Skip to Content

GI Bill and other education benefit eligibility

Learn about GI Bill eligibility requirements and find out if you can get these benefits. VA education benefits can help you pay your tuition, pick out a school, choose a career, and more. If you’re an active-duty service member or Veteran, a member of the National Guard or Reserves, or a qualified survivor or dependent, find out if you can get VA education benefits through the GI Bill and other educational assistance programs.

Am I eligible for VA education benefits through the Post-9/11 GI Bill?

You may be eligible for benefits through the Post-9/11 GI Bill if you’ve served on active duty for at least 90 days, whether continuous (all at once) or interrupted (for shorter periods over time), after September 10, 2001.

Learn more about the Post-9/11 GI Bill

Note: If you choose to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) instead of the Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD, or Chapter 30), you can’t switch at some later date to use MGIB-AD.

Am I eligible for VA education benefits through the Montgomery GI Bill?

You may be eligible for benefits through one of our Montgomery GI Bill programs.

Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD)

You can get benefits through MGIB-AD if you served at least 2 years on active duty and you meet all of these requirements.

All of these must be true:

  • You were honorably discharged, and
  • You have a high school diploma, GED, or 12 hours of college credit, and
  • You meet other requirements

Note: If you have only 1 period of service that begins on or after August 1, 2011, and you start receiving payments for MGIB-AD, you may lose your eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. 

Learn more about MGIB-AD

You can get help deciding which education benefits to use by calling us at 888-442-4551 (TTY: 711). We’re here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.

Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR)

You can get benefits through MGIB-SR if you’re a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard Reserves, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard, and you meet all of these requirements.

All of these must be true:

  • You have either a 6-year service obligation (you agreed to serve 6 years) in the Selected Service, or
  • You’re an officer in the Selected Reserve who agreed to serve 6 years in addition to your initial service obligation, and
  • You meet other requirements

Learn more about MGIB-SR

How many total months of VA education benefits can I get?

You may be able to get a maximum of 48 months of VA education benefits—not including Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits. But many applicants are eligible for only 36 months.

Can I get VA education benefits through other programs?

You may be able to get help paying for school tuition, testing fees, and advanced licensing and certifications through other VA educational assistance programs. You may also be able to get entrepreneurship training to help start or improve a small business.

Learn more about advanced training and certifications

Learn about other educational assistance programs

Can I get educational and career counseling through VA?

You may be able to get free educational and career counseling through the Personalized Career Planning and Guidance program (Chapter 36) if you meet one of these requirements.

One of these must be true:

  • You’re leaving active service soon, or
  • You have been discharged within the past year, or
  • You’re a Veteran or dependent who is eligible for VA education benefits

Learn more about educational and career counseling

If you have a service-connected disability that limits your ability to work or prevents you from working, you may be eligible for Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits and services—like help exploring employment options and getting more training if required.

Find out if you qualify for Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)

What should I do if I received an other than honorable, bad conduct, or dishonorable discharge?

If you’ve received one of these discharge statuses, you may not be eligible for VA benefits.

There are 2 ways you can try to qualify:

Can my spouse or dependent children get VA education benefits?

In some cases, the dependent or surviving spouse and children of a Veteran can get educational assistance through a GI Bill program.

Learn more about Survivors’ and Dependents’ Assistance

Also, if you haven’t used all of your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, you may be able to transfer up to 36 months of benefits to your spouse or a dependent child.

Learn more about transferring benefits

If you have a service-connected disability that limits your ability to work or prevents you from working, your dependent family members may be eligible for educational and career counseling benefits through the Personalized Career Planning and Guidance program (Chapter 36).

Learn more about employment benefits for dependent family members

Checking your application status.

Learn more about how to apply for education benefits

Note: To apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31) or educational and career counseling through Personalized Career Planning and Guidance (Chapter 36), you’ll need to use a different application.

Find out how to apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31)

Find out how to apply for educational and career counseling (Chapter 36)