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Authorize VA to disclose personal information to a third party

You can give us permission to share certain information about your VA education benefits to a third party, like a family member or specific people at an organization. Find out who we can share your information with and how to submit your authorization.

When you might want to give us permission to share your information

You may want to authorize disclosure of your personal information to a family member or specific people at an organization if someone helps you with your VA education benefits. The person you name can receive information about your education benefits but can’t manage or change your benefits.

How to authorize VA to share your information with a third party

You can authorize us to share your education benefits information in either of these 2 ways.

Option 1: Online

You can authorize VA to disclose your education benefit information online now.

Option 2: By mail

Complete the Authorization to Disclose Personal Information to a Third Party - Education Benefits (VA Form 22-10278) form.

Get VA Form 22-10278 to download

Mail your completed form to the right address for your region of the country. Check the form to find out what region your state is in.

Eastern region

VA Regional Office
PO Box 4614
Buffalo, NY 14240

Western region

VA Regional Office
PO Box 888
Muskogee, OK 74402

Keep a copy of the completed form for your records.

Who can access your information if you authorize third-party disclosure

We share your information only with the people you name in your authorization. And we verify their identity before sharing anything.

These are some examples of people you may choose to share your information with:

  • A family member who helps you manage your finances or benefits

  • A representative who helps you with a benefit issue

  • Another trusted person who communicates with VA on your behalf

Make sure the third party you authorize us to share information with has the pin, password, or answer to the security question you filled in on the form. We’ll use this to verify the identity of the third party.

What information we share

We share only the information you approve.

When you authorize disclosure, these are some examples of the information about your education benefits you may ask us to share:

  • The status of your pending claim or appeal

  • Your current benefit and rate

  • Your payment history

  • Any amount of money you owe VA

How long the authorization to share your information lasts

You can decide how long your authorization lasts.

When you fill out the form, you can choose 1 of these options:

  • Share your information only once (called “one-time disclosure”)

  • Share your information until a specific date

  • Share your information until you cancel the authorization (called “ongoing disclosure”)

Note: If you want to update or cancel your authorization, you’ll need to submit a new form.

What happens after you submit your authorization

After we receive your authorization, we’ll add it to your education benefits record.

We’ll share the information you approved only when the people you named on your form ask for it.

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