1. Eligibility Requirements:
To determine eligibility, a military veteran, active duty person, or a member
of the national guard or selected reserves, must submit a VA Form 26-1880
<
http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/vba-26-1880-ARE.pdf>
along with proof of service (DD Form 214, a statement of active duty, or
proof of participation in the national guard or reserves) to the VA Eligibility
Center <
mailto:NCELIGIB@va.gov> , P.O.
Box 20729, Winston-Salem, NC 27120. Based on the applicant's length and
type of service, VA issues a certificate for each of the following:
a.
Discharged Veterans (Regular Military) DD Form 214,
Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, will generally contain
all the information needed for VA to make an eligibility determination for
persons who served in a regular component of the Armed Forces. VA will accept
originals or legible copies of the DD Form 214. Persons separated from military
service after January 1, 1950 should have received DD Form 214.
Persons separated after October 1, 1979 should furnish Member 4 of DD Form
214 which includes character of service and separation reason. Persons separated
from active duty before January 1, 1950 received documentation other than
DD Form 214. To be acceptable it should indicate length of service, and
character of service.
b.
Veterans Still on Active Duty must provide a current
statement of service signed by, or by the direction of, the adjutant, personnel
office, or commander of the unit or higher headquarters they are attached
to. There is no one form used uniformly by the military for a statement
of service. While statements of service are typically on military letterhead,
some may be computer generated.
The statement of service must clearly show:
. veteran's full name
. Social Security Number (SSN)
. date of birth
. the entry date on active duty
. the duration of lost time, if any, and
. the name of the command providing the information
c.
Discharged Reserve/Guard Members use one form which
is similar to DD Form 214, the NGB Form 22, Report of Separation and Record
of Service, or a points statement. Typically, all members of the Reserves
and/or Guard receive an annual retirement points summary which indicates
the level and length of participation. The applicant should submit
the latest such statement received along with evidence of honorable service.
VA will accept originals or legible copies.
d.
Current Reserve/Guard Members must provide a statement
of service signed by, or by the direction of, the adjutant, personnel office,
or commander of the unit or higher headquarters they are attached to. There
is no one form used uniformly by the military for a statement of service.
While statements of service are typically on military letterhead, some may
be computer-generated.
The statement of service must clearly show::
. veteran's full name
. Social Security Number (SSN)
. entry date of applicant's Reserve/Guard duty, and
. the name of the command providing the information.
Note: The statement must clearly indicate that the applicant is an
"active" reservist and not just in a control group (inactive status).
e. Members of the
Reserves and National Guard who
are not otherwise eligible for loan guaranty benefits are eligible
upon completion of 6 years service in the Reserves or Guard. The applicant
must have received an Honorable discharge from such service unless he or
she is either: in an inactive status awaiting final discharge, or still
serving in the Reserves or Guard.
f. Some
spouses of veterans may have home loan eligibility.
They are the unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result
of service or service-connected causes and the spouse of an active duty
member who is listed as missing in action (MIA) or a prisoner of war (POW)
for at least 90 days. Eligibility under this MIA/POW provision is limited
to one time use only.
