Who is Eligible for a VA Loan?

VA Eligibility

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Active duty Personnel

If you are now on active duty, you are eligible after having served on continuous active status for at least 90 days. When an ending date is established for Persian Gulf War service, a minimum of 181 days of continuous active duty will be required for persons who did not have wartime service.


Members of the Selected Reserves

"Selected Reserve" means the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of any of the Reserve components which consists of units and individuals who participate actively in paid training periods and serve on paid active duty for training each year. This includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Reserves as well as Army National Guard and Air National Guard.

Six Year Requirement

A veteran, who is not otherwise eligible, who completes a total of 6 years as a member of the Selected Reserve (need not be ordered to active duty) is eligible if he or she either:

  • received an honorable discharge
  • was placed on the retired list
  • was transferred to the Standby Reserve or an element of the Ready Reserve other than the Selected Reserve after service in the Selected Reserve characterized as honorable
  • continues to serve in the Selected Reserve

The 6 years service need not be continuous nor in the same Reserve or National Guard unit. However, active duty regular military service cannot be combined with Reserve service to reach the 6 year requirement.

Eligibility may also be available for:

  • certain United States citizens who served in the armed forces of a government allied with the United States in World War II.
  • individuals with service as members in certain organizations, such as Public Health Service officers, cadets/midshipmen at service academies, officers of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, merchant seamen with WWII service, and others.

The Department of Veterans affairs makes the final determination on eligibility.  The Lender has no say in this determination.







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