 Eligibility
Issues and Discussion
 Military
Service Requirements for VA Loan Eligibility
How
to Get Your Certificate of Eligibility
General
Rules for Eligibility
Military
Service Requirements for VA Home Loan Eligibility
Note: Applications
involving other than honorable discharges will usually require further
development by VA. This is necessary to determine if the service was
under other than dishonorable conditions.
Wartime - Service During: WWII 9/16/1940 to 7/25/1947
Korean 6/27/1950 to 1/31/1955
Vietnam 8/5/1964 to 5/7/1975
You must have at
least 90 days on active duty and been discharged under other than dishonorable
conditions. If you served less than 90 days, you may be eligible if
discharged for a service connected disability.
Peacetime - Service during periods: 7/26/1947 to 6/26/1950
2/1/1955 to 8/4/1964
5/8/1975 to 9/7/1980 (enlisted)
5/8/1975 to 10/16/1981 (officer)
You must have served
at least 181 days of continuous active duty and been discharged under
other than dishonorable conditions. If you served less than 181 days,
you may be eligible if discharged for a service connected disability.
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Service
after 9/7/1980 (enlisted) or 10/16/1981 (officer)
If you were separated
from service which began after these dates, you must have:
- Completed 24
months of continuous active duty or the full period (at least 181
days) for which you were ordered or called to active duty and been
discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, or
- Completed at
least 181 days of active duty and been discharged under the specific
authority of 10 USC 1173 (Hardship), or 10 USC 1171 (Early Out), or
have been determined to have a compensable service-connected disability;
- Been discharged
with less than 181 days of service for a service-connected disability.
Individuals may also be eligible if they were released from active
duty due to an involuntary reduction in force, certain medical conditions,
or, in some instances for the convenience of the Government.
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Gulf War
- Service during period 8/2/1990 to date yet to be determined
If you served on
active duty during the Gulf War, you must have:
- Completed 24
months of continuous active duty or the full period (at least 90 days)
for which you were called or ordered to active duty, and been discharged
under conditions other than dishonorable, or
- Completed at
least 90 days of active duty and been discharged under the specific
authority of 10 USC 1173 (Hardship), or 10 USC 1173 (Early Out), or
have been determined to have a compensable service-connected disability,
or
- Been discharged
with less than 90 days of service for a service-connected disability.
Individuals may also be eligible if they were released from active
duty due to an involuntary reduction in force, certain medical conditions,
or, in some instances, for the convenience of the Government.
Active Duty
Service Personnel
If you are now on
regular duty (not active duty for training), you are eligible after
having served 181 days (90 days during the Gulf War) unless discharged
or separated from a previous qualifying period of active duty service.
Selected
Reserves or National Guard
If you are not otherwise
eligible and you have completed a total of 6 years in the Selected Reserves
or National Guard (member of an active unit, attended required weekend
drills and 2-week active duty for training) and
- Were discharged
with an honorable discharge, or
- Were placed
on the retired list, or
- Were transferred
to the Standby Reserve or an element of the Ready Reserve other than
the Selected Reserve after service characterized as honorable service,
or
- Continue to
serve in the Selected Reserves
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Disabled
Veterans
Individuals who
completed less than 6 years may be eligible if discharged for a service-connected
disability.
Spouse of
a Veteran
You May also be
determined eligible if you:
- Are an unremarried
spouse of a veteran who died while in service or from a service connected
disability, or
- Are a spouse
of a serviceperson missing in action or a prisoner of war
Note: Also, a surviving
spouse who remarries on or after attaining age 57, and on or after December
16, 2003, may be eligible for the home loan benefit. However, a surviving
spouse who remarried before December 16, 2003, and on or after attaining
age 57, must apply no later than December 15, 2004, to establish home
loan eligibility. VA must deny applications from surviving spouses who
remarried before December 6, 2003 that are received after December 15,
2004.
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Other
Veterans
Eligibility may
also be established for:
- Certain United
States citizens who served in the armed forces of a government allied
with the United States in WW II.
- Individuals
with service as members in certain organizations, such as Public Health
Service officers, cadets at the United States Military, Air Force,
or Coast Guard Academy, midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy,
officers of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, merchant
seaman with WW II service, and others.
