38 U.S.C. § 5100
Section 5100 · Definition of claimant
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 19 court decisions — leading case Holliday v. Principi (2001)
Most recently applied in Taylor v. McDonough (June 2023)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In this chapter:
(1) The term "claimant" means any individual applying for, or submitting a claim for, any benefit under the laws administered by the Secretary.
(2) The term "notice" means a communication issued through means (including electronic means) prescribed by the Secretary.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
A prior section 5100, added Pub. L. 106–475, §2, Nov. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 2096, defined "claimant", prior to repeal by Pub. L. 117–168, title VIII, §807(a)(1), Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1805.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Rule of Construction
Pub. L. 117–168, title VIII, §807(b), Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1806, provided that: "None of the amendments made by this section [enacting this section, amending sections 5104, 5104B, 5112, 7104, 7105, 7105A, and 7266 of this title, and repealing former section 5100 of this title] shall be construed to apply section 5104(a) of such title [meaning title 38, United States Code] to decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals under chapter 71 of such title."