Apply for Veteran Benefits
Regardless of when you served or what branch you served in, you earned veteran benefits and it’s never too soon to claim them.
The VA owes you access to programs that can help pay your mortgage, cover your healthcare, fund your education, and drop tax-free cash in your account every month for service-connected conditions. The catch is that you have to apply for veteran benefits to get them, and the VA system is a maze of forms, acronyms, and regional offices designed by someone who has never been in a hurry.
Below, we’ve outlined every major VA benefit category, who qualifies, and the direct link to the application page so you can stop researching and start filing.
Find out what benefits you qualify for.
Here’s What You Need Before You Apply for Veteran Benefits
Every VA application wants the same handful of documents, even when they require unique ones. Gather them once before you apply for veteran benefits, so you don't have to scramble to find them.
DD-214 or other discharge paperwork
Social Security number
Service treatment records (especially for disability claims)
Bank account info for direct deposit
Dependent information (spouse, children, dependent parents)
Medical records from private providers if filing a disability claim
If you don't have your DD-214, you can request your military records through the National Archives or directly through the VA.
You'll also want a Login.gov or ID.me account to file online. This is the secure sign-in the VA now uses across its digital tools.
Prefer to talk to someone in-person?
Call the main VA benefits hotline at 1-800-827-1000 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
For general questions across any VA program, use 1-800-MyVA411 (1-800-698-2411), which is open 24/7.
VA Disability Compensation
Disability compensation is a tax-free monthly payment for veterans with a service-connected illness or injury, or for a condition that military service made worse. Ratings run 0% to 100% in 10% increments, and your check scales with the rating plus any dependents.
Who qualifies: Veterans with a current diagnosis, evidence of an in-service event or exposure, and a medical link (the "nexus") tying the two together. The PACT Act expanded eligibility for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances, so a denial from five years ago is worth a second look as a supplemental claim.
How to apply:
File online: VA disability compensation application
Paper form: VA Form 21-526EZ
File an Intent to File first. It locks in your effective date, so back pay accrues from that moment rather than when you finish wrestling with the full application.
VA Healthcare
VA healthcare covers everything from primary care to mental health, prescriptions, and specialty care. Most enrolled veterans pay nothing for service-connected care, and copays for the rest typically beat private insurance.
Who qualifies: Most veterans who served on active duty without a dishonorable discharge. Post-1998 combat veterans get five years of enhanced enrollment after separation. Priority groups run from 1 (highest) to 8, based on disability status, income, and service history.
How to apply:
Online: Apply for VA health care
Paper form: VA Form 10-10EZ
Tip: Enroll even if you don't need care now. It locks in your eligibility and gives you a safety net the day a private insurance plan disappears.
GI Bill and Education Benefits
The Post-9/11 GI Bill covers tuition, a monthly housing allowance, and a books stipend for school, training, and apprenticeships. The Montgomery GI Bill is an older program some veterans still qualify for. Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E, formerly Voc Rehab) offers additional support for service-connected veterans who want to retrain for a whole new career.
Who qualifies: Most veterans with at least 90 days of post-9/11 active duty service. Eligibility scales up to 100% at 36+ months of service, or with a 30+ day continuous service-connected discharge.
How to apply:
GI Bill and education benefits: Apply for VA education benefits
VR&E (Chapter 31): Apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment
Transfer benefits to dependents (active duty only): Transferability of education benefits
If you have any service-connected rating and a career pivot in mind, VR&E often beats the GI Bill since it pays full tuition with no cap.
VA Home Loan
The VA home loan is one of the most underused benefits in the system. There is no down payment and no private mortgage insurance. Furthermore, it offers competitive rates, sitting around X% compared to the average of Y%. You can use it more than once, refinance into it, or buy again after selling.
Who qualifies: Veterans with enough qualifying service (usually 90 days active wartime or 181 days peacetime, with longer requirements for Guard and Reserve). Surviving spouses of veterans who died in service or from a service-connected condition may also qualify.
How to apply:
Certificate of Eligibility (COE): Request your COE online
Surviving spouse COE: VA Form 26-1817
Most VA-approved lenders can pull your COE electronically in minutes
Get your COE before you start house hunting. It's free, fast, and it tells sellers you're a serious buyer, as opposed to someone still figuring it out.
VA Pension (For Wartime Veterans with Limited Income)
The VA pension is a needs-based monthly benefit for low-income wartime veterans who are 65 or older, permanently disabled, or in a nursing home. Different from disability compensation, which is service-connected. Survivors Pension is the parallel program for surviving spouses and dependent children.
Who qualifies: Veterans with at least 90 days of active duty, including at least one day during a wartime period, who also fall under income and net worth limits Congress sets annually.
How to apply:
Veterans Pension: Apply for Veterans Pension
Survivors Pension: Apply for Survivors Pension
Aid and Attendance (additional payment for those needing daily help): apply at the same time using VA Form 21-2680
Aid and Attendance can add hundreds of dollars per month to the base pension if you need help with daily activities or live in assisted living. Most eligible veterans never claim it.
Survivor and Dependant Benefits
If you're the spouse, child, or dependent parent of a veteran who died from a service-connected cause (or in some cases, a permanently and totally disabled veteran), you've earned access to your own set of programs. Some pay monthly, some cover healthcare, while others fund a degree.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)
DIC is a tax-free monthly payment for eligible survivors of service members who died in the line of duty or veterans who died from a service-connected condition. Congress sets the rates, so they don’t depend on income.
