Toxic Exposure

Burn Pit Registry and Toxic Exposure Screening

The registry is automatic for Veterans who deployed to listed places and dates. It is a research list. It does not decide your health care or your claim.

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What it is

The Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry started in 2014 and was redesigned in July 2024. Eligible Veterans are now added automatically from Department of Defense records. You do not have to fill out a survey or be sick to be in it.

Registry and screening timeline

Registry and screening timeline2014registry startedMarch 5, 2024expanded health care eligibilityJuly 2024registry redesigned
The registry started in 2014 and was redesigned in July 2024. Starting March 5, 2024, VA expanded health care eligibility under the PACT Act.VA Public Health: registry · VA Public Health: how to get care · Page reviewed September 2026.

Who is in it

Service in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom or New Dawn, from August 2, 1990 through August 31, 2021, in: Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and the waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and Red Sea. Also Afghanistan, Djibouti, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan or Yemen from September 11, 2001 through August 31, 2021.

What it does NOT do

VA says being in the registry is optional and has no effect on, and does not decide, your eligibility for VA health care and benefits. It is not a claim. Being on it does not file anything, and not being on it does not hurt you.

Where the money and care are: the PACT Act

Starting March 5, 2024, VA expanded health care eligibility under the PACT Act to Veterans exposed to toxins, including those who served in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan or another combat zone after 9/11, and who meet basic service and discharge rules. Every Veteran enrolled in VA health care gets an initial toxic exposure screening and a follow-up screening at least once every 5 years. It asks about hazards such as open burn pits and Agent Orange. You do not need a diagnosis or a filed claim to ask for it.

Compensation is separate. To be paid for a condition you must file a claim. For which conditions VA presumes, see the Presumptive Conditions by Era page in this binder.

Step by step

  1. Check that you are in the registry: contact your local Environmental Health Coordinator or use the VA inquiry form below.
  2. Do not want to be in it? Use the opt-out form. VA says opting out only affects research and outreach, not your care or benefits.
  3. Apply for VA health care if you are not enrolled, then ask for the toxic exposure screening.
  4. If you have a health problem, file a claim. The registry does not replace a claim.

Where to call and where to go

Phone

Official pages

Free accredited help

Sources