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Obtaining a
Certificate of
Eligibility
VA determines your eligibility
and, if qualified, a certificate of eligibility will
be issued. Eligibility applications can
involve:
- An original determination of
eligibility for the home loan benefit
- A request to replace a lost
certificate of eligibility
- A request for restoration of
the benefit after payment in full of a previous
VA home loan
- Issuance of a certificate
reflecting a current outstanding loan for
refinance purposes
See home loan benefit eligibility requirements
Requesting a certificate through
your lender:
In many cases, your lender will be
able to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility for you by
using ACE (Automated Certificate of Eligibility).
ACE is a web-based application that is able to determine
eligibility and issue an online Certificate of
Eligibility in a matter of seconds. Not all cases
can be processed through ACE. If there is
insufficient data in our records, the certificate will
have to be requested from VA using the procedures below:
Requesting a certificate from VA:
- Complete
VA Form 26-1880,
Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home
Loan Benefits.
- Send the completed
VA Form 26-1880 and any supporting evidence (see 3 and 4
below) to our
Winston-Salem Eligibility Center. Under
normal circumstances a response can be anticipated
in roughly 10 days. This time frame will vary
during periods of heavy activity.
- Include photocopies of your most
recent discharge or separation papers covering
active military duty, which show active duty dates
and type of discharge. If you served on
regular active duty (not a reservist) and were
discharged after 1975 or you have previously had a
VA loan, it may not be necessary for you to provide
documentation of your military service.
However, it is best to provide such evidence with
your
VA Form 26-1880 if it is readily available so
as to avoid possible delays in processing your
request.
- If you are seeking
restoration of your previously used benefit, you
should include any evidence of payment in full
of your prior loan (copy of HUD-1, settlement
statement for example) that you have in your
possession. Normally VA receives
notification that a loan has been paid, but this
does not always happen. VA determines your
eligibility and, if you are qualified, VA will
issue you a certificate of eligibility to be
used in applying for a VA loan.
If you were discharged from
regular active duty
If you were separated after
January 1, 1950, the appropriate documentation of
your military service would be DD Form 214,
Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active
Duty. If you were discharged after October 1,
1979, DD Form 214, copy 4 would be appropriate.
A photocopy of DD214 will suffice. Do not
submit an original document.
If your service was in Selected
Reserves
If you served in the Selected
Reserve you must provide documentation sufficient to
establish that you served a minimum of 6 years with
points earned for weekend drills or active duty for
training and received an honorable discharge.
Since there is no uniform document similar to DD214
for proof of service in the Selected Reserve, a
number of different forms may be accepted.
For those who served in the Army
or Air National Guard and were discharged after at
least 6 years of service, NGB Form 22 may be
sufficient.
Those who served in the Army,
Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard
Reserves may need to relay on a variety of forms.
Often it will be necessary to submit a combination
of documents such as an Honorable Discharge
certificate together with a Retirement Points
Statement.
If you remain on active duty
If you are now on regular active
duty and have not been previously discharged from
active duty service, you must submit a statement of
service which includes the name of the issuing
authority (base or command), and is signed by or at
the direction of an appropriate official. The
statement must identify you (SSN), and provide your
date of entry on active duty and the duration at any
time lost. If you remain on active Selected
Reserve duty, the statement of service should be
from your unit CO and should cite the length of time
you have served with the reserve unit.
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