Terms of Service

The terms, in plain language.

Effective September 14, 2026. These terms govern your use of the VA Claim Decoder app for iPhone. They are short because the app is simple: it runs on your phone, it keeps your data there, and it never acts on your behalf.

1. Agreement

By downloading, installing or using VA Claim Decoder (the "app"), you agree to these terms and to the Privacy Policy. The agreement is between you and Dan Stoutamire ("we" or "us"). If you do not agree, do not use the app; you can delete it at any time.

Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Not an accredited representative. This app does not prepare, file or represent claims.

2. What the app is

The app is an education and organization tool for veterans holding VA correspondence. On your phone, it:

  • Reads a VA decision letter you import and shows what the letter says, with every number and date linked to the page and sentence it came from.
  • Shows the printed dates in the letter, tells you which one VA counts a review window from, and, once you confirm that date, counts down the one-year window and can remind you before it closes.
  • Runs a Letter Check that compares the letter against what you tell it you claimed and sent, and turns each difference into a question to bring to an accredited representative.
  • Calculates a combined rating the way VA's regulations describe and shows an estimated monthly amount from VA's published rate table.
  • Explains, in plain language, what VA's public exam forms measure and what the terms mean.
  • Keeps a diary of symptoms tied to the conditions in your letter.
  • Lists VA's accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives so you can find help at no charge.
  • Lets you export an encrypted backup or a redacted packet, at your direction only.

3. What the app is not

  • The app is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency.
  • We are not an accredited representative, attorney, claims agent or Veterans Service Organization, and the app does not prepare, present, file or prosecute claims or appeals.
  • The app does not give legal, medical, financial or claims advice. Nothing it shows is a recommendation about what to claim, which review to file, whether to file, or what to say at an examination. It shows you what your letter says and what to ask.
  • Using the app creates no attorney-client, representative or fiduciary relationship with us.
  • The app never accesses VA.gov, ID.me, Login.gov or any VA system, never files anything, and never sends anything to VA.

Federal law limits who may prepare, present or prosecute VA claims for others. For help with your claim, use a VA-accredited representative. The app's Find help screen lists them, and VA's accreditation search at VA.gov lets you confirm anyone's status.

4. Who may use the app

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding agreement. The app is intended for use in the United States. There are no accounts to create, so you are responsible for the phone the app runs on and for anyone you allow to unlock it.

5. Your letters and entries

The letters you import and the entries you make are yours. The app stores them only on your phone and never sends them to us, so we receive no license to them and hold no copy. You are responsible for importing only documents you are entitled to hold, and for anything you choose to export and share. If you use the app to organize someone else's letter, do so with their knowledge and permission.

6. Accuracy, confirmation and your responsibility to verify

The app reads letters automatically, and automated reading can be wrong. You agree to verify what it shows against the letter itself before relying on it.

  • Extraction. Text recognition and parsing can misread words, numbers and dates, especially from photographs. The app shows a confidence indicator, links every value to its source sentence, and routes uncertain values to you for confirmation. Values the app is unsure about are labeled unknown rather than guessed.
  • Dates and deadlines. The notification date and every effective date are always routed to you for confirmation, and no deadline is shown or reminder scheduled until you confirm. The review window is counted one year from the notification letter date with a one-day buffer, and the app shows the rating decision date beside it so you can see which one was used. VA's rules and VA's records determine your actual deadline, not the app. Confirm your deadline with VA or an accredited representative, and do not rely on the app as your only reminder.
  • Estimates. Combined ratings, monthly amounts and back pay figures are estimates computed from VA's public rate table effective on the date shown in Settings. VA's award letter controls. The app does not predict what VA will decide.
  • Exam Guide. The guides describe public VA forms and regulations. They are not medical advice and do not tell you which findings apply to you.
  • Representative list. The list comes from VA's Office of General Counsel on the date shown in the app. Confirm current accreditation on VA.gov before you appoint anyone, and ask what they charge.
  • Redaction. The redacted packet blacks out your name, Social Security number and VA file number where the app finds them by pattern, plus words you add. Read every page before you share it.

