VA Loan Eligibility and Service Requirements

Two parts to qualifying

To get a VA loan you need two things. First, you need VA eligibility, which comes from your service and is shown on a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Second, you need to meet the lender's standards for credit, income and debts. This guide covers the first part.

If you are serving now

Active-duty service members qualify after 90 continuous days of active duty. You do not have to wait until you separate. Many people buy their first home with a VA loan while stationed at a new duty station.

If you are a Veteran

The amount of service you need depends on when you served:

• August 2, 1990 to today (Gulf War era): 24 continuous months, or the full period you were called or ordered to active duty, with at least 90 days.
• September 8, 1980 to August 1, 1990 (enlisted) or October 17, 1981 to August 1, 1990 (officers): 24 continuous months, or the full ordered period with at least 181 days.
• May 8, 1975 to September 7, 1980 (enlisted) or to October 16, 1981 (officers): 181 continuous days.
• Vietnam War, August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975: 90 total days. If you served in the Republic of Vietnam, the period starts November 1, 1955.
• February 1, 1955 to August 4, 1964: 181 total days.
• Korean War, June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955: 90 total days.
• July 26, 1947 to June 26, 1950: 181 continuous days.
• World War II, September 16, 1940 to July 25, 1947: 90 total days.

"Continuous" means without a break. "Total" means the days can add up across more than one stretch.

Less time can still work

If you were discharged for a service-connected disability, you may qualify with less time than listed. VA also allows exceptions for hardship, convenience of the government (at least 20 months of a 2-year enlistment), early out (21 months of a 2-year enlistment), involuntary reduction in force, and certain medical conditions.

National Guard

Guard members qualify in any one of these ways:

• At least 90 days of non-training active duty under Title 10.
• At least 90 days of active duty that includes 30 consecutive days under Title 32 orders (sections 316, 502, 503, 504 or 505).
• Six creditable years in the Guard, and you still serve, were honorably discharged, or were placed on the retired list.

Reserves

Reserve members qualify with at least 90 days of non-training active duty, or six creditable years in the Selected Reserve with the same still-serving, honorable discharge or retired-list rule.

Character of discharge

An other than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge may keep you from qualifying, but it does not end the conversation. You can still apply and VA will look at your record. You can also apply for a discharge upgrade or ask for a Character of Discharge review.

Surviving spouses

You may qualify as a surviving spouse if the Veteran died in service or from a service-connected disability and you have not remarried, or you remarried on or after age 57 under VA's date rules. Spouses of service members who are missing in action or prisoners of war may also qualify. In some cases, a spouse can qualify when the Veteran was totally disabled before death, even if the disability did not cause the death. Surviving spouses who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) do not pay the funding fee.

Other groups

Certain other groups can qualify, including some U.S. citizens who served with allied forces in World War II, Public Health Service officers, NOAA officers, service academy cadets and midshipmen, and World War II merchant seamen.

Step by step: check your eligibility

1. Find your papers. For most Veterans that is a DD214. Guard and Reserve members may need points statements or NGB Forms 22 and 23.
2. Match your service dates to the list above.
3. Request a COE online, through your lender or by mail.
4. If you are denied, read the reason, gather missing records and reapply, or ask about a discharge review.

When in doubt, apply anyway. VA makes the final call, and many people who think they do not qualify turn out to be eligible.