The people who see it every day can say what records can’t.
A buddy letter is a written statement from someone who has watched your condition up close. You send them a link, they answer plain questions about what they’ve seen, and VeteranAI structures their answers into a lay statement formatted for VA Form 21-10210 — in their words, ready to submit.
Self-help software for veterans filing their own VA claims. Your buddy writes it, they sign it, you submit it — and nobody takes a cut of your benefits.
- 10–15 minutes for your buddy
- No legal or medical know-how
- Veteran owned and built
- What have you noticed change since service?
- What can’t he do now that he used to?
- How often do you see the symptoms?
- Can you describe one specific time?
- “Since 2013 he stopped going to family cookouts and sleeps in the recliner most nights.”
- “He can no longer lift his youngest, and I take over yard work after ten minutes.”
- “I see him wake three or four nights a week, usually around 2 a.m.”
- “Last Fourth of July he left the block party within a minute of the fireworks.”
A witness account of your daily life.
Also called a lay statement, layman statement, or witness statement — and submitted on VA Form 21-10210. It’s a written account from someone who knows you, describing the symptoms, behaviour changes and limitations they have personally seen.
Medical records show a diagnosis on a given day. A buddy letter shows what the weeks between appointments look like — the missed cookouts, the nights on the recliner, the yard work someone else finishes.
It isn’t a medical opinion and doesn’t try to be. Its strength is that it’s first-hand.
- Corroborating symptoms — backing up your account of pain, anxiety, or sleep problems they’ve witnessed.
- Changes since service — mood, temper, withdrawal, the things that used to be easy.
- Daily limitations — what you can’t do anymore, or struggle through, in front of them.
- Specific incidents — a flare-up, an episode, a night they remember by date.
- Not in itDiagnoses, medical opinions, or guesses about causes. That’s a clinician’s job.
- vs. personal statementYou write that one about yourself. A buddy letter is the outside view.
You send a link. They answer questions. That’s the whole ask.
Nobody has to sit down with a blank page — the hardest part of a buddy letter for most people. The questions do the remembering.
- 01
You start the request
Pick the condition the letter should speak to and add a line of context. Takes a minute.
- 02
They get a secure link
Spouse, parent, battle buddy, coworker — anyone who has seen it. They don’t need an account of their own to start.
- 03
Guided questions
What changed, what you can’t do, how often, one specific time. Ten to fifteen minutes in their own words.
- 04
You get the statement
Their answers, organised into a lay statement formatted for Form 21-10210. Read it, keep their voice, download and submit.
Better than a template you found online.
A generic example teaches you the shape of a letter. This one is built from what your buddy actually saw.
Structured the way it’s read
Organised by observation type rather than as one long paragraph, so a reviewer can find the frequency, the limitations and the examples without hunting.
Built for reviewers- “I have seen him…”“He suffers from…”
Observation, not diagnosis
First-hand language that stays in what they witnessed. A buddy letter that reaches for medical conclusions is the most common way a good one loses weight.
Credible, not clinical Nothing important skipped
The questionnaire walks through every area a lay statement should cover, so the letter doesn’t leave out frequency or examples — the parts people forget.
Anyone can do it- VA FORM 21-10210READY
Ready to download
Formatted for Form 21-10210 submission the moment it’s done. No appointments, no waiting on anyone to draft it for you.
Done in minutes
Anyone who has actually seen it.
There’s no list of approved authors and no credential required. What matters is first-hand knowledge — someone who can say, honestly, what they’ve watched happen and roughly when.
Two or three letters from different corners of your life often do more than one, because they cover different ground: home, work, and the people who served alongside you.
And a buddy letter pairs naturally with a personal statement — the outside view and your own, side by side.
- Spouse or partner
- Parent
- Battle buddy
- Adult child
- Sibling
- Coworker or supervisor
- Close friend
- Neighbour
- Home — sleep, temper, what gets avoided
- Work — missed shifts, tasks handed off, accommodations
- Service — the incident itself, and who was standing there
“Needed buddy statements from three of my old squad members and none of them knew what to write. Ran them through VeteranAI and we had solid, detailed statements in under an hour. All three were accepted by the VA without any issues.”
Three buddy statements in an hour
“After trying VeteranAi on my pending VA claim, I became a lifetime member. This program is invaluable for organizing evidence and crafting personal and buddy statements, especially for veterans like us in Germany with limited access to resources.”
U.S. veteran, OCONUS
Reviews are from verified account holders. Read more reviews →
A buddy letter is one piece. It works best beside the others.
Your own personal statement covers what only you can describe. Your C-File and decision letter say what the VA already has and what it found missing. Together they tell one consistent story instead of four unrelated ones.
- Buddy letterWhat others have watched happen to you
- Personal statementWhat only you can describe from the inside
- C-FileWhat’s already in the record, and what isn’t
- Decision letterThe VA’s own words on what it found missing
One price. Try it before you pay.
No plan-picking at signup — every account starts the same way, with full access to every tool. See all plans →
- Unlimited buddy letter requests
- Personal statements included
- Decision letter and C-File analysis included
- Six, the AI reference tool, 24/7 all year
Send a buddy letter request and read the statement that comes back before you’re charged anything. Your card is first charged on day 18 — $25/month if you stay monthly.
- Full access to every tool for those 17 days
- Cancel in two clicks — no contract, no collections
Straight answers
Question not here? team@veteranai.coA buddy letter — also called a lay statement, layman statement, or witness statement, and submitted on VA Form 21-10210 — is a written account from someone who knows you: a spouse, family member, friend, battle buddy or coworker. It describes what they have personally observed about your condition, which is the part medical records can’t show.
Ask one person. Send one link.
Records show a diagnosis. A buddy letter shows what your week actually looks like — from someone who’s there for it.
Generate a buddy letterFree for 17 days · $250 / year after · no cut of your back pay