA benefits"; or "receive excessive or unreasonable fees" as described in 38 C.F.R. 14.636. The third is the sharpest. It draws a bright line in time: no compensation for anything done before a notice of disagreement, decision review or appeal is filed. An initial claim is entirely unpaid work under both federal law and this section. The second closes the obvious workaround of taking a "consultation fee" and handing the file to an accredited agent. Who enforces it. Subsection 8: the Division of Consumer Protection "may (a) accept complaints alleging violations of this section; and (b) bring an enforcement action under Title 13, Chapter 11, Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act, against a person who violates this section." "Division" is defined in section 71A-4-101 as the Division of Consumer Protection established in section 13-2-102. That is the office to complain to, and the consumer sales practices act is the machinery. Continuing education. Section 71A-4-103: every person providing assistance must complete three hours of qualifying education as specified in 38 C.F.R. 14.629(b) during the first 12 months after initial accreditation, and a further three hours every two years after that. The state must warn you, and must warn the industries that reach you. Section 71A-4-104, subsection 1 requires the department to notify in writing "each veteran for whom the department has contact information" that anyone offering assistance must disclose that accreditation is required under 38 C.F.R. 14.629 and 14.630, "that federal law restricts charging a veteran a fee for assisting in the initial application", and that the department's website lists accredited claim representatives. Subsection 2 is the part aimed at where the problem actually happens. Every three years the department must notify the Insurance Department, which must then notify all individual producers and consultants at initial licensing and at renewal; contact the Utah State Bar and request continuing legal education on the federal rules; and notify the Department of Health and Human Services, which must notify "all assisted living and nursing care facilities" of those federal laws. Insurance agents and care facilities are the two channels through which pension poaching typically reaches an elderly veteran, and the statute goes at both. Subsections 3 and 4 let the executive director establish complaint procedures and evaluate selected assisting persons for compliance, whether accredited or not. Who is outside the chapter. Section 71A-4-105 exempts accredited representatives of the department itself, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, American Veterans, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and "other VA recognized service organizations or individuals as determined by the executive director." Those are the organizations whose representatives help for free. What changed recently. Chapter 231 of the 2025 general session rewrote sections 71A-4-102 through 71A-4-105, which is where the current disclosure regime and the prohibitions come from. Section 71A-4-101 was then amended by chapter 95 of the 2026 general session, effective May 6, 2026, which added a definition of "non-compliant referral", meaning "referring a veteran's or a veteran's dependent's original claim for veteran benefits for assistance to a person who is in violation of the provisions of this chapter", and provided that "'Veteran' includes all eligible dependents" for the chapter. The second of those matters: the chapter's protections run to dependents as well as veterans. Where to get help instead. The Department of Veterans and Military Affairs employs accredited claims staff and charges nothing, and the exempt organizations in section 71A-4-105 do the same. A fee for helping you file an initial claim is not something Utah law permits anyone to charge.