How to Fill Out and Submit VA Form 10-0394A: EDRP Certifications

VA Form 10-0394A is the loan verification form you submit with your Education Debt Reduction Program application. You complete one copy for each qualifying education loan, get your loan servicer to sign the lender certification, sign your own certification, and hand the form to the EDRP Coordinator at your VA medical facility together with VA Form 10-0394. The form itself asks you to return it within 14 calendar days of receipt.¹

How 10-0394A Fits With the Main EDRP Application

The EDRP application is a two-form package. Form 10-0394 is the main application and captures your identification, facility, job title, and the total award amount you are requesting across up to five service periods. Form 10-0394A documents each individual loan. Three qualifying loans means three separate 10-0394A forms. No decision is made on your application until the coordinator has the completed 10-0394 and every accompanying 10-0394A.² Both are fillable PDFs on the VA medical forms page.

One eligibility boundary matters before you start filling anything out: EDRP covers only debt tied to the education that qualified you for your current VA position, borrowed from a recognized lending institution or government program. Loans for an unrelated undergraduate degree, personal loans from relatives, or credit card debt used to cover tuition are not eligible.³

What to Have in Front of You

Pull a recent statement for each loan before you start. You will need the original lender’s name, the origination date, the current account number and servicer, original amount, current balance, monthly payment, number of payments made, APR, and whether the loan is in deferment or forbearance. If a loan has been sold or transferred, you also need the new servicer’s name, address, phone, and account number. Federal student loans move between servicers often, so check your most recent statement for the current holder.

You should also line up a contact at your loan servicer. Field 18 requires a signature from an authorized representative of the lending institution, and some servicers handle this in days while others take weeks. Start that conversation early. It is the most common cause of application delay.

Watch the outer deadline while you work. You must submit your EDRP application within four months of your appointment date, and there is no late-filing exception.⁴ Ask your EDRP Coordinator for the forms during your first week if the position was advertised as EDRP Authorized.

Filling Out Form 10-0394A Field by Field

Your Identification

Fields 1 and 2 ask for your full name and Social Security number. Field 3A is your mailing address.¹ These fields tie each loan verification back to you and to the main 10-0394.

Loan Details

The core of the form is the loan itself. For each loan you are asking EDRP to reimburse, complete the following:¹

Field 3, lending institution: the name of the original lender or federal or state program that issued the loan.
Field 4, date of loan: when the loan was originated.
Field 5, account number: your loan account number with the current servicer.
Field 6, original amount: the total borrowed when the loan was first disbursed.
Field 7, current balance: remaining principal and interest as of the date you enter in Field 8.
Field 9, payment amount: your regular monthly payment.
Field 10, number of payments made: how many payments you have already made.
Field 11, deferment or forbearance status, with the end date going in Field 12 if applicable.
Field 13, annual percentage rate: the loan’s current APR.
Field 14, purpose of the loan: the stated purpose from the original loan application, which should reflect education costs.
Field 15, current lender information: if the loan has been sold or transferred, list the new lender’s name, account number, phone, and address.
Field 16, default or collection status: whether the loan has been referred to collections or placed in default.

Your Certification

Field 17 is your signature. By signing, you attest that the loan was used solely for costs of education and reasonable living expenses while you were in school, and you specify the health profession degree the loan funded.¹ Be precise about the degree. Write “Doctor of Medicine” or “Master of Social Work,” not the name of the school.

Lender Certification

Field 18 requires the signature of an authorized representative of the lending institution, along with their title and the date.¹ You cannot sign this yourself. Contact your servicer and ask specifically who handles EDRP or federal loan verification forms; a general customer service line will often route you to the wrong desk.

Consolidated Loans Need Extra Documentation

If you consolidated undergraduate and graduate loans into a single loan, attach copies of the original loan documents showing which portion of the consolidated balance covered your qualifying health professions education.¹ The VA will only reimburse the portion attributable to the degree that qualifies you for your current position. If you cannot separate the qualifying portion from unrelated undergraduate debt, you may have trouble getting the full consolidated balance approved.

Submitting the Completed Form

Return the completed 10-0394A to the EDRP Coordinator at the VA medical facility where you work, together with your Form 10-0394 and any consolidated-loan attachments.¹ The form instructs applicants to return it within 14 calendar days of receipt.

Submission methods vary by facility. Some coordinators use a secure internal portal, some accept encrypted email, and some prefer hand-delivery. Ask which method yours uses. The form contains your Social Security number, account numbers, and balances, so do not send it through unencrypted email.

Once the coordinator confirms the package is complete, the application moves through a multi-level review. The Under Secretary for Health or an authorized representative signs the Acceptance of Conditions to finalize the award.⁵ Processing time depends on application volume and the complexity of your loan situation, so keep copies of everything you submit and note the date you handed it in.

1
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 10-0394A – Education Debt Reduction Program Application
2
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 10-0394 – Education Debt Reduction Program Application
3
VA Careers. Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)
4
USAJOBS. Full-time – Recruitment Incentive/EDRP Authorized
5
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 10-0394B – EDRP Acceptance of Conditions