Eligibility Requirements for VA Home Loan Programs

• Service requirements for Veterans and Servicemembers on active duty

  When did you serve?	You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for at least this amount of time:
  Between September 16, 1940, and July 25, 1947 (WWII)	90 total days
  Between July 26, 1947, and June 26, 1950 (post-WWII period)	181 continuous days
  Between June 27, 1950, and January 31, 1955 (Korean War)	90 total days
  Between February 1, 1955, and August 4, 1964 (post-Korean War period)	90 total days
  Between August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975 (Vietnam War), or February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975, if you served in the Republic of Vietnam	90 total days
  Between May 8, 1975, and September 7, 1980 (post-Vietnam War period), or Between May 8, 1975, and October 16, 1981, if you served as an officer	181 continuous days
  Between September 8, 1980, and August 1, 1990, or Between October 17, 1981, and August 1, 1990, if you served as an officer	24 continuous months, or The full period (at least 181 days) for which you were called to active duty
  Between August 2, 1990, and the present (Gulf War)	24 continuous months, or The full period (at least 90 days) for which you were called or ordered to active duty
  I’m on active duty now	90 continuous days

• Service requirements for National Guard and Reserve members

  When did you serve?	You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for at least this amount of time:
  Between August 2, 1990, and the present (Gulf War)	90 continuous days of active service
  Any time period	6 creditable years in the Selected Reserve or National Guard, and one of the descriptions below is true for you At least one of these must be true. You: Were discharged honorably, 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, or Continue to serve in the Selected Reserve

How do I apply for my COE?

You can apply online right now.

Go to eBenefits to Apply

Learn more about how to apply for your COE.

What if I don’t meet the minimum service requirements?

You may still be able to get a COE if you were discharged for one of the reasons listed below.

You must have been discharged for one of these reasons:

• Hardship, or
• The convenience of the government, or
• Reduction in force, or
• Certain medical conditions, or
• A service-connected disability (a disability related to your military service)

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:

Find out how to apply for a discharge upgrade.
Learn about the VA Character of Discharge review process.

Can I get a COE as the spouse of a Veteran?

You may be able to get a COE if you’re the spouse of a Veteran, and at least one of the descriptions below is true for that Veteran.

At least one of these must be true. The Veteran:

• Is missing in action, or
• Is a prisoner of war (POW), or
• Died while in service or from a service-connected disability and you didn’t remarry, or
• Died while in service or from a service-connected disability and you didn’t remarry before you were 57 years old or before December 16, 2003, or
• Had been totally disabled and then died, but whose disability may not have been the cause of death (in certain situations)

Note: A surviving spouse who remarried before December 16, 2003, and on or after their 57th birthday, must have applied no later than December 15, 2004, to establish home loan eligibility. We must deny applications we received after December 15, 2004, from surviving spouses who remarried before December 16, 2003.

Can I get a COE in any other situations?

You may be able to get a COE if you meet at least one of the requirements listed below.

At least one of these must be true. You:

• Are a U.S. citizen who served in the Armed Forces of a government allied with the United States in World War II, or
• Served as a member in certain organizations, like a:
  • Public Health Service officer
  • Cadet at the United States Military, Air Force, or Coast Guard Academy
  • Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy
  • Officer of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
  • Merchant seaman during World War II

Can I use a COE I used before?

You may be able to “restore” an entitlement you used in the past to buy another home with a VA direct or VA-backed loan if you meet at least one of the requirements listed below.

At least one of these must be true:

• You’ve sold the home you bought with the prior loan and have paid that loan in full, or
• A qualified Veteran-transferee agrees to assume your loan and substitute their entitlement for the same amount of entitlement you used originally, or
• You’ve repaid your prior loan in full, but haven’t sold the home you bought with that loan (you can only do this one time)

To request an entitlement restoration, fill out a Request for a Certificate of Eligibility (VA Form 26-1880) and send it to the VA regional loan center for your state.
Download VA Form 26-1880.
Find your state’s VA regional loan center.