 |
FEDERAL VA HOME LOANS |
Obtaining
a
Certificate
of
Eligibility
VA
determines
your
eligibility
and,
if
qualified,
a
certificate
of
eligibility
will
be
issued.
Eligibility
applications
can
involve:
- An original determination of eligibility for the home loan benefit
- A request to replace a lost certificate of eligibility
- A request for restoration of the benefit after payment in full of a previous VA home loan
- Issuance of a certificate reflecting a current outstanding loan for refinance purposes
See
home
loan
benefit
eligibility
requirements
Requesting
a
certificate
through
your
lender:
In
many
cases,
your
lender
will
be
able
to
obtain
a
Certificate
of
Eligibility
for
you
by
using
ACE
(Automated
Certificate
of
Eligibility).
ACE
is a
web-based
application
that
is
able
to
determine
eligibility
and
issue
an
online
Certificate
of
Eligibility
in a
matter
of
seconds.
Not
all
cases
can
be
processed
through
ACE.
If
there
is
insufficient
data
in
our
records,
the
certificate
will
have
to
be
requested
from
VA
using
the
procedures
below:
Requesting
a
certificate
from
VA:
- Complete
 VA Form 26-1880, Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home Loan Benefits.
- Send the completed VA Form 26-1880 and any supporting evidence (see 3 and 4 below) to our Winston-Salem Eligibility Center. Under normal circumstances a response can be anticipated in roughly 10 days. This time frame will vary during periods of heavy activity.
- Include photocopies of your most recent discharge or separation papers covering active military duty, which show active duty dates and type of discharge. If you served on regular active duty (not a reservist) and were discharged after 1975 or you have previously had a VA loan, it may not be necessary for you to provide documentation of your military service. However, it is best to provide such evidence with your VA Form 26-1880 if it is readily available so as to avoid possible delays in processing your request.
- If you are seeking restoration of your previously used benefit, you should include any evidence of payment in full of your prior loan (copy of HUD-1, settlement statement for example) that you have in your possession. Normally VA receives notification that a loan has been paid, but this does not always happen. VA determines your eligibility and, if you are qualified, VA will issue you a certificate of eligibility to be used in applying for a VA loan.
If
you
were
discharged
from
regular
active
duty
If
you
were
separated
after
January
1,
1950,
the
appropriate
documentation
of
your
military
service
would
be
DD
Form
214,
Certificate
of
Release
or
Discharge
from
Active
Duty.
If
you
were
discharged
after
October
1,
1979,
DD
Form
214,
copy
4
would
be
appropriate.
A
photocopy
of
DD214
will
suffice.
Do
not
submit
an
original
document.
If
your
service
was
in
Selected
Reserves
If
you
served
in
the
Selected
Reserve
you
must
provide
documentation
sufficient
to
establish
that
you
served
a
minimum
of 6
years
with
points
earned
for
weekend
drills
or
active
duty
for
training
and
received
an
honorable
discharge.
Since
there
is
no
uniform
document
similar
to
DD214
for
proof
of
service
in
the
Selected
Reserve,
a
number
of
different
forms
may
be
accepted.
For
those
who
served
in
the
Army
or
Air
National
Guard
and
were
discharged
after
at
least
6
years
of
service,
NGB
Form
22
may
be
sufficient.
Those
who
served
in
the
Army,
Navy,
Air
Force,
Marine
Corps
or
Coast
Guard
Reserves
may
need
to
relay
on a
variety
of
forms.
Often
it
will
be
necessary
to
submit
a
combination
of
documents
such
as
an
Honorable
Discharge
certificate
together
with
a
Retirement
Points
Statement.
If
you
remain
on
active
duty
If
you
are
now
on
regular
active
duty
and
have
not
been
previously
discharged
from
active
duty
service,
you
must
submit
a
statement
of
service
which
includes
the
name
of
the
issuing
authority
(base
or
command),
and
is
signed
by
or
at
the
direction
of
an
appropriate
official.
The
statement
must
identify
you
(SSN),
and
provide
your
date
of
entry
on
active
duty
and
the
duration
at
any
time
lost.
If
you
remain
on
active
Selected
Reserve
duty,
the
statement
of
service
should
be
from
your
unit
CO
and
should
cite
the
length
of
time
you
have
served
with
the
reserve
unit. |
