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

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) is a federally funded program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice that provides compensation for physical harm or death caused by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks or the debris removal efforts in the immediate aftermath. The VCF was reactivated by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 and permanently authorized by the Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act, signed July 29, 2019, which extended the claim filing deadline to October 1, 2090. When a victim dies of a 9/11-related condition, the Personal Representative of the estate files a deceased claim on the victim's behalf.

Death notification

Claims for deceased victims may be submitted only by the Personal Representative of the victim, regardless of cause of death. The Personal Representative must be appointed by a state probate or surrogates court (such as through Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration). If the victim previously filed a personal injury claim with the VCF, the action depends on cause of death: if the victim died of causes unrelated to 9/11, file a Personal Representative amendment to the existing personal injury claim; if the victim died as a result of an eligible 9/11-related condition (or cause is unclear), register a new deceased claim. Do not take both actions for the same victim. If the victim never filed a VCF claim, the Personal Representative registers a new deceased claim through the online Claims Management System at claims.vcf.gov.

Deadline: If the victim previously registered a timely VCF personal injury claim, the deceased claim is automatically considered timely. Otherwise, the Personal Representative must register the deceased claim within two years of the later of: (1) the victim's date of death, or (2) the date the VCF (through the Private Physician Process) verifies the condition that caused death as 9/11-related. The Claim Filing Deadline itself is October 1, 2090 for everyone, but the Registration Deadline can be much sooner.

Survivor benefits

The 9/11 VCF offers 3 benefits for surviving family members.

Frequently asked questions