How
to Get Your Certificate of Eligibility
The Veterans Administration
(VA) determines your eligibility and, if qualified, a certificate
of eligibility is issued. Eligibility applications can involve:
-
an original determination of eligibility for the home loan benefit
-
a request to replace a lost certificate of eligibility
-
a request for restoration of the benefit after payment in full of
a previous VA home loan
-
issuance of a certificate reflecting a current outstanding loan
for refinance purposes
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Requesting
a Certificate of Eligibility Through our Certified Lenders
In many cases,
we will be able to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility for you by
using the ACE (automated certificate of eligibility). ACE is a web-based
application that is able to determine eligibility and issue an online
Certificate of Eligibility in a matter of seconds. Not all cases can
be processed through ACE. If there is insufficient data in our records,
the certificate will have to be requested from VA using the procedures
below.
Requesting
a certificate from VA
1. Complete VA
Form 26-1880, Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home
Loan Benefits.
2. Send the completed
VA Form 26-1880 and any supporting evidence (see 3 and 4 below) to
the correct VA Eligibility Center (see below "Where is Your Eligibility
Certificate Processed?"). Under normal circumstances a response
can be anticipated in roughly 10 days. This time frame will vary during
periods of heavy activity
3. Include photocopies
of your most recent discharge or separation papers covering active
military duty, which show active duty dates and type of discharge.
IF YOU SERVED ON REGULAR ACTIVE DUTY (NOT A RESERVIST) AND WERE DISCHARGED
AFTER 1975 OR YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY HAD A VA LOAN, IT MAY NOT BE NECESSARY
FOR YOU TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION OF YOUR MILITARY SERVICE. However,
it is best to provide such evidence with your VA Form 26-1880 if it
is readily available so as to avoid possible delays in processing
your request.
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If you
were discharged from regular active duty
* If you were
separated after January 1, 1950, the appropriate documentation of
your military service would be DD Form 214, Certificate of Release
or Discharge from Active Duty. If you were discharged after October
1, 1979, DD Form 214, copy 4 would be appropriate. A PHOTOCOPY OF
DD214 WILL SUFFICE….DO NOT SUBMIT AN ORIGINAL DOCUMENT.
If your
service was in Selected Reserves
* If you served
in the Selected Reserve you must provide documentation sufficient
to establish that you served a minimum of 6 years with points earned
for weekend drills or active duty for training and received an honorable
discharge. Since there is no uniform document similar to the DD214
for proof of service in the Selected Reserve, a number of different
forms may be accepted.
* For those who served in the Army or Air National Guard and were
discharged after a least 6 years of service, NGB Form 22 may be sufficient.
* Those who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast
Guard Reserves may need to relay on a variety of forms. Often it will
be necessary to submit a combination of documents such as an Honorable
Discharge certificate together with a Retirement Points Statement.
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If you
remain on active duty
* If you are
now on regular active duty and have not been previously discharged
from active duty service, you must submit a statement of service which
includes the name of the issuing authority (base or command), and
is signed by or at the direction of an appropriate official. The statement
must identify you (SSN), and provide your date of entry on active
duty and the duration of any time lost. If you remain on active Selected
Reserve duty, the statement of service should be from your unit CO
and should cite the length of time you have served with the reserve
unit.
Restoration
of Previously Used Benefit
If you are seeking
restoration of your previously used benefit, you should include any
evidence of payment in full of your prior loan (copy of HUD-1, settlement
statement for example) that you have in your possession. Normally
VA receives notification that a loan has been paid, but this does
not always happen. VA determines your eligibility and, if you are
qualified, VA will issue you a certificate of eligibility to be used
in applying for a VA loan.
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Where
do I send my request for Certificate
of Eligibility?
Please
send your request to::
VA Loan Eligibility
Center
PO Box 20729
Winston-Salem, NC 27120
* Toll free
number: 1-888-244-6711
* Secure Online Web Site: https://iris.va.gov
The
toll free telephone line to for the VA Eligibility Center in Winston-Salem
Eligibility Center is 1-888-244-6711. It has has been included in
their VA National Automated Response System. Accordingly, callers
are now provided a menu of information regarding the guaranteed
home loan program and may exercise options from that menu which
allow them to speak to VA Eligibility Personnel. Currently, the
most direct route through the menu for those program participants
who wish to speak to Eligibility personnel includes menu selections
in the following order:
(1)
- Touchtone phone
(1) - Eligibility
(2) - Status
Once you obtain
your Certificate of Eligibility, then fill out our RESIDENTIAL LOAN
APPLICATION here online. We will process your loan and get you moving
forward. If you have any more questions, please
contact us
* The information
above has been reposted from the Veterans Administration web site
and is provided herein as a service to our users.
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