General Rules for
Eligibility
Military Service Requirements for
VA Loan Eligibility:
Note: Applications
involving other than honorable discharges will
usually require further development by VA.
This is necessary to determine if the service was
under other than dishonorable conditions.
Wartime - Service
During:
- WWII: 9/16/1940 to 7/25/1947
- Korean: 6/27/1950 to
1/31/1955
- Vietnam: 8/5/1964 to 5/7/1975
You must have at least 90 days on
active duty and been discharged under other than
dishonorable conditions. If you served less
than 90 days, you may be eligible if discharged for
a service connected disability.
Peacetime - Service
during periods:
- 7/26/1947 to 6/26/1950
- 2/1/1955 to 8/4/1964
- 5/8/1975 to 9/7/1980
(Enlisted)
- 5/8/1975 to 10/16/1981
(Officer)
You must have served at least 181
days of continuous active duty and been discharged
under other than dishonorable conditions. If
you served less than 181 days, you may be eligible
if discharged for a service connected disability.
Service after 9/7/1980 (enlisted)
or 10/16/1981 (officer)
If you were separated from service
which began after these dates, you must have:
- Completed 24 months of
continuous active duty or the full period (at
least 181 days) for which you were ordered or
called to active duty and been discharged under
conditions other than dishonorable, or
- Completed at least 181 days
of active duty and been discharged under the
specific authority of 10 USC 1173 (Hardship), or
10 USC 1171 (Early Out), or have been determined
to have a compensable service-connected
disability;
- Been discharged with less
than 181 days of service for a service-connected
disability. Individuals may also be
eligible if they were released from active duty
due to an involuntary reduction in force,
certain medical conditions, or, in some
instances for the convenience of the Government.
Gulf War - Service during
period 8/2/1990 to date yet to be determined
If you served on active duty
during the Gulf War, you must have:
- Completed 24 months of
continuous active duty or the full period (at
least 90 days) for which you were called or
ordered to active duty, and been discharged
under conditions other than dishonorable, or
- Completed at least 90 days of
active duty and been discharged under the
specific authority of 10 USC 1173 (Hardship), or
10 USC 1173 (Early Out), or have been determined
to have a compensable service-connected
disability, or
- Been discharged with less
than 90 days of service for a service-connected
disability. Individuals may also be
eligible if they were released from active duty
due to an involuntary reduction in force, certain
medical conditions, or, in some instances, for
the convenience of the Government.
Active Duty Service Personnel
If you are now on regular duty
(not active duty for training), you are eligible
after having served 181 days (90 days during the
Gulf War) unless discharged or separated from a
previous qualifying period of active duty service.
Selected Reserves or National
Guard
If you are not otherwise eligible
and you have completed a total of 6 years in the
Selected Reserves or National Guard (member of an
active unit, attended required weekend drills and
2-week active duty for training) and
- Were discharged with an
honorable discharge, 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 service, or
- Continue to serve in the
Selected Reserves
Individuals who completed less
than 6 years may be eligible if discharged for a
service-connected disability.
You May also be determined
eligible if you:
- Are an unremarried spouse of
a veteran who died while in service or from a
service connected disability, or
- Are a spouse of a
serviceperson missing in action or a prisoner of
war
Note: Also, a
surviving spouse who remarries on or after attaining
age 57, and on or after December 16, 2003, may be
eligible for the home loan benefit. However, a
surviving spouse who remarried before December 16,
2003, and on or after attaining age 57, must apply
no later than December 15, 2004, to establish home
loan eligibility. VA must deny applications
from surviving spouses who remarried before December
6, 2003 that are received after December 15, 2004.
Eligibility may also be
established for:
- Certain United States
citizens who served in the armed forces of a
government allied with the United States in WW
II.
- Individuals with service as
members in certain organizations, such as Public
Health Service officers, cadets at the United
States Military, Air Force, or Coast Guard
Academy, midshipmen at the United States Naval
Academy, officers of National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration, merchant seaman with
WW II service, and others.
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