Real federal form

VA Disability Compensation

VA Form 21-526EZ — Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits

VA Form 21-526EZ is the official application the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs publishes for disability compensation and related compensation benefits.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

AccessForce is an independent prototype. It is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, this agency, and it never changes eligibility requirements or makes eligibility decisions.

View Official VA Form 21-526EZ Run the AI audit

Before

The experience people use today

Claim type. Service history. Medical history. Treatment history. Supporting evidence.

A veteran has to hold all of it in mind at once, and decide for themselves which parts apply to their situation.

The requirement isn't the barrier. Having to understand the structure of a claim before answering anything is.

Which questions apply to you?

The same application asks for different question ranges depending on which programs someone is requesting.

First disability claimClaim type + service history + each claimed condition+ treatment providers + supporting evidence
New condition addedClaim type + the new condition + related treatment+ evidence for the new condition
Increase requestedExisting condition + what has changed + recent treatment+ current medical evidence

AI-identified cognitive and process complexity — not a legal accessibility violation.

Document preview

Representative excerpt

VA Form 21-526EZ — Application for Disability Compensation

Claim information

Identify the type of claim being filed.
List each disability being claimed and how it relates to service.

Service and treatment

Provide service dates, branch and component information.
Identify treatment providers and dates of treatment.

Evidence and certification

Identify supporting evidence and records to be considered.
Signature, date and contact information.

Short representative excerpts only — the full published document is linked above.

Why this matters

The Department of Veterans Affairs has publicly proposed simplifying the disability application process, including reducing paperwork and estimated completion time.

AccessForce explores how AI and Agentforce could extend that same goal even further — from shorter forms to adaptive conversations.

What comes after a shorter form?

A form that adapts to you.

AXS — Accessibility Experience Score

Putting a number on the experience people face today

AXS — AccessForce Accessibility Experience Score

47 / 100

Significant OpportunitiesIllustrative score until audit completed

Illustrative score until audit completed

VA Form 21-526EZ

AXS weighs technical accessibility at 40%, cognitive and content accessibility at 30%, and process accessibility at 30% — so an interface that is technically operable can still score low when the process itself is hard to get through.

How AXS works

AI accessibility audit

Ask AI to examine the experience

AccessForce reads the published application the way different people would have to, and reports what may stand in their way. These are AI-identified opportunities reviewed by a person — not legal findings.

AI redesign

Let Agentforce rebuild the interaction

The eligibility rules and the systems behind them stay exactly as they are. Only the interaction changes.

After

The same service, as a conversation

VA Disability Compensation — assistant

Hi. I'm here to help you work through your disability compensation application. Before we start, how can I make this experience easier for you?

How can I make this experience easier for you?

You can change these preferences at any time.

AccessForce helps organise an application. It never decides benefits eligibility — VA does.

Before vs. after

Same public service, different experience

Before

Form-driven

📄 Form-driven
🧠 Historical recall
🏛 Government terminology
🔀 Process decisions
📁 Evidence gathering

After

VA Benefits for All — conversation-driven

💬 Conversation-driven
1️⃣ One question at a time
🧠 Plain language
🤖 AI-guided branching
📁 AI-assisted evidence organization
💾 Pause and resume
♿ Adaptive accessibility
🙋 Human help

Same benefits. Same eligibility requirements.

An experience that adapts to the veteran using it.

Measured

Before and after isn't just visible. It's measurable.

Before

AXS / 100

Significant Opportunities

VA Form 21-526EZ

AccessForce redesign

After

AXS / 100

Highly Accessible Experience

Adaptive Agentforce conversation over the same requirements

Accessibility Experience Points

47 → 94. Illustrative score until audit completed.

Dimension by dimension

Select “Why?” on any dimension to see the finding, the recommendation and the redesign decisions the improvement is credited to.

