VA Certificate of Eligibility Guide: How to Get Your COE

VA does not make most home loans. A private lender does, and VA guarantees part of it. Before the lender can close, it needs proof from VA that you are eligible and a number for how much VA will guarantee. That proof is the VA certificate of eligibility. VA's Buyer's Guide (PDF) says the COE "verifies to your lender that you qualify for the VA home loan benefit," shows how much entitlement you have used and have left, and shows whether you are exempt from the VA funding fee because of a VA rating for a service-connected disability.

The COE is not a loan approval; the lender still checks your credit, income and the home. And a "pre-qualified" letter is not a COE. Nothing outside VA's system confirms eligibility. How the loan itself works, including the funding fee table and 2026 loan limits, is in the VA home loan guide.

You may be eligible for a COE if all of these are true:

• you have enough service for the era you served in, and
• your discharge for that service was other than dishonorable.

VA's eligibility page sets the service rules by era. For the Gulf War era (August 2, 1990 to now) that is 24 continuous months, or the full period you were called to active duty, at least 90 days. Earlier eras and the exceptions for hardship, early-out and medical discharges are in the era table on the VA home loan guide.

Active duty. You can get a COE while still serving, and it stays valid while you serve. The certificate carries a condition that it no longer applies if you are discharged after the date on it, so a lender will ask for a fresh one if you separate before closing.

National Guard and Reserve. You may be eligible with at least 90 days of non-training active duty under Title 10, or with 6 creditable years in the Selected Reserve or National Guard if you are still serving or were discharged honorably.

Surviving spouses. Per VA's surviving spouse home loan page, you may be eligible if at least 1 of these is true:

• the service member is missing in action or a prisoner of war, or
• the veteran died in service or from a service-connected disability and you did not remarry, or you remarried at 57 or older on or after December 16, 2003, or
• the veteran was rated totally disabled before death, even if the disability did not cause it.

The survivor benefits guide covers Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), which also decides which COE form you use.

VA's how-to-request-a-COE page lists 3 routes. Fastest first.

1. Through your lender. Most VA lenders use VA's Web LGY portal. VA's COE page for lenders says the system "can establish eligibility and issue an online COE in a matter of seconds" when VA already has your service record. Give the lender your DD214 or statement of service and ask them to pull it. Any VA lender can run it, so you do not need to commit to one first.
2. Online at VA.gov. Sign in to your VA.gov account and request the COE. If VA's records are complete, you may be able to download the certificate right away. If not, the request goes to a person for review, and the same account lets you upload documents and check status.
3. By mail with VA Form 26-1880. Fill out VA Form 26-1880, Request for a Certificate of Eligibility (PDF), attach your service documents, and mail it to the regional loan center listed for your state on the last page of the form. VA says "mail requests may take longer." The form itself says VA "encourages you to visit www.va.gov ... or contact the lender of your choice."

Surviving spouses do not use 26-1880. If you receive DIC, use VA Form 26-1817 through your lender or by mail. If you do not, use VA Form 21P-534EZ. Details are in the documents table below.

Watch out: VA's status page says not to submit a second request while the first is under review. A duplicate does not speed anything up and can send both to the back of the queue.

VA lists the proof of service by group. Have the right one ready before you ask a lender to pull the COE.

Source: https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/how-to-request-coe/ and https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/housing-assistance/surviving-spouse-home-loan/, checked September 2026.

If you were activated from the Guard or Reserve under Title 10, you have a DD214 for that period. If you cannot find your DD214, request it from the National Archives before you go under contract; Web LGY often finds the record on its own, but not always.

The lines that matter, per VA's loan limits page and Chapter 2 of VA's Lenders Handbook:

Basic entitlement: $36,000. This is the amount VA will pay the lender on a loan of $144,000 or less if you default. Under 38 U.S.C. 3703, on larger loans VA guarantees up to 25% of the loan for a veteran with full entitlement. If your COE shows the full $36,000 and no prior loans, you have full entitlement.

Full entitlement means no loan limit. Since the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (Public Law, June 25, 2019), VA guarantees 25% of any loan amount for a borrower with full entitlement. The lender decides how much you can afford; VA does not cap it.

Entitlement charged to previous VA loans. The COE lists each prior VA loan and the entitlement it used. If a loan is still open, or was paid off but the home was kept, that entitlement stays charged. Your remaining bonus entitlement is then 25% of the county loan limit minus the amount used. VA's example: a $900,000 county limit gives $225,000; subtract $50,000 in use and $175,000 remains, which supports a $700,000 loan with no down payment. County figures are in the 2026 VA home loan limits post.