Who qualifies: Surviving spouses (with marriage duration and remarriage rules), unmarried children under 18 (or 23 if in school), and, in some cases, dependent parents. Surviving spouses who remarry after age 55 generally keep their DIC.
How to apply:
Paper form: VA Form 21P-534EZ
If a previous DIC claim was denied and the veteran died from a presumptive PACT Act condition, file a supplemental claim. The expanded list of recognized conditions has reopened thousands of survivor cases.
Survivors Pension
The needs-based monthly benefit for low-income surviving spouses and unmarried children of deceased wartime veterans. Separate from DIC, which is service-connected.
Who qualifies: Surviving spouses (who haven't remarried) and unmarried dependent children of veterans who served at least 90 days active duty with at least one day during wartime, within income and net worth limits.
How to apply:
Online: Apply for Survivors Pension
Paper form: VA Form 21P-534EZ
Aid and Attendance applies here, too. If you need help with daily activities or live in assisted living, file VA Form 21-2680 alongside your pension application.
Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (Chapter 35)
Education and training benefits for spouses and children of veterans who died of a service-connected condition, are permanently and totally disabled from service, or are missing in action. It covers college, career training, apprenticeships, and on-the-job training.
Who qualifies: Spouses and children (ages 18-26 in most cases) of qualifying veterans. The Fry Scholarship is a separate, more generous program for children and spouses of service members who died in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001.
How to apply:
Online: Apply for DEA / Chapter 35
Paper form: VA Form 22-5490
If you qualify for both Chapter 35 and the Fry Scholarship, you have to pick one. The Fry Scholarship is usually the better deal because it mirrors Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
CHAMPVA Health Coverage
The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs covers spouses and dependents who don't qualify for TRICARE. VA shares the cost of medically necessary care with eligible beneficiaries.
Who qualifies: Spouses, surviving spouses, and children of veterans who are permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected condition, died from a service-connected condition, or died in the line of duty (when not eligible for TRICARE).
How to apply:
Submit VA Form 10-10d through the CHAMPVA care page
CHAMPVA provides secondary coverage if you already have other insurance, which can dramatically reduce your out-of-pocket costs. Don't skip enrollment just because you're covered elsewhere.
Get Free Assistance with Filing Your Claim
You don't have to do this solo. VA-accredited Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) like the American Legion, DAV, VFW, and PVA file veterans' claims for free. They know the system and what evidence wins claims. Each one of them cares about veterans deeply and will gladly guide you through both filings and appeals.
You can also find and appoint an accredited representative directly through VA.gov.
Unfortunately, there are many bad actors out there that will try to take advantage of how confusing filing VA claims can be and use that confusion to prey upon veterans. Also, some wish to profit from legitimate help. Be sure to also keep a watch out for for-profit "claim sharks" who want a cut of your back pay.
An accredited VSO costs nothing and often gets better results.
Red Flags to Watch For
If a company helping you file does any of the following, walk away:
Charges a fee to file your initial claim: VSO representatives can never charge for their services. Accredited attorneys and claims agents are legally barred from charging fees until VA issues an initial decision on the claim. Anyone billing you upfront to file is breaking federal law.
Calls itself a "consultant" or "claims agent" but isn't VA-accredited: Reference the VA Office of General Counsel accreditation database to verify any representative before you sign anything.
Pressures you to sign quickly: Legitimate representatives won't rush you or try to dissuade you from talking to a VSO.
Asks for your VA.gov login, eBenefits credentials, or banking info: No legitimate representative needs your password.
Guarantees a specific rating or dollar amount: Nobody can make that promise, not even VSOs or disability lawyers. Anyone who does is likely trying to profit from you.
What to Do if Your Claim Gets Denied
A denial isn't the end of the road. The VA's decision review process gives you three review options:
Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence
Higher-Level Review by a senior claims adjudicator
Board Appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals
There's no limit on how many times you can come back to the VA. You can file Supplemental Claims indefinitely as long as you have new and relevant evidence, and a denial in one lane just opens the others. The deadlines that matter most are the one-year windows for Higher-Level Review and Board Appeal, and the one-year window for a Supplemental Claim if you want to preserve your original effective date and back pay. You can still file if you miss those; you just may not get retroactive money.
Start with VA decision reviews and appeals.
When Legal Help May Be Worth It
For complex cases or appeals headed to the Board or higher, a VA-accredited disability law firm can be worth it. They typically work on contingency: by federal regulation, they can only charge fees after VA issues an initial decision, and most take a percentage (commonly 20%, capped at 33.3%) of any past-due back pay they win on appeal. No win, no fee. They don't touch your future monthly benefits.
Verify any firm at the VA Office of General Counsel accreditation database before signing.
Apply for Veteran Benefits Today
Every month you wait is a month of payments, healthcare access, or tuition you'll never get back. The VA backdates a lot of benefits to your filing date, which is exactly why submitting an Intent to File or starting an application today matters, even if you can't submit everything yet.
Pick the benefit at the top of your list, click the link, and apply for veteran benefits this week. If the paperwork starts to feel like another deployment, call a VSO before you give up. You earned these. They've been waiting on you to claim them.
Find out what benefits you qualify for with our benefits tool.
