The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund provides financial compensation to individuals or a personal representative of a deceased individual who were present at the World Trade Center or in the New York City Exposure Zone; the Pentagon crash site; or the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, crash site, at some point between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, and who have been diagnosed with a September 11th related physical illness. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund does not compensate for mental health illnesses and does not distinguish between responders and survivors.

The “Never Forget the Heroes, James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act,” enacted on July 29, 2019, is authorized to provide monitoring and treatment to individuals with September 11th related physical illnesses until October 1, 2090. However, the July 29, 2021, deadline to register a claim with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund impacts individuals who were certified by the World Trade Center Health Program with a September 11th related physical illness before July 29, 2019 but did not register a claim with the World Trade Center Health Program and personal representatives seeking to register a claim on behalf of individuals who died from September 11th related physical illnesses before July 29, 2019.

The deadline to register with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund by July 29, 2021, does not apply to individuals who are diagnosed with a September 11th related physical illness in the future or who are not enrolled in the World Trade Center Health program. If the individual is certified by the World Trade Center Health Program with a September 11th related physical illness after July 29, 2019, the registration deadline is two years after the certification date.

There are two steps in the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund claim filing process, each of which has a separate deadline:

Step 1: Register by July 29, 2021: Registration preserves the right to file a claim in the future. There is no waiver of any legal rights and no obligation to file a claim in the future.
Registration is not the same as filing a claim. Registration serves to alert the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund that the individual may be a potential claimant in the future and to meet the legal requirement of timeliness. The individual need not be currently diagnosed with a physical illness or certified with a September 11th related physical illness by the World Trade Center Health Program in order to register. Registration requires only a few pieces of personal information such as name, date of birth, and social security number, and takes just a few minutes.
To register the individual must do one of the following:

• Use the online system to submit a Registration Form at www.vcf.gov; or
• Call the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Helpline at 1-855-885-1555

Step 2: Complete and submit a claim form and all supporting documents by October 1, 2090: Although the individual must register with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund by July 29, 2021, the individual should wait to file a claim until certified for treatment by the World Trade Center Health Program for a September 11th related physical illness. The deadline the submission of all claims and supporting documents is October 1, 2090.

For more information on the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, including the information needed to register, file a claim, and monitor the status of a claim, please visit www.vcf.gov or call 1-855-885-1555.