Funding fee status. The COE shows "Exempt," "Non-exempt," or "Contact RLC." Exempt means VA's records show you receive compensation for a service-connected disability (or another exemption) and the lender must not collect the fee. "Contact RLC" means the system could not decide and the lender must ask the regional loan center before closing.

Conditions. The middle of the certificate lists conditions the lender must follow, such as verifying your VA benefit status on VA Form 26-8937, confirming you are still on active duty, or noting that a one-time restoration has been used. The Lenders Handbook also lets a lender treat a service-connected compensation amount printed in the conditions as verified income.

Entitlement code. Lenders also refer to an "entitlement code" on the COE, a number tied to the era of service VA used to establish eligibility. VA does not explain the codes on the pages it publishes for veterans, and the code does not change how much you can borrow. If a lender flags it, ask them what they need.

VA's eligibility and restoration page sets out when it comes back:

• Sold and paid off. The home bought with the prior VA loan was sold and the loan paid in full. This is the normal case and can be restored as many times as it happens.
• Assumed by a veteran. A qualified veteran buyer took over your loan and substituted their own entitlement for the amount you used. If a non-veteran assumed it, your entitlement stays tied up until that loan is paid off.
• One-time restoration. You paid the prior loan in full but kept the home. VA allows this once in your life. The COE will carry a note that it was used, and any later restoration requires selling every property bought with a VA loan.
• Cash-out refinance on the same home. Restoration is automatic when the prior VA loan is paid in full through the new one.

To request restoration, check the restoration box on VA Form 26-1880 and list the prior loan's address, loan number and dates, or make the same request from your VA.gov account. Have proof the loan was paid off ready if VA's records lag. Refinancing with an IRRRL keeps the same entitlement on the same home.

Watch out: Lenders see the entitlement VA's system shows, not what you remember. If you sold a home years ago and the payoff was never reported, your COE will still show that loan. Pull your COE before you shop, not after you are under contract.

VA cannot find your record. Web LGY works from VA's own service data. If the instant request fails, the online request lets you upload a DD214 or statement of service, and VA's COE status page says its goal for contacting applicants is "an average of 5 business days."

Wrong name or Social Security number. The COE prints what VA's records hold, and a maiden name or an old typo will stall the lender's file. Upload the DD214 that shows the correct data with a short note, or call VA's home loan line at 877-827-3702, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.

Missing bonus entitlement. If the COE shows only $36,000 and a prior loan you know was paid off and sold, that is the restoration case above. Send the payoff and sale evidence with your 26-1880.

Other than honorable discharge. VA's eligibility page says an other than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge "may" block eligibility, and gives 2 routes: apply to your branch for a discharge upgrade, or ask VA for a Character of Discharge review. VA's April 2024 rule announcement explains that VA makes that determination under 38 CFR 3.12 when a former service member applies for a benefit, that it does not change your military discharge, and that a "compelling circumstances exception" now applies. You do not file a separate form; ask VA's home loan line how to have the determination made on your COE request. Expect this route to take weeks, not seconds, and consider free help from a VA-accredited representative.

Guard and Reserve gaps. The 2 most common holds are a missing points statement and Title 10 orders VA cannot see. Send every NGB Form 22 (1 per period), your NGB Form 23 or annual points statement, and the DD214 for any activation. The 6-year rule counts creditable years, so a points statement with fewer than 6 good years will not qualify you on that route alone.

Surviving spouse holds. VA needs the veteran's DD214, the marriage record and the death certificate, and for non-DIC spouses it needs to decide the underlying eligibility on VA Form 21P-534EZ first. That request goes through the Pension Intake Center, so allow more time than a veteran's COE.

Sign in at VA's COE status page. It shows where the request is in review, the letters VA has sent, a place to upload documents, and the certificate once approved. If you requested through a lender, ask the lender; they see the same result in Web LGY.

VA does not publish a fixed turnaround. What it does say: seconds through Web LGY when records are complete, a goal of 5 business days on average to contact you if a person has to review it, and "longer" by mail. If that window has passed with no letter, call 877-827-3702 rather than filing again. Once you have the certificate, the VA purchase loan guide and the first-time homebuyer guide pick up from here.

The COE is a federal document and works with any VA lender in any state. Several states run their own veteran home-loan programs that stack on the federal guaranty, and many offer property-tax exemptions keyed to a disability rating, which change the payment a lender qualifies you for. Select your state to see what applies.