AXS dimension scores before and after the AccessForce redesign, out of 100
Dimension	Before	After	Change
Visual & Perceivable	76 out of 100 before	95 out of 100 after	+19
Severity: LowImpact area: Visual & Perceivable Finding Dense pages ask people to scan long blocks of small print to find what applies to them. AccessForce recommendation Present one question at a time, at a size and contrast the person can adjust. Before 8 / 10 After redesign 10 / 10 Improvement +2 Why did the score change? One question on screen at a time Larger default text with an adjustable size control Information never carried by colour alone Layout works at 400% zoom and on a phone
Screen Reader & Semantic	66 out of 100 before	96 out of 100 after	+30
Severity: MediumImpact area: Screen Reader & Semantic Finding Document structure and field relationships are hard to follow when the experience is read aloud. AccessForce recommendation Rebuild the interaction with real headings, labelled controls and a predictable reading order. Before 7 / 10 After redesign 10 / 10 Improvement +3 Why did the score change? Real headings, labels and landmarks Every answer control has an accessible name Announcements when the assistant replies Reading order matches the visible order
Motor & Keyboard	62 out of 100 before	96 out of 100 after	+34
Severity: MediumImpact area: Motor & Keyboard Finding Completing the experience assumes precise input and, on paper, handwriting and signatures. AccessForce recommendation Make every step keyboard-operable with large targets, and accept spoken answers. Before 6 / 10 After redesign 10 / 10 Improvement +4 Why did the score change? Everything reachable with Tab, Enter and the arrow keys Visible focus on every control Large touch targets Nothing times out
Cognitive Accessibility	34 out of 100 before	93 out of 100 after	+59
Severity: HighImpact area: Cognitive Accessibility Finding Applicants may need to recall substantial service, medical and treatment information. AccessForce recommendation Break information gathering into smaller conversations and allow unresolved information to be saved for later. Before 3 / 10 After redesign 9 / 10 Improvement +6 Why did the score change? Reduced information density One question at a time Plain-language explanations “I don't know” supported Approximate answers supported where appropriate Follow-up items saved rather than blocking progress
Plain Language	36 out of 100 before	95 out of 100 after	+59
Severity: HighImpact area: Plain Language Finding Government and legal terminology assumes familiarity most applicants don't have. AccessForce recommendation Ask in plain language and explain terms in place, while preserving the original meaning. Before 4 / 10 After redesign 10 / 10 Improvement +6 Why did the score change? Questions rewritten at a grade 6–8 reading level Original wording available on request Acronyms and legal terms explained in place Underlying legal meaning preserved
Process Accessibility	28 out of 100 before	91 out of 100 after	+63
Severity: HighImpact area: Process Accessibility Finding Applicants must navigate multiple types of claim information. AccessForce recommendation Let Agentforce determine the relevant path through conversational questions. Before 3 / 10 After redesign 9 / 10 Improvement +6 Why did the score change? Irrelevant questions removed from view Branching handled dynamically Save and resume added Help available throughout One task presented at a time Human escalation available
Adaptive & Personalized	32 out of 100 before	94 out of 100 after	+62
Severity: HighImpact area: Adaptive & Personalized Finding The experience is the same for everyone, and assistance has to be discovered before it can be used. AccessForce recommendation Ask about accessibility needs and language first, then adapt the experience to the answers. Before 3 / 10 After redesign 9 / 10 Improvement +6 Why did the score change? Accessibility preferences asked before any application question Language choice offered up front Read-aloud and voice answers supported Simpler wording on request, at any point

Illustrative score until audit completed. Each change is credited to a specific redesign decision — a score never moves simply because a conversation exists.

Why did the score change?

Process Accessibility
28 → 91+63
Why?
- Irrelevant questions removed from view
- Branching handled dynamically
- Save and resume added
- Help available throughout
- One task presented at a time
- Human escalation available
Cognitive Accessibility
34 → 93+59
Why?
- Reduced information density
- One question at a time
- Plain-language explanations
- “I don't know” supported
- Approximate answers supported where appropriate
- Follow-up items saved rather than blocking progress

Scale

One accessibility engine. Thousands of experiences.

The same audit-and-redesign engine can point at any required experience. The systems of record behind them are never replaced.

Government
Healthcare
Education
Employment
Sports
Travel
Emergency Response
Financial Services

Don't make people adapt to forms.

Make forms adapt to people.

AccessForce: Forms for All

Built for Agentforce for Good • AI Fluency Track • Type C

See the Type C evidence How it reaches existing systems

VA Disability Compensation

The experience people use today

Which questions apply to you?

Document preview

Putting a number on the experience people face today

Ask AI to examine the experience

Let Agentforce rebuild the interaction

The same service, as a conversation

Same public service, different experience

Form-driven

VA Benefits for All — conversation-driven

Before and after isn't just visible. It's measurable.

Dimension by dimension

Finding

AccessForce recommendation

Why did the score change?

Finding

AccessForce recommendation

Why did the score change?

Finding

AccessForce recommendation

Why did the score change?

Finding

AccessForce recommendation

Why did the score change?

Finding

AccessForce recommendation

Why did the score change?

Finding

AccessForce recommendation

Why did the score change?

Finding

AccessForce recommendation

Why did the score change?

Why did the score change?

Process Accessibility

Cognitive Accessibility

One accessibility engine. Thousands of experiences.