Government pages on the PACT Act can be long and hard to follow, so this answer comes first. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) now presumes that certain cancers and breathing illnesses come from burn pits and other toxic exposures. The law also added two Agent Orange conditions. If you have one of these diagnoses and served in a covered place and time, the VA treats the link to service as already established.
This Veterans Benefits guide walks through which conditions are presumptive under the PACT Act and the service locations that go with them. It follows the VA's own list of hazardous materials exposures and presumptive conditions.
What does "presumptive" mean under the PACT Act?
The PACT Act is short for the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act. It became law on August 10, 2022, according to the VA's page on the PACT Act and your VA benefits.
For most disability claims, you have to show that your service caused your condition. The VA calls this link a "service connection." It usually takes medical evidence.
A presumptive condition skips that step. The VA assumes your service caused it, so you don't need a doctor to prove the link.
You still need three things:
- A current diagnosis of a condition on the VA's list.
- Service in a qualifying location during the qualifying dates.
- A discharge that isn't dishonorable.
A presumption settles the link to service. It doesn't decide your disability rating or your payment amount. The VA decides those separately, based on how the condition affects you.
Which conditions are presumptive under the PACT Act for burn pits and toxic exposure?
The PACT Act named two groups of conditions. The VA keeps the current list on its page about hazardous materials exposure and presumptive conditions.
Category | Conditions on the VA's list |
|---|---|
Cancers | Brain cancer, glioblastoma, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, melanoma. Also any type of gastrointestinal, head, neck, lymphatic, reproductive, or respiratory cancer, and any type of lymphoma. |
Breathing illnesses | Asthma diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, constrictive or obliterative bronchiolitis, emphysema, granulomatous disease, interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis. |
Pay attention to the phrase "of any type." It covers a whole family of cancers. For example, "gastrointestinal cancer of any type" includes cancers of the stomach, colon, and esophagus.
The VA can add conditions by rule after reviewing the science, so this list can grow over time. In January 2025, the VA added several blood cancers for Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans, including leukemias and multiple myeloma. Check the VA's presumptive conditions page for the version in effect when you file.
Consider one veteran's situation. Say you served in Iraq in 2007, and in 2021 your doctor diagnosed chronic sinusitis. Chronic sinusitis is on the list and Iraq is a covered location, so the VA presumes the connection.
Some Gulf War illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), follow a separate set of presumptive rules. Our guide to IBS benefits under the PACT Act explains how those work.
Where did you have to serve to qualify for burn pit presumptions?
The burn pit presumptions apply only if you served in certain places, according to the VA's PACT Act page. Service in the airspace above these locations also counts.
When you served | Where you served |
|---|---|
On or after August 2, 1990 | Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates |
On or after September 11, 2001 | Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, or Yemen |
Your DD Form 214 (your discharge papers) shows your service dates. Deployment orders or unit records can help show where you were.
The law also added three radiation cleanup missions: Enewetak Atoll (1977 to 1980), Palomares, Spain (1966 to 1967), and Thule, Greenland (1968). The VA's PACT Act page lists the exact dates.
What Agent Orange conditions and locations did the PACT Act add?
The PACT Act added two conditions to the Agent Orange list, per the VA's PACT Act page:
- High blood pressure (hypertension). Before 2022, this wasn't on the Agent Orange presumptive list.
- Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). This is a blood condition where the body makes an unusual protein.
For veterans who don't have Agent Orange exposure, hypertension claims work differently. Our article on why VA disability for hypertension can be hard to get explains why.
The law also added new places where the VA presumes Agent Orange exposure.
Location | Dates of service |
|---|---|
Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base in Thailand | January 9, 1962, to June 30, 1976 |
Laos | December 1, 1965, to September 30, 1969 |
Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia | April 16, 1969, to April 30, 1969 |
Guam, American Samoa, or their territorial waters | January 9, 1962, to July 31, 1980 |
Johnston Atoll, or a ship that called there | January 1, 1972, to September 30, 1977 |
These locations are in addition to the Republic of Vietnam and the other places already covered. For more on Agent Orange conditions, see our guide to Agent Orange claims.
Is there a deadline to file for PACT Act benefits?
No. The VA says on its PACT Act page that there's no deadline to apply for PACT Act benefits.
There was one date that mattered for back pay. Claims filed by August 14, 2023, could be paid back to August 10, 2022, and that window has now closed.
Today, benefits usually start from the date you file. You can also tell the VA you intend to file, which can hold that start date while you gather records. The VA's October 2023 quick guide to the PACT Act explains this in more detail.
What this means for you
- Match your service to the tables above. Compare the dates and places on your DD Form 214.
- Find the exact name of your diagnosis. Look at your medical records. The VA's list uses specific terms, so "sinus problems" may be recorded as "chronic sinusitis."
- Look again if you were told no before. If the VA denied a condition that's now on the list, you can ask it to review your claim again.
- Check the current VA list. New conditions may have been added since this article was written.
This article doesn't cover how to apply. Our Veterans Benefits guides walk through the application steps, and you'll find more plain-language guides on the Turnout blog.
FAQ
I was denied for a condition before 2022. Can I try again? You can. If your condition is now presumptive, the VA's PACT Act page says you can file a supplemental claim. That's a request to look at your claim again under the new rules.
Do I have to prove I was near a burn pit? You don't. If you served in a covered location during the covered dates, the VA presumes you were exposed. You don't need to show exactly where the burn pit was.
Is VA disability pay from a PACT Act claim taxed? VA disability compensation generally isn't counted as federal taxable income, but check the current IRS rules for your situation. Our article on whether veterans disability benefits are taxable covers the details.
Does a PACT Act condition help with Social Security disability? It doesn't carry over automatically. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses its own rules, separate from the VA. See which conditions can qualify you for Social Security disability.
Turnout is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
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To get a sense of which programs you may qualify for in your state, including veterans programs, visit our benefits scan page. If you'd rather talk your situation through with a person, our veterans benefits team offers one-on-one help.