How to Fill Out and Submit VA Form 21-674b: Deadline and Overpayments

VA Form 21-674b, the School Attendance Report, is what you file to confirm that a dependent child over 18 is still enrolled at an approved school so the additional dependency portion of your VA compensation keeps flowing. The form has to reach the VA within 60 days of the term’s start date. Miss that window and the VA will discontinue the payments tied to school attendance.¹

When 21-674b Is the Right Form

Two VA forms sound almost identical, and picking the wrong one restarts the clock. Form 21-674, “Request for Approval of School Attendance,” is the initial application you file when a child first turns 18 or first enrolls at an approved institution.² Form 21-674b is the follow-up. Use it once the VA already recognizes the child as a school-age dependent and you need to verify continued attendance, report a change in enrollment, or notify the VA that the student has stopped attending.¹

One boundary worth naming: a child who is permanently incapable of self-support before age 18 belongs in a different dependency category. Those claims run through Form 21-686c, not 21-674b.³

Who the Child Must Be

The child has to be unmarried, between 18 and 23 years old, and pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution. All three have to be true at once.⁴ If the child marries, drops out, or turns 23, whichever comes first, the additional compensation ends.⁵

An “approved educational institution” under 38 C.F.R. § 3.57 is a permanent organization that offers courses to enrolled students. That includes colleges, universities, technical institutes, seminaries, and home schools that comply with state compulsory-attendance laws, though home schooling only covers grades K–12.⁶ Online programs at accredited institutions of higher learning generally qualify. Non-college-degree vocational schools that offer only online instruction may not.⁷

Filling Out the Form

Download the current version from the VA forms page so you are working with the latest revision.⁸ Before you start, pull together the veteran’s VA file number (or Social Security number), the student’s Social Security number, and the school’s official start and end dates for the term. The form runs seven sections. Not every section applies every time.

Sections I and II: Identification

Section I asks for the veteran’s or claimant’s name, VA file number, and optional email. Section II asks for the student’s full legal name and Social Security number. Check the VA file number against your benefit correspondence. A mismatch is one of the easiest ways to stall processing.¹

Section III: Verification of School Attendance

You complete this section, not the school. It asks for the official beginning date of the course, whether the student actually started, and the date training began. It also asks whether the student’s tuition or education allowance is being paid under another federal program, such as the GI Bill, the Fry Scholarship, the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, or any other government source. If federal education benefits are involved, list the type and the date payments began.¹

Section IV: Signature

This is the section people skip. The veteran, claimant, or student signs here, certifying the information is true and correct, and adds their relationship to the student, a phone number, and the date. A blank Section IV is grounds for the VA to reject the form outright.¹

Sections V and VI: School Official Verification

The school completes Section V, and only when you are reporting that the student has stopped attending. The registrar fills in the date attendance ended, whether that was the official end of the term, the start date of the next regular term, and the reason attendance terminated. Section VI is the school official’s signature, date, and title. That signature is mandatory for termination reports; the VA will not process the change without it.¹

If you are simply confirming that the student is still attending, leave Sections V and VI blank. Section VII at the bottom gives you space for remarks if any answer needs explanation.

The 60-Day Deadline

The form must be submitted within 60 days after the student begins the course. If it is not returned within that window, the VA discontinues benefits paid based on school attendance. That instruction is printed on the form itself.¹

Effective dates are governed by 38 C.F.R. § 3.667. If the child was already attending school on their 18th birthday, compensation can be paid from that birthday as long as the claim is filed within one year. If the child starts school after turning 18, payments can begin on the course start date, again as long as the claim is filed within a year. Vacation periods between terms still count as “in school” if the student attended the previous term and resumes in the next.⁹

Where to Send It

The mailing address depends on the benefit. For disability compensation claims, send the form to:

Department of Veterans Affairs
Evidence Intake Center
PO Box 4444
Janesville, WI 53547-4444

For pension or survivors benefit claims, use:

Department of Veterans Affairs
Pension Intake Center
PO Box 5365
Janesville, WI 53547-5365¹

If you would rather skip the mail, the VA’s QuickSubmit tool lets you upload the completed PDF straight to the Evidence Intake Center. QuickSubmit accepts files up to 200 MB and up to 30 documents per submission, and you reach it through AccessVA at eauth.va.gov using your VA credentials.¹⁰ Digital submission gives you an instant confirmation receipt. The form itself also points to an online option at va.gov/view-change-dependents/view/ for managing dependents electronically.¹

Keep a copy of everything you send, including any registrar stamps or signatures. If the VA finds a problem, a name mismatch, missing school details, or a blank signature, it will send a development letter, and your copy is what lets you respond quickly and preserve the effective date. Watch your monthly benefit statement for the dependency amount to update; that is your confirmation that the report was processed.

When the Student Drops Out, Transfers, or Marries

The 21-674b is not a one-time filing. You use it to report any change in the child’s status, including termination of school attendance or the child’s marriage.¹ If the student drops out, transfers, or reduces enrollment mid-term, notify the VA promptly. If you don’t, the VA keeps paying the school-child rate and you will eventually owe the difference back.

To report a termination, take the form to the registrar’s office and have them complete Section V and sign Section VI. The school provides the date attendance ended, whether it coincided with the end of the regular term, and the reason the student stopped. Without the school’s portion, the VA may not process the change, and the overpayment keeps growing while you wait.

If an Overpayment Happens

Dependency compensation paid for a child who has already left school becomes a debt owed to the government. The VA’s Debt Management Center will send a collection letter, and missing the due date can add late charges, interest, and formal collection actions.¹¹

You have options. Disputing the debt within 30 days of the first collection letter stops collection activity while the VA decides. If you acknowledge the debt but cannot afford to pay it, you can request a waiver within one year of the first letter. Repayment can be made online at Pay.va.gov, by phone, or by mail to the Debt Management Center, PO Box 11930, St. Paul, MN 55111. You will need your VA file number or Social Security number and the deduction code from the collection letter.¹¹

The cleanest way to avoid all of this is to file the 21-674b promptly every time something changes. Five minutes on the form now beats months with the Debt Management Center later.

1
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 21-674b School Attendance Report
2
Veterans Affairs. VA Form 21-674
3
Department of Veterans Affairs. Application Request to Add and/or Remove Dependents
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 101 – Definitions
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Veterans Affairs. Manage Dependents for Disability, Pension, or DIC Benefits
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.57 – Child
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Veterans Affairs. Independent Study and Online Learning
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Veterans Affairs. VA Form 21-674b School Attendance Report
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eCFR. 38 CFR 3.667 – School Child
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VA News. QuickSubmit Is the New Evidence Intake Tool for VA Claims
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Veterans Affairs. Manage Your VA Debt for Benefit Overpayments and Copay Bills