Getting a GI Bill extension

Eligibility for a GI Bill extension

You may qualify for a GI Bill extension if one of these is true:

• You served a later period of active duty of 90 consecutive days or more (meaning that after you applied for GI Bill benefits, you served 90 days or more without a break in service), or
• You have an illness or disability that prevented you from attending school, or
• You were held by a foreign government or power after your last discharge or release from active duty

How to request an extension

If you served a later period of active duty

Send us a letter to request your extension.

Include one of these documents:

• A copy of your orders to report for active duty, or
• A copy of your DD214 or other discharge papers

Mail your documents to your local Regional Processing Office. 

Find a Regional Processing Office

If your illness or disability prevented you from attending school

Send us a letter to request your extension.

Include this information in your letter:  

• The type of illness or disability that prevented you from attending school, and
• The start and end dates of the time period when you couldn’t attend school because of your disability (write the dates like this: mm-dd-yyyy), and
• The reasons you couldn’t start or continue an education program

Include a description of each job you held during this time period when you couldn’t attend school because of your disability. 

List this information for each job:

• The type of job, and
• The employer’s name and address, and
• The employment start and end dates (write the dates like this: mm-dd-yyyy), and
• The number of hours per week you worked

Also include a statement from your doctor during this time period.

Your doctor’s statement should include these details:

• Your diagnosis and treatment, and
• How long you’ve had your illness or disability, and
• The start and end dates of the time period when your disability prevented you from attending school (write the dates like this: mm-dd-yyyy), and
• Medical evidence like test results and hospital reports

Mail your documents to your local Regional Processing Office.

Find a Regional Processing Office

If you were held by a foreign government

Send us a letter to request your extension. Please include the start and end dates of the time period when you couldn’t attend school because you were being held by a foreign government. Write the dates like this: mm-dd-yyyy.

Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship

The Edith Nourse Rogers Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) Scholarship allows eligible Veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill or dependents using the Fry Scholarship to get added benefits. If you’re currently enrolled in an undergraduate STEM degree program or if you have a STEM degree and you’re working toward a teaching certification, you may be eligible.

Learn about the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship