What Qualifies for the VA Clothing Allowance

Prosthetic or orthopedic devices and physician-prescribed skin medicine are the two kinds of items the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pays a clothing allowance for. Devices include an artificial limb, a brace, or a wheelchair. Skin medicine must be prescribed for a service-connected skin condition.

Either kind becomes one of the VA clothing allowance eligible items only when a service-connected condition requires it and it wears, tears, or irreparably damages or stains your outer clothing. At Rank and Pay, we keep the yearly payment amount and the full application steps on our VA clothing allowance page.

VA decides each application. Service connection comes first. You must be a Veteran with a service-connected disability, or with a disability VA compensates under 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1151 as if it were service-connected. If you have not filed a disability compensation claim yet, you must file one before you can get the clothing allowance, and our VA disability hub has the claim steps.

VA also needs proof that the item is tied to that condition. A VA examination or a qualifying hospital or examination report can establish it, or the Under Secretary for Health or a designee can certify it.

Each item has to pass three tests before VA pays for it:

Braces, Wheelchairs and Prosthetic Devices

A device qualifies when it is a prosthetic or orthopedic appliance that tends to wear or tear clothing, under the federal rule at 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 3.810. VA.gov names an artificial limb, a brace, and a wheelchair as examples of the category.

VA.gov lists a brace as an example device but publishes no list of qualifying braces, so VA decides each application. Whether a knee or back brace counts depends on whether a service-connected condition requires it and whether it wears or tears your clothing. Describe the brace, the condition it supports, and the garment it wears through when you apply, because VA makes the call from your application.

Loss or loss of use of a hand or foot has its own rule. In that case, 38 CFR 3.810 requires the disability to be rated at specified levels, so read the rating language in the regulation before you apply for a hand or foot device.

Skin Medications That Damage Clothing

A skin medicine qualifies when a physician prescribes it for a service-connected skin condition and it causes irreparable damage to your outer garments. VA.gov describes outer clothing as items such as pants or shirts. Medicines that stain clothing also count.

A skin medicine claim has three parts:

If VA has rated your skin condition, our psoriasis rating guide and scars rating guide show how those ratings work. A rating alone does not meet the clothing allowance rule, which also requires a prescribed medicine that irreparably damages or stains outer clothing.

When You Can Get More Than One Allowance

You can receive more than the basic payment when at least one of these is true:

Under 38 CFR 3.810, VA pays one allowance for each qualifying appliance or medication that affects a distinct type of clothing. Two allowances are paid when several appliances or medications damage the same type of garment at a faster rate because of the extra item. You must still submit an application to receive an additional allowance.

The application asks for details of each device or skin medication that damages or stains your clothing. Because the regulation counts allowances by type of clothing, name the garment each item affects, such as pants or shirts.

VA Clothing Allowance Eligible Items Have No Published List

VA does not publish a complete list of approved devices or skin medications on VA.gov or in 38 CFR 3.810. A decision is made on each application.

For a question about one item before you apply, ask the prosthetic representative at your local VA medical center, who also accepts the paper application. You can also reach VA's teletypewriter (TTY) line at 711, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).

Timing and How to Apply

You must qualify by August 1 to be paid that year. VA collects applications through the year and holds them until the August 1 closing date. Eligible payments go out between September 1 and October 31.

If you received a clothing allowance payment in 2022 or 2023, you no longer need to submit an application every year for the annual payment. VA can still stop or lower payments if it decides you no longer meet the requirements. A new item for an additional allowance still requires an application.

You can apply three ways:

Have this information ready before you start:

Incarcerated veterans follow a separate rule. If you are incarcerated more than 60 days and the institution provides clothing free, VA reduces the allowance by 1/365 for each day beyond the first 60 in the 12 months before the anniversary date.

For more VA programs, see our VA benefits hub or browse all explainers. Before you apply, write down each item, the service-connected condition it treats, and the type of clothing it wears or stains, then enter all of it on the form.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Verify your eligibility with the VA on VA.gov's clothing allowance page or with your local VA medical center.