(Source: www.benefits.va.gov/)
By law, an individual must be accredited by the Veterans Administration (VA) as a Claims Agent, Attorney, or Representative of a VA-recognized Veterans Service Organization (VSO) to assist in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a claim for VA benefits. VA regulations provide a one-time-only exception to this general rule, which authorizes a person to provide assistance on a particular claim, but such assistance must be without cost to the claimant and is otherwise subject to the laws governing representation. An individual who is not accredited by VA is otherwise prohibited by law from assisting claimants in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of claims before VA.
By law, no person or organization may charge claimants a fee for assistance in preparing applications for VA benefits or presenting claims to VA. VA-accredited agents and attorneys may charge fees for assistance on a claim for VA benefits only after the VA has issued a decision on a claim, a Notice of Disagreement has been filed initiating an appeal of that decision, and the agent or attorney has complied with applicable power-of-attorney requirements and fee agreement requirements.