Eligibility
One of your most important steps to begin the process is to understand if you're eligible for a VA home loan. VA home loan applicants must provide a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to prove they qualify for a VA loan. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides instructions on requesting a COE, or VA Loan Nerd can walk you through it.
- Active Duty: Served 90 days continuously
- National Guard or Reserves: Served 6 years, or 90 days with at least 30 days consecutively under Title 10 or 32 orders
- Veterans: Were active-duty for at least 90 consecutive days in wartime or 181 days in peacetime. Veterans must not have been dishonorably discharged.
- Surviving Spouses: Qualifying surviving spouse
- Credit Score Requirements: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs doesn't set a minimum credit score requirement for VA loans. However, lenders may set their own minimum requirements. Most lenders require a score of at least 620, but some accept a score as low as 500.
- Loan Limit: If you have your full entitlement available, you can buy as much house as you darn well please with $0 down, as long as you qualify for the monthly payment. If you have entitlement wrapped up in another property, we can pull your COE and discuss how to maximize your remaining entitlement.
For Service Members
If you’ve served for at least 90 continuous days (all at once, without a break in service), you meet the minimum active-duty service requirement.
For Veterans
The minimum active-duty service requirements depend on when you served.
When did you serve?
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 24 continuous months
or
The full period (at least 90 days) for which you were called or ordered to active duty
or
At least 90 days if you were discharged for a hardship, or a reduction in force
or
Less than 90 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 24 continuous months
or
The full period (at least 181 days) for which you were called to active duty
or
At least 181 days if you were discharged for a hardship, or a reduction in force
or
Less than 181 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 24 continuous months
or
The full period (at least 181 days) for which you were called to active duty
or
At least 181 days if you were discharged for a hardship, or a reduction in force
or
Less than 181 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
181 continuous days
or
Less than 181 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
181 continuous days
or
Less than 181 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 90 total days
or
Less than 90 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 90 total days
or
Less than 90 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 181 total days
or
Less than 181 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 90 total days
or
Less than 90 days if you were discharged for a service-connected disability
For National Guard Members
The minimum active-duty service requirements depend on when you served.
When did you serve?
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 90 days of non-training active-duty service
or
At least 90 days of active-duty service including at least 30 consecutive days (your DD214 must show 32 USC sections 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 activation)
or
6 creditable years in the National Guard and you were discharged honorably or placed on the retired list
For Reserve Members
The minimum active-duty service requirements depend on when you served.
When did you serve?
You meet the minimum active-duty service requirement if you served for:
At least 90 days of non-training active-duty service
or
6 creditable years in the Selected Reserve
And at least 1 of these must be true:
You were discharged honorably
or
You were placed on the retired list
or
You were transferred to the Standby Reserve or an element of the Ready Reserve other than the Selected Reserve after service characterized as honorable
or
You continue to serve in the Selected Reserve
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You may still be able to get a COE if you were discharged for 1 of the reasons listed here.
You must have been discharged for 1 of these reasons:
Hardship
or
The convenience of the government (you must have served at least 20 months of a 2-year enlistment)
or
Early out (you must have served 21 months of a 2-year enlistment)
or
Reduction in force
or
Certain medical conditions
or
A service-connected disability (a disability related to your military service)
You may be able to get a COE if you’re the surviving spouse of a Veteran or the spouse of a Veteran who’s missing in action or being held as a prisoner of war (POW).
You may be able to get a COE if you meet at least 1 of these requirements.
At least 1 of these must be true:You’re a U.S. citizen who served in the Armed Forces of a government allied with the United States in World War II, orYou served as a member in certain organizationsThese roles in organizations can include:Public Health Service officerCadet at the United States Military, Air Force, or Coast Guard AcademyMidshipman at the United States Naval AcademyOfficer of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric AdministrationMerchant seaman during World War II
You may be able to “restore” an entitlement you used in the past to buy another home with a VA direct or VA-backed loan if you meet at least 1 of these requirements.
At least 1 of these must be true:
You’ve sold the home you bought with the prior loan and have paid that loan in full
or
A qualified Veteran-transferee agrees to assume your loan and substitute their entitlement for the same amount of entitlement you used originally
or
You’ve repaid your prior loan in full, but haven’t sold the home you bought with that loan (you can only do this 1 time)
To request an entitlement restoration, fill out a Request for a Certificate of Eligibility (VA Form 26-1880) and send it to the VA regional loan center for your state.
According to the VA, nearly all COE requests come electronically, and about two-thirds get issued immediately. If additional documentation is required, it's typically a DD Form 214 for regular military and the NGB Form 22 and NGB Form 23 for National Guard and Reserves.However, this isn't always the case. See the required forms for each service type.
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