Eligibility basics: who qualifies and why it matters

What eligibility actually means

There is no single VA eligibility. Each benefit has its own rules. Health care, disability compensation, education and home loans all use different tests, so being turned down for one does not close the others.

Three things come up again and again: the character of your discharge, when and how long you served, and whether the thing you are claiming is connected to that service.

Character of discharge

Honorable and general under honorable conditions discharges open most benefits. Other than honorable, bad conduct and dishonorable discharges are more complicated, but they are not automatically the end of the conversation.

VA runs a character of discharge review that is separate from the discharge itself, and the military discharge review boards can upgrade a discharge. Both take time and both are worth asking an accredited representative about before you assume you are excluded.

• Get a copy of your DD214 before anything else.
• If your discharge is other than honorable, ask specifically about a character of discharge determination.
• Emergency mental health care is available to many former service members regardless of discharge status.

Service period and length

Some benefits require a minimum period of active duty. Others depend on when you served, including wartime periods for pension. National Guard and Reserve service counts differently depending on the type of orders you were on.

Active duty for training and inactive duty for training are not the same as active duty for every benefit, which is why Guard and Reserve members should have their record read by someone who works with it daily.