Title 38, Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-102
§1132 Presumption of Sound Condition
Title 38 › PART II — GENERAL BENEFITS › CHAPTER 11 — COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY OR DEATH › SUBCHAPTER IV — PEACETIME DISABILITY COMPENSATION › § 1132
Summary
Anyone who served on active military service for six months or more is assumed to have been healthy when they joined, unless the problem was noted at enlistment or shown to have existed before joining.
Full Legal Text
Title 38, §1132
Veterans' Benefits, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
For the purposes of section 1131 of this title, every person employed in the active military, naval, air, or space service for six months or more shall be taken to have been in sound condition when examined, accepted and enrolled for service, except as to defects, infirmities, or disorders noted at the time of the examination, acceptance and enrollment, or where evidence or medical judgment is such as to warrant a finding that the disease or injury existed before acceptance and enrollment.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2021—Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “air, or space service” for “or air service”. 1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 332 of this title as this section. Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(c)(1), substituted “1131” for “331”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
38 U.S.C. § 1132
Title 38, Veterans' Benefits
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102