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How to get your Certificate of Eligibility for a VA Home Loan
Obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility
Find out how to get your Certificate of Eligibility for a VA Home Loan
by John P. Allen, VA Home Loan Specialist
The Veterans Administration (VA) determines your eligibility and, if qualified, a certificate of eligibility is 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:
1. Complete VA Form 26-1880, Request for a Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home Loan Benefits.
2. Send the completed VA Form 26-1880 and any supporting evidence (see 3 and 4 below) to the correct VA Eligibility Center (see below “Where is Your Eligibility Certificate Processed?”). Under normal circumstances a response can be anticipated in roughly 10 days. This time frame will vary during periods of heavy activity
3. 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 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 the 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 a 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 of 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.
4. 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.
Where is Your Eligibility Certificate Processed?
The Winston-Salem Eligibility Center will be the sole site for processing requests for Certificates of Eligibility (COEs) for veterans. All VA Forms 26-1880 and supporting documents to determine a veteran’s eligibility should be mailed to the following address:
Once you obtain your Certificate of Eligibility, then fill out our RESIDENTIAL LOAN APPLICATION here online. VeteransToday.com will process your loan and get you moving forward. If you have any more questions, please contact me, John P. Allen at 1(951)543-4137 or send me an email to gm@veteranstoday.com.
Related Posts:
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=1222
Posted by Veterans Today on Apr 11 2006, With 0 Reads, Filed under Personal Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Try http://www.mortgagebreakdown.com/va-certificate-of-eligibility.aspx for indepth information on this and more.
i was actually trying to get some questions answered. i care for an elderly man who wants to buy a house. he has a certificate of elegibility and is constantly asks me to use it on a home. i told him i do not believe it will work due to the fact he is 81. can he still use it he served 22yrs and wants to own his own home. if possible please contact me at gkimmel@live.com sorry if this isnt the exact place to get answers but thank you for your time and if you do have any info itd b appreciatd alot
Yes he can still use it. They may request an updated copy but he is still authorized to use it, most definately! And they will probably use the copy he has if it has never been used. They will know when a credit check is done.
Is this the address to send the request in for a Certificate of Eligibility if you live in Arkansas
I am a real estate agent representing two buyers who are vets and need to get their certificate of eligibility asap. I do not have acess to the ace program. Can I get access to this program to help these vets and others that I may get as clients? Both buyers are working with a loan officer from USBank in Lake Havasu AZ. The buyers are purchasing homes in Bullhead City, AZ. Can you help me and my buyers? Thank you in advance
i never used my certificate of eligibility,. its been 10 years. is it still good?
Yes the certification until i know its for life, if you will buy a home that you will leave to my understood they do not charge you the closing money… then if you pay this house and decide to move to a new one you will need to pay a certain % of the seccond home closing and for the third one its own youre own this certificate will assure you a lowest % this is why veterans for the banks are named the Inmortals
Cheers
CAN I BUY A MOTOR HOME (RV) WITH MY CERTIFICATE
I had a Certificate of Eligibility under the Old G.I. Bill – Vietnam Era, and received it in 1976. I believe the value back then was for either $15K or $20K. I used the certificate towards my first home in 1983. Tragically, in 1988, while going through a nasty divorce, an overseas transfer to Germany at the same time, my home was foreclosed upon while I was stationed in Germany. Now, 21 years later, having had 2 divorces since that time, and gone through 2 Chapter 7 bankruptcies, can I now have the Certificate restored. There were some fairly extreme, undue hardships back then, with major depression. Presently, I am a homeless veteran, living out of my personal pickup truck. In January 2010, I will be living out of my truck for seven years since my last wife made up a lie to get me out of the family home. I need a home so that I can start my life more fresh than ever, and have a second home to my 2 under-18-years-old children. I need a second chance. I am a 100 percent, service-connected veteran. My latest Chapter 7 was filed June 2005 and discharged. I have since then, restored my credit with most of my debts paid off in the past few years.
If there is a chance to have my COE restored, what do I do, so that I can now have the best chance of owning a home without having to go through a marriage – divorce as I had happen to have lost it in the first place in December 1988. Please help.
I have been trying for two years now to find my VA certificate. I paid off my mortgage with Countrywide in 2007 and they still claim that my VA cert has been mailed to the County Recorders office. The recorders have nothing on file. That goes to show you what a debacle Countrywide was been and deserves to be a big bust for our economy and the status we are in today with our mortgage crisis.
My only recourse is to reapply for another cert and hope the VA will reissue me another one.