7. Purchases, trials and subscriptions

  • Included at no charge. The calculator, the Exam Guide, Find help and one full letter read.
  • VA Claim Decoder Pro. Unlimited letter reads, the vault, deadlines and reminders, the diary, and encrypted backup and redacted export. Pro is offered as an auto-renewing yearly subscription. The exact price, and any free trial, is shown in the App Store before you subscribe; if you do not cancel before a trial ends, the subscription begins and you are charged.
  • Apple handles billing. Purchases are made through Apple's App Store and are subject to Apple's terms. Apple charges your Apple Account, and the subscription renews automatically at the then-current price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Canceling stops the next renewal; you keep access until the period ends.
  • Managing and canceling. Open iOS Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, and choose VA Claim Decoder. The app cannot cancel a subscription for you.
  • Refunds. Refunds for App Store purchases are decided by Apple under Apple's policies. We cannot issue them. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.
  • Restoring. If you reinstall the app or move to a new iPhone, tap Restore on the subscription screen to restore a purchase made with the same Apple Account.
  • Price changes. If the price changes, Apple will notify you and, where required, ask for your consent before the new price applies.
  • Never tied to an outcome. We never charge based on a rating, a decision or back pay, and the subscription buys software features only.

8. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Copy, modify, distribute, sell, rent or sublicense the app or its bundled content, or reverse engineer it except where the law allows.
  • Use the app or its exports to misrepresent what VA decided, or to hold yourself out as accredited, affiliated with VA, or acting for us.
  • Use the app to charge other people for help with their claims unless you are accredited by VA to do so.
  • Use the app in any way that breaks the law or the App Store terms.

9. Backups, passphrases and erasing

The encrypted backup is protected by a passphrase you choose. We never see it and cannot recover it; a backup with a lost passphrase cannot be opened by anyone. Erase Everything is permanent and we hold no copy of anything it deletes. Keeping a backup, and keeping the passphrase somewhere safe, is up to you.

10. Third-party services

The app relies on a few outside services, each governed by its own terms:

  • Apple, for the App Store, purchases, iOS features such as the share sheet and the Files app, and iCloud Drive if you choose to save a backup there.
  • Sentry, for crash reports in builds configured to send them, with personal data stripped as described in the Privacy Policy.
  • VA.gov and the phone numbers of Veterans Service Organizations, which the app opens in your browser or Phone app when you tap them. We have no relationship with those organizations and are not responsible for their services.

11. Intellectual property and license

The app, its design, its code, its hand-written guides and the VA Claim Decoder name belong to us or our licensors. VA forms, regulations and rate tables reproduced in the app are public works of the U.S. government. We grant you a limited, personal, non-transferable, revocable license to use the app on Apple devices you own or control, as the App Store terms allow. Do not use our name or marks to suggest endorsement.

12. Apple's role

These terms are between you and us, not Apple. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app and is not responsible for addressing claims relating to it or your use of it. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.

13. No warranty

The app is provided "as is" and "as available." To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the app will read any letter correctly, that any date, deadline, rating or amount it shows is accurate, that reminders will be delivered, or that the app will be uninterrupted or error-free. Some jurisdictions do not allow these exclusions, so some may not apply to you.

14. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Dan Stoutamire and any employees or contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any lost benefits, missed deadlines, lost data (including a lost passphrase), or lost profits, arising from or related to the app, even if advised of the possibility. Our total liability for all claims relating to the app will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim or $100. Some jurisdictions do not allow these limits, so some may not apply to you.

15. Indemnification

You agree to defend and hold harmless Dan Stoutamire from claims, damages and expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, arising from your breach of these terms or your misuse of the app or its exports.

16. Ending your use

You can stop using the app at any time: cancel any subscription through Apple, run Erase Everything, and delete the app. We may stop offering the app or a feature at any time; because your data lives on your phone, it stays there regardless. Sections 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 18 survive the end of these terms.

17. Changes to these terms

If we change these terms, we will post the new version here with a new effective date, and the app will point to it. Changes that matter will be called out in the app before they take effect. Using the app after the effective date means you accept the new terms.

18. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at support@vaclaimdecoder.com and give us 30 days to try to resolve it. Any dispute not resolved informally will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Orange County, California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.

19. Contact

Dan Stoutamire
Aliso Viejo, California, United States
support@vaclaimdecoder.com