State and territory disclosures

Pay Vets Now is software, not a VA representative. Several states have enacted laws regulating who may charge veterans for assistance with VA benefits claims. Because we are a software subscription and we never act as your representative before the VA, those accreditation-based laws do not apply to our service. We provide this page for transparency about the legal environment you are operating in.

Federal framework (applies everywhere)

38 USC 5901 requires that anyone who acts as an agent or attorney in preparing, presenting, or prosecuting a VA claim must be VA-accredited. 38 USC 5904 requires that any fee charged by such an accredited person must be collected only after a VA decision has been issued, must not exceed 33⅓% (with 20% direct-paid from VA as a safe harbor), and must be filed with VA OGC. Pay Vets Now does not act as your representative and does not charge any fee contingent on your VA outcome. We charge a flat subscription for software access.

New Jersey

P.L. 2023 c.150 (N.J.S.A. 56:8-228) prohibits unaccredited persons from charging New Jersey veterans for claim assistance. Pay Vets Now is software; our flat subscription for document preparation is expressly outside the scope of claim-representation services that the statute regulates. If you are a New Jersey resident and you have questions about free accredited representation, see our Find a VSO page.

New York

New York enacted veterans-benefits consumer protections in November 2024 (GBL Article 37 + Executive Law § 369). The same analysis applies: our software subscription is not accreditation-based representation. Free accredited help is available statewide through the New York State Division of Veterans' Services and the Big-6 VSOs.

Maine

LD 2259 (P.L. 2023 Ch. 631) prohibits unaccredited fee-charging for VA claim assistance before a Notice of Disagreement. Pay Vets Now does not charge for representation; we charge for software. If you need representation, the Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services and local VSO chapters provide it free.

California

SB 694 (Veterans Benefit Protection Act, signed February 2026, effective January 1, 2027) requires federal accreditation to charge California veterans for VA benefits consulting. Pay Vets Now is software and our fees are flat subscriptions for software access, not fees for representation. We will comply with SB 694 implementing regulations as they are issued. Free accredited help is available through CalVet and California county VSOs (there are 58 across the state).

Alabama

SB 206 (2025) prohibits unaccredited compensation for VA benefits assistance. Pay Vets Now is software; not applicable.

States with regulatory frameworks (non-prohibition)

Louisiana (2024 Act 390, struck down by the Middle District of Louisiana in February 2026 on federal preemption grounds and currently on appeal to the Fifth Circuit), Florida (2023 HB 33/SB 612 disclosure-only regime), Tennessee (2024 Pub. Ch. 888), Oklahoma (2024 SB 1506), and Colorado (SB25-282) have enacted various regulatory approaches. We comply with the disclosure obligations that apply to software providers in those states where any apply.

All other states and territories

In all remaining states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, federal 38 USC 5901/5904 governs. Since we do not represent you and we do not charge contingent fees, these statutes do not restrict our service.

Unified disclosure — regardless of your state

We are software, not your representative. You are always the filer of record. We do not charge fees contingent on your VA outcome. Free accredited help is always available from any Veterans Service Organization (Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America) and from your county or state Veterans Service Office. We surface VSO options on every page of this site.

Questions

Email [email protected].