How long does it take to read a C-file?

It depends on the reader and the file, and there is no published standard pace. At 60 pages an hour, an assumption you can change in the tool, a 2,000-page file is 33 hours 18 min of reading and an 8,750-page file is 145 hours 48 min, before any tabbing, summary or drafting.

What does Commander for Advocates charge to read a C-file?

$20 per veteran for each month you work the case. 2,500 pages per veteran are included for life, and pages past that are 2 cents each, charged once when they are read in. A 2,000-page file is $20; an 8,750-page file is $145 in its first month.

What does a whole caseload cost to bring over?

Veteran fees in the first 30 days after a card goes in are capped at $500, and page charges are separate. Forty veterans with 2,000-page files would be $500 in those 30 days, then $20 for each veteran you work in a later month.

Does the software replace reading the file?

No. It reads every page, indexes the documents by type and date, and cites findings to the page so a representative can check them. The representative still reviews the file and decides what to argue.

Free · no sign-up · for accredited representatives

C-File Review Time & Cost Estimator

Enter a C-file's page count, or a caseload. See how long reading it by hand takes at a pace you set, and what Commander for Advocates charges to read it: 2,500 pages per veteran included, $20 per veteran for each month worked.

Your reading pace
One file or a caseload
Prices from our pricing page

Reading it by hand

33 hours 18 min

Total pages: 2,000
Eight-hour workdays: 4.2

At 60 pages an hour, your assumption. Reading only; tabbing, summarizing and writing are extra.

What Commander for Advocates charges

$20

in your first 30 days, with every veteran worked

Veteran fees (1 × $20): $20
Pages (2,500 per veteran included): $0
A later month, same veterans worked, no new pages: $20

$20 per veteran for each month you work them; a case that sits while VA decides costs nothing.
2,500 pages per veteran are included for life; pages past that are 2¢ each, charged once when read in.
Veteran fees in the first 30 days after a card goes in are capped at $500; page charges are separate.
Pages read during the 5-day free trial are free up to 10,000 per veteran. This estimate does not subtract them.

Reading pace is your assumption. Prices are Commander for Advocates' published prices; taxes may apply. Nothing you enter is sent or saved.

What it counts

Reading time, and what the read costs

The hand-reading side is simple arithmetic on your own pace: pages divided by pages per hour. It counts reading only. A real review also tabs the file, pulls the decision letters and exams, and writes up what matters, so the true time is longer.

The software side uses Commander for Advocates' published pricing. A veteran is billed only in a month you work the case, and a file's pages past the included allowance are charged once, when they are read in. The full terms are on advocate pricing.

Getting the file: requesting a client's C-file as a representative. Working it: reviewing a VA C-file. Also free: the effective date estimator and the appeal deadline calculator.

See a sample case, no sign-up: a synthetic veteran's file read, decoded and argued the way the console shows it.

Questions

Common questions about C-file review

How long does it take to read a C-file?: It depends on the reader and the file, and there is no published standard pace. At 60 pages an hour, an assumption you can change in the tool, a 2,000-page file is 33 hours 18 min of reading and an 8,750-page file is 145 hours 48 min, before any tabbing, summary or drafting.
What does Commander for Advocates charge to read a C-file?: $20 per veteran for each month you work the case. 2,500 pages per veteran are included for life, and pages past that are 2 cents each, charged once when they are read in. A 2,000-page file is $20; an 8,750-page file is $145 in its first month.
What does a whole caseload cost to bring over?: Veteran fees in the first 30 days after a card goes in are capped at $500, and page charges are separate. Forty veterans with 2,000-page files would be $500 in those 30 days, then $20 for each veteran you work in a later month.
Does the software replace reading the file?: No. It reads every page, indexes the documents by type and date, and cites findings to the page so a representative can check them. The representative still reviews the file and decides what to argue.

Read the whole file. Cited to the page.

Try it on your own case: a 5-day free trial, no card.

See Commander for Advocates

Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Claim Commander is software, not a law firm or an accredited representative.