Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, Filing of Representatives' Fee Agreements and Motions for Review of Such Fee Agreements

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
Form VA21a Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, Filing of Representatives' Fee Agreements and Motions for Review of Such Fee Agreements Form and Instruction	Modified
60-Day FedRegNotice 2900-0605 Published 07-25-2019.pdf Supplementary Document	2019-11-18
30-Day FedRegNotice 2900-0605 Published 10-21-2019.pdf Supplementary Document	2019-11-18
2900-0605 Justification A (Rev2017) (final) 09252019.docx Supporting Statement A	2019-11-15

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
28847	Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, Filing of Representatives' Fee Agreements and Motions for Review of Such Fee Agreements Form and Instruction	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 2900-0605	ICR Reference No: 201710-2900-006
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201401-2900-015
Agency/Subagency: VA	Agency Tracking No: 2900-0605
Title: Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, Filing of Representatives' Fee Agreements and Motions for Review of Such Fee Agreements
Type of Information Collection: Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 03/05/2020
	Date Received in OIRA: 11/21/2019
Terms of Clearance: Approval is granted with the following terms of clearance. In the next revision or extension request for this collection, VA shall compare the questions on this form to questions on SF 85, SF 86, and OF 306. In any cases where VA requests more information or information for a longer time period than the federal government would require on these forms for adjudicating security clearances or public trust background investigations, VA shall provide justification for why this information is needed. VA shall also provide justification of why "substance abuse" and "alcohol abuse" are more appropriate for this form than the way similar questions are worded on SF 85, 86, and OF 306.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	03/31/2022	36 Months From Approved
Responses	21,560	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	5,683	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, is used to obtain basic information necessary to determine whether an individual may be accredited as an agent or attorney for purposes of representation of claimants before VA. The information requested includes basic identifying information, as well as certain information concerning training and experience, military service, and employment. The information is used to evaluate qualifications, ensure against conflicts of interest, and to establish that statutory and regulatory eligibility requirements, e.g., good character and reputation, are met. 38 U.S.C. § 5904(a); 38 C.F.R. § 14.629(b)(1). Once completed, VA Form 21a is forwarded by the applicant to VA and evaluated manually by an OGC employee to determine whether initial eligibility requirements are met. Applicants for accreditation as claims agents who meet these requirements are then notified that they are eligible to take the VA accreditation examination. VA also contacts character references listed on the form. Applicants are advised to contact their local VA Regional Counsel to make arrangements to take the examination. All completed examinations are forwarded by the Regional Counsel to OGC for grading. Applicants who pass the examination, whose character references are satisfactory, and who otherwise meet the good character and reputation requirement are issued a letter notifying them that they are authorized to represent claimants. Applicants for accreditation as attorneys are not required to pass an examination, but must meet all other qualification requirements. All applicants who do not qualify for accreditation are informed of the reasons for the denial. Agent applicants who are denied accreditation because they did not achieve a passing score on the examination may retake the examination. Without this form, VA would have no standardized formal means of documenting applicant qualifications. The information collected under VA Form 21a will be expanded under the final rule to account for additional accreditation requirements imposed by Congress in Public Law No. 109-461.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 38 USC 5902 Name of Law: Recognition of representatives of organizations
   US Code: 38 USC 5903 Name of Law: Recognition with respect to particular claims
   US Code: 38 USC 5904 Name of Law: Recognition of agents and attorneys generally
   US Code: 38 USC 5901 Name of Law: Prohibition against acting as cliams agent or attorney
   PL: Pub.L. 109 - 461 101(i) Name of Law: Limitation on collection of fee assessment
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	84 FR 35931	07/25/2019
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	84 FR 56284	10/21/2019
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney, Filing of Representatives' Fee Agreements and Motions for Review of Such Fee Agreements	VA21a	Application for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or Attorney

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	21,560	0	0	18,910	0	2,650
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	5,683	0	0	1,153	0	4,530
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: For more complete explanation see Supporting Statement. For, VA Form 21a and Re-certifications, the adjustment is a program adjustment due to re-characterization of burden hours to provide for greater specificity and change in estimate of the burden hours for the Government. For, Filing of Fee Agreements and Motions for Review, the adjustment is a program adjustment due to change in estimate number of filings.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $506,509

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 11/21/2019

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