VA Updates Privacy Rules For Its Vet Center Records
Published Date: 10/23/2026
Notice
Summary
The VA is updating its Vet Center records system to better protect veterans, service members, and their families who use counseling services. These changes improve how personal info is stored and shared, including new cloud storage details. Public comments are open until November 23, 2026, and the updates kick in about 30 days after if no changes are needed.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Vet Center records will not be destroyed
Previously, RCS electronic client records were kept 45 years after the last episode of service and then destroyed; the notice changes that. Vet Center records are now listed as "currently unscheduled and should not be destroyed" and will be retained and disposed of according to Records Control Schedule 10-1 and the General Record Schedule.
New disclosures to licensing boards and NPDB
The VA added Routine Use 9 to allow Vet Center records to be disclosed to State licensing boards and similar entities to inform them about health care practices of former or current VA health employees, and added Routine Use 10 to allow disclosure to the National Practitioner Data Bank during hiring or privileging. These routine uses permit sharing Vet Center records for licensing, privileging, hiring, retention, or termination decisions.
Sensitive data and call-center details added
The Vet Center record explicitly includes sensitive personally identifiable and health data such as veteran identification form, EDIPI (electronic data interchange personal identifier), Social Security number, DD Form 214, suicide risk assessments, psychosocial and clinical notes, bereavement and military sexual trauma counseling, and health care power of attorney. Vet Center Call Center records will include caller full name, telephone number, comments, current location, and physical address.
Vet Center records moved to cloud servers
Your Vet Center records will now be stored not only on VA servers in Philadelphia, PA, but also in the Salesforce Government Cloud Plus and the Microsoft Azure Government cloud at participating servers in the United States. The VA says these cloud stores conform to VA Directives 6500 and 6517 and that access controls are set by agreements with cloud vendors.
How you request and contest your Vet Center records
If you want access to or want to contest your Vet Center records, you may contact the system manager in writing, or write, call, or visit the last Vet Center where you received counseling. Requests must include your full name, address, telephone number, be signed, and describe the records sought in enough detail to locate them.
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