Notice2026-06004
Notice of Exception to Date of Receipt Rule
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
Veterans Affairs Department
Abstract
Beginning November 15, 2024, a strike led by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) resulted in a delay of mail delivery from Canada Post. In response, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is establishing a temporary exception to the date of receipt provisions to ensure that veterans or claimants residing within the Canada Post mailing jurisdiction do not have an adverse effect to benefits. VBA recognizes the potential impact in the claim process resulting from the inability to send or receive mail. The strike ran from November 15, 2024, through December 17, 2024. On January 6, 2025, Canada Post returned to full-service levels, and the United States Postal Service (USPS) resumed acceptance of mail and packages to and from Canada.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14905-14906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06004]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
[Docket No. VA-2026-VACO-0001]
Notice of Exception to Date of Receipt Rule
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Beginning November 15, 2024, a strike led by the Canadian
Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) resulted in a delay of mail delivery
from Canada Post. In response, the Veterans Benefits Administration
(VBA) is establishing a temporary exception to the date of receipt
provisions to ensure that veterans or claimants residing within the
Canada Post mailing jurisdiction do not have an adverse effect to
benefits. VBA recognizes the potential impact in the claim process
resulting from the inability to send or receive mail. The strike ran
from November 15, 2024, through December 17, 2024. On January 6, 2025,
Canada Post returned to full-service levels, and the United States
Postal Service (USPS) resumed acceptance of mail and packages to and
from Canada.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jadine Piper, Acting Assistant
Director, Policy, Compensation Service, Veterans Benefits
Administration, (202) 461-9700.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 15, 2024, CUPW initiated a
national strike affecting Canada's postal system, causing stoppages and
significant delays in the processing and delivery of mail. On November
29, 2024, USPS announced an immediate suspension, temporarily halting
mail acceptance to and from Canada, affecting the processing or
delivery of mail services to millions of Canadian customers. On January
6, 2025, Canada Post reinstated full-service levels for domestic mail
and accelerated processing for international mail. In conjunction, on
January 6, 2025, USPS resumed the acceptance of mail and packages to
and from Canada.
Although Canada Post has resumed regular mail processing and
delivery services, VBA understands the negative impact these
disruptions may have caused certain veterans or claimants residing
within the Canadian postal jurisdiction during the time of the strike.
Potential impact includes preventing the timely filing of VBA claims
submissions and claim-related evidence or receiving claim-related or
other pertinent VBA benefit information. Therefore, VBA is instituting
a temporary exception for determining acceptable dates of receipt for
correspondence sent through postal or other mail processing services
for veterans or claimants residing within the jurisdiction of Canada.
Ordinarily, ``date of receipt'' means the date on which a
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) office receives a claim,
information, or evidence. Under 38 CFR 3.1(r), the Under Secretary for
Benefits may establish exceptions to VA's rule on the date of receipt
of claims, information, or evidence by publishing a notice in the
Federal Register. Section 3.1(r) states that an exception may be
established when a natural or man-made interference with the normal
channels through which VBA ordinarily receives correspondence has
resulted in one or more VBA regional offices experiencing extended
delays in the receipt of claims, information, or evidence to an extent
that, if not addressed, would adversely affect veterans and claimants
through no fault of their own.
The CUPW national strike significantly disrupted mail services for
millions of Canada Post customers. VBA acknowledges that veterans or
claimants residing within a Canadian postal jurisdiction may have
experienced unusual hardships in submitting correspondence containing a
claim, evidence, or other information throughout the course of the
strike. VBA further acknowledges that letters sent in the days before
the strike may also have been impacted. Therefore, VA has established
exceptions to the standard date of receipt rule for correspondence from
veterans or claimants affected by the CUPW strike. VA recognizes a
disruption in mail services from November 11, 2024, the first business
day of the week in which mail service disruptions commenced, through
March 10, 2025, 60 calendar days from the date following full
reinstatement of Canadian mail services.
Exceptions to Date of Receipt Rule for Claimants Affected by the
Canadian Postal Strike
Under 38 CFR 3.109(b), if there is good cause, VA may provide
claimants or beneficiaries an extension of time when submitting
information applicable to the processing of a claim or a decision. This
applies to veterans, claimants, or beneficiaries residing in a Canadian
postal jurisdiction during the strike. The disruption in mail services
provides good cause to support the need for extending time limits based
on mail delays. VBA grants a time limit extension by establishing this
exception.
VBA gives notice that, for purposes of determining entitlement to
benefits, any correspondence received by VBA, during the period of
November 11, 2024, through March 10, 2025, from a veteran or claimant
residing within a Canadian postal jurisdiction that contains an
impacted claim, information, or evidence, will be considered received
on the postmark date or November 15, 2024, whichever is earlier.
In accordance with 38 CFR 3.110, computation of the extended
timeframe for receipt of correspondence or other pertinent evidence
excludes the first day of the affected period. This means VBA will make
exceptions to the date of receipt rule beginning November 15, 2024,
extending through March 10, 2025, the next succeeding workday following
the 60-day period after full resumption of Canadian mail services.
If VBA solicited submission of information or evidence from a
veteran or claimant residing within a Canadian postal jurisdiction any
time on or after November 11, 2024, and the date for submission of such
information or
[[Page 14906]]
evidence expired between November 15, 2024, and March 10, 2025, receipt
of such information or evidence will be considered as timely if it is
postmarked by March 10, 2025. In the event there is no mail postmark or
date stamp by the USPS, VBA will consider any such solicited evidence
or information as received no later than March 10, 2025, or the latest
date on which a timely response to VBA's request for information could
be received. For any decision notification letter sent during the
impacted period of November 11, 2024, to March 10, 2025, VA will
consider March 10, 2025, as the date of the decision notice for a
subsequently submitted decision review option.
Signing Authority
Douglas A. Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on March 11, 2026, and authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the Federal Register for
publication electronically as an official document of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Gabriela DeCuir,
Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2026-06004 Filed 3-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 27, 2026.
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