A C&P exam, short for compensation and pension exam and officially called a VA claim exam, is a medical examination the VA schedules when it needs more information to decide a disability claim. A VA or VA-contracted examiner reviews the claim file, examines the veteran, and records standardized findings the VA's rating activity uses. The exam is free, and attending matters: missing one without good cause can lead the VA to decide the claim on the existing record.

The C&P exam is one input among several. The VA also considers service treatment records, VA and private medical records, and medical opinions the veteran submits. An examiner working from a thorough, well-documented file is largely confirming what the record already shows; an examiner working from a thin file is generating much of the evidence in a single visit. That difference is why the state of the record before the exam carries so much weight.