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How to download and open a VA.gov PDF form

We encourage you to download PDFs to your computer or other device instead of opening them in your browser. This is because some browsers have trouble opening PDFs. And sometimes browsers open a PDF but important form fields are missing. Follow these steps to download and open a VA.gov PDF form in Adobe Acrobat Reader instead. You’ll need to have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.

Get Acrobat Reader for free from Adobe

  1. Click the Download VA form link for the form you want to fill out. The PDF will download to your Downloads folder. You can save it to a different folder if you'd like.



    Note: If the PDF form opens in your browser automatically or if you get a “Please wait” error message, you'll need to take one more step to download the PDF: Click on the download icon in your browser. Save the PDF to your device.

  2. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader.

  3. From the File menu, choose Open.

  4. Go to your Downloads folder or the location on your device where you saved the PDF. Select the PDF and your form will open. Now you can fill out the form.

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Need more help?

MyVA411 main information line: 800-698-2411