September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (9/11 VCF)

within 2 years of the later of the death or VCF verifying the fatal condition as 9/11-related; Missing it forfeits the claim.¹

within 2 years of that determination^{1, 2}

by October 1, 2090¹

If a victim with a personal injury claim died of causes unrelated to 9/11, a Personal Representative amendment to that claim lets the estate receive any pending award. If the death resulted from an eligible condition, or the cause is uncertain, a new deceased claim is registered instead; never both for the same victim.⁴

Without proof linking the death to an eligible condition, a Personal Representative amendment can still recover the personal injury losses the victim suffered while alive.³

Only the Personal Representative of the victim may file a deceased claim, whatever the cause of death, appointed by a state probate or surrogates court through Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. For a victim who did not live in the United States, the VCF decides the representative case by case.³

A small estate that would not otherwise need probate still obtains an appointment so the VCF can validate authority. Letters of Voluntary Administration are accepted only in very limited circumstances, must permit the VCF claim, and are followed by a petition for Letters to collect the award.³

Letters that bar the representative from compromising a claim need clarifying to permit a VCF claim. Restrictions in New York letters do not bar filing and prosecuting a VCF claim, though they still limit what the VCF can pay.^{5, 6}

Only in extremely rare circumstances, such as legal or geographic impossibility, will the Special Master appoint a Personal Representative, and only after a court appointment was first attempted where the decedent lived.⁷

The VCF cannot pay multiple people on one claim. Co-Personal Representatives designate one Lead Personal Representative on the Lead Personal Representative Designation Form before any award is paid.⁸

The VCF covers people present at the World Trade Center or New York City Exposure Zone from September 11, 2001 to May 30, 2002, at the Pentagon site to November 19, 2001, or at the Shanksville, Pennsylvania site to October 3, 2001.⁹

Eligibility is not limited to first responders: residents, students, visitors, volunteers, office workers and cleanup or debris removal workers may also qualify.⁹

The current VCF is not the original 2001 fund (VCF1), which ran from 2001 to 2004. It was reactivated in 2010, reauthorized in 2015 and permanently authorized on July 29, 2019, with funds to pay all eligible claims; additional limits apply where the victim received a VCF1 award.²

Life insurance proceeds, death benefits, Social Security survivor benefits, pension survivor benefits and workers' compensation death benefits offset the wrongful death portion of a deceased claim, both its economic and non-economic parts, but not the personal injury portion.³

Registration tells the VCF you may be a claimant, meets the timeliness requirement and preserves the right to file later, waiving no legal rights. Filing the claim is the later step that submits eligibility documentation, proof of presence and losses, and requests compensation.¹

A personal injury or deceased claim registered on or before July 29, 2021 has met its registration deadline. The Claim Filing Deadline of October 1, 2090 is the same for everyone.¹

Economic loss in a deceased claim applies a consumption factor to future lost earnings and no residual-earnings deduction, and may include replacement services even if they were denied in the personal injury claim.³

Where a former first responder does not qualify for a Line of Duty death designation because they were not officially deployed to the response, the Special Master may include a flat $250,000 in economic loss.³

Claim processing time varies. A claim or amendment is expedited where the claimant is terminally ill or faces imminent financial hardship, which the VCF defines as active foreclosure or eviction proceedings, or homelessness.¹⁰

Helpline representatives help with registering, retrieving a claim number, getting online access and using the Claims Management System. Spanish-speaking representatives are available, and interpreters can join for other languages.¹¹

When the victim was represented by a law firm, that firm submits the claim on the family's behalf and is the primary point of contact.³

Certification of the 9/11-related physical condition, a prerequisite for a VCF claim¹⁴