source:
  type: guide
  id: va-m26-7-ch02-t05
  authority: VA Lenders Handbook (VA Pamphlet 26-7), Chapter 2, Topic 5 — Basic Eligibility
    Requirements
  description: VA Lenders Handbook (VA Pamphlet 26-7), Chapter 2, Topic 5 — Basic
    Eligibility Requirements.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: va-m26-7-ch02-t05-full
  canonical_id: va-m26-7-ch02-t05-full
  section: VA Lenders Handbook (VA Pamphlet 26-7), Chapter 2, Topic 5 — Basic Eligibility
    Requirements
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - va
  - va-handbook
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: VA Lenders Handbook (VA Pamphlet 26-7), Chapter 2, Topic 5 — Basic
      Eligibility Requirements
    source_class: va-handbook
    source_url: https://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/pam26_7.asp
    snapshot_id: 488cf6b152dfffb7
    fetched_at: '2026-05-23T01:53:52Z'
    content_hash: sha256:b9f2259ef4bf182c8700374d01f483bbad8bde952afea193cdbca84386d635e6
    paragraph_quote: '5. Basic Eligibility Requirements Change Date March 28, 2019
      • This chapter has been revised in its entirety. a. General Rule for Eligibility
      A Veteran is eligible for VA home loan benefits if he or she served on active
      duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard after September
      15, 1940, and was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable after
      either: • 90 days or more, any part of which occurred during wartime, or • 181
      continuous days or more (peacetime). b. 2-year Requirement A greater length
      of service is required for Veterans who: • enlisted (and service began) after
      September 7, 1980, or • entered service as an officer after October 16, 1981
      These Veterans must have completed either: • 24-continuous months of active
      duty, or • the full period for which called or ordered to active duty, but not
      less than 90 days (any part during wartime) or 181 continuous days (peacetime).
      Cases involving other than honorable discharges will usually require further
      development by the VA Compensation Department. This is necessary to determine
      if the service was under other than dishonorable conditions. c. Wartime and
      Peacetime Refer to the Following Periods of Service Wartime Peacetime World
      War II 9/16/1940—7/25/1947 Post World War II period 7/26/1947—6/26/1950 Korean
      conflict 6/27/1950—1/31/1955 Post Korean period 2/1/1955—8/4/1964 Vietnam era
      8/5/64—5/7/1975 (The Vietnam era begins 2/28/1961 for those individuals who
      served in the Republic of Vietnam.) Post Vietnam period 5/8/1975—8/1/1990 Persian
      Gulf War 8/2/1990—date to be determined Continued on next page VA Pamphlet 26-7,
      Revised Chapter 2: Veteran’s Eligibility and Entitlement 2-16 5. Basic Eligibility
      Requirements, continued d. Eligibility for Reserves and/or Guard Members of
      the Reserves and National Guard who are not otherwise eligible for loan guaranty
      benefits are eligible upon completion of 6 years of service in an active or
      drilling status in the Reserves or Guard (unless released earlier specifically
      for a service-connected disability). The applicant must have received an honorable
      character of discharge. A general or under honorable conditions discharge is
      not a qualifying or acceptable character of discharge. Service in the Individual
      Ready Reserve or Control Group (inactive status) is not qualifying length of
      service for the home loan program. e. Basic Eligibility Table The table below
      provides a quick reference to some of the most commonly eligible Veterans. This
      table is not exhaustive. A Veteran’s eligibility for home loan benefits may
      only be determined by VA. f. Eligibility of Spouses of Veterans 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,
      • surviving spouse of a Veteran who dies on active duty or from service-connected
      causes, who remarries on or after age 57 and on or after December 16, 2003,
      and • spouse of an active duty member who is listed as MIA or a POW for at least
      90 days. Eligibility under this MIA/POW provision is limited to one-time use
      only. • surviving spouses of Veterans who died from non-service connected causes
      may also be eligible if certain conditions are met. Those conditions are found
      in Topic 3, subsection b(1), of this chapter. • surviving spouse who is eligible
      for or in receipt of certain types of Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
      g. Additional Eligibility The table below provides a quick reference to some
      additional types of eligible Veterans. This table is not exhaustive. A Veteran’s
      eligibility for home loan benefits may only be determined by VA. Continued on
      next page VA Pamphlet 26-7, Revised Chapter 2: Veteran’s Eligibility and Entitlement
      2-17 5. Basic Eligibility Requirements, continued h. Other Qualifying Service
      Congress has periodically granted Veteran status to groups other than members
      of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, such as certain
      members of the Public Health Service, and cadets at the service academies. Lenders
      should contact one of the RLCs for assistance when one of these unique cases
      is encountered. i. Exceptions to LOS There are numerous exceptions to the LOS
      requirements outlined in this section. For example, 1 day of service is sufficient
      for an individual who is discharged or released from service (regular active
      duty or Reserve/National Guard) due to a service-connected disability which
      would be listed on the discharge paperwork. Because of the complexity and number
      of exceptions, this chapter does not attempt to cover all of them. Because there
      are exceptions, lenders should not assume a Veteran is not eligible. Instead,
      they should create an application and allow VA to make a formal determination
      of eligibility. j. When a COE is Denied The table below provides a quick reference
      to some additional types of eligible Veterans. This table is not exhaustive.
      A Veteran’s eligibility for home loan benefits may only be determined by VA.
      VA Pamphlet 26-7, Revised Chapter 2: Veteran’s Eligibility and Entitlement 2-18'
  judgment: false
