Hazlewood Legacy — Transferring Your Unused Hours to a Child
A veteran can assign unused Hazlewood hours to one child aged 25 or under. It is the most valuable transferable benefit Texas offers.
Verified August 17, 2026
What this benefit is
A Hazlewood-eligible veteran can assign their unused hours — up to the full 150 — to one child aged 25 or younger.
It is the most valuable transferable state benefit Texas offers, and it is assignable and re-assignable between children between terms.
What it's worth: Your parent's unused Hazlewood hours, up to 150, at a Texas public institution
- You get the hours your parent has not used. If they used none, that is the full 150.
- Hours can only be assigned to one child at a time, though the assignment can be moved.
Who is entitled to it
- A child of a Hazlewood-eligible veteran who has unused hours — biological, adopted, step, or a dependant for IRS purposes,
- who is 25 or younger on the first day of the term,
- who is classified as a Texas resident by their institution.
Exceptions
A Legacy child must be 25 or younger on the first day of the term, and must stop using the exemption at 26. This is a hard cut-off with no extension. Tex. Educ. Code §54.341(k); TVC Hazlewood Policy Manual
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
The thing most people get wrong
Twenty-six is an absolute wall
A Legacy child must be 25 or younger on the first day of the term, and must stop using the exemption at 26. There is no extension, no deferral and no exception for a child who started late or took time out. If your child is 24 and has not started, that is the fact to plan around — and if you have more than one child, the assignment can be moved between them, but only one holds it at a time.
How to claim it
Deadline: Set by your institution, per term- 1Your parent assigns the hours — you cannot claim them yourself.
- 2Apply at your institution with the assignment and proof of the relationship.
- 3Re-certify each term, and finish before you turn 26.
- Form
- TVC-ED-1
- File with
- The veteran services office at your Texas public institution
- Documents you will need
- dd214 · proof of relationship · hazlewood eligibility certificate
- Apply each term
- Your institution re-checks this every term.
Common mistakes that cost people this benefit
- Waiting. The clock runs to 26 whatever else is happening.
- Assuming the hours split across several children at once. They do not — one child at a time, though you can move the assignment.
- The child applying themselves. The veteran makes the assignment; the child cannot claim it unilaterally.
Get this one first
Questions people ask
- I have three children. Can they share the 150 hours?
- Not simultaneously. The assignment goes to one child at a time and can be moved between terms.
- My parent has died. Can the hours still be assigned?
- Yes — after the veteran's death a spouse or guardian can make the assignment, provided the child does not otherwise qualify for an exemption of their own.
Sources
- authority · statuteTex. Educ. Code §54.341(k)
- operating · published policyTexas Veterans Commission — Hazlewood Act
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.