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VA Home Loan Eligibility

VA Loan Eligibility Criteria

Below are the details regarding VA Eligibility, straight from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ VA Mortgage guide book “VA Guaranteed Home Loans for Veterans” VA Pamphlet 26-4.

You are eligible for VA financing if your service falls within any of the following categories:

Wartime Service

  • World War II (September 16, 1940 to July 24, 1947)
  • Korean Conflict (June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955)
  • Vietnam Era (August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975), the Vietnam Era begins February 28, 1961 or for individuals who served in the Republic of Vietnam.
  • Persian Gulf War (August 2, 1990 to present (requires service for 2 years or the full period for which called to active duty, except that exceptions applying to service between September 7, 1980 and August 1, 1990 also apply to Persian Gulf War).) See below.
  • You must have served at least 90 days on active duty and been discharged or released under other than dishonorable conditions. If you served less than 90 days, you may be eligible if discharged because of a service-connected disability.

Peacetime Service

  • July 26, 1947 to June 26, 1950.
  • February 1, 1955 to August 5, 1964 or
  • May 8, 1975 to September 7, 1980 (if enlisted) or to October 16, 1981 (if officer, you must have served at least 181 days of continuous active duty and been discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. If you served less than 181 days, you may be eligible if discharged because of a service-connected disability.
  • Service between September 7, 1980 (enlisted) or October 16, 1981 (officer) and August 1, 1990.
If your entire period of service was between September 7, 1980 (October 16, 1981) and August 1, 1990 you must have:
  • Completed 24 months of continuous active duty or the full period (at least 181 days) for which you were called or ordered to active duty, and been discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.
  • You may also be determined to be eligible if you were discharged for a service-connected disability, or you were discharged for the convenience of the Government after completing at least 20 months of a 2-year enlistment, or you completed 181 days of active duty and:
  • Were discharged because of a hardship, or
  • Were determined to have a service-connected compensable disability, or
  • Were discharged or released from active duty for a medical condition which pre-existed service and has not been determined to be service-connected, or
  • Received an involuntary discharge or release from active duty for the convenience of the Government as a result of a reduction in force, or
  • Were discharged or released from active duty for a physical or mental condition not characterized as a disability and not the result of misconduct but which did interfere with your performance of duty.
  • NOTE: During the Persian Gulf War, the foregoing exceptions to the 2-year requirement apply, except that 90 days of active duty is sufficient in lieu of 181 days.

Active Duty Service Personnel:

If you are now on active duty, you are eligible after having served a continuous active status for at least 90 days. When an ending date is established for persons who did not have wartime service.

Members of the Selected Reserve:

Individuals who are not otherwise eligible and who have completed at least 6 years in the Reserves or National Guard, or been discharged because of a service-connected disability, and

  • have been discharged with an honorable discharge, or
  • have been placed on the retired list, or
  • have been transferred to an element of the Ready service other than the Selected Reserve, or
  • continue to serve in the Selected Reserve are eligible for a GI loan.

Other types of Service:

  • Certain United States Citizens who served in the armed forces of a government allied with the United States in World War II.
  • Unmarried surviving spouses of the above-described eligible persons who died as the result of service or service-connected injuries (Children of deceased veterans are not eligible).
  • The spouse of any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who is listed as missing in action, or is a prisoner of war and has been listed for a total of more than 90 days.
  • Individuals with service as members in certain other organizations, services, programs and schools may also be eligible, Questions about whether this service qualifies for home loan benefits should be referred to the Loan Guaranty Division of the nearest VA regional office.