How to Fill Out and Submit VA Form 21-674c: Filing and Retroactive Pay

VA Form 21-674c is the older edition of the Request for Approval of School Attendance, the form used to keep an 18-to-23-year-old child on a veteran’s or surviving spouse’s VA compensation or pension as a dependent while the child is in school. The current edition is VA Form 21-674, which superseded 21-674c in November 2024; the purpose and process are the same.¹ Because the VA automatically drops children from your benefits at age 18, filing this form is the only way to continue the higher dependent rate for a full-time student up to age 23.²

21-674c, 21-674, and 21-674b: Which One You Actually Need

If your search brought you to 21-674c, use 21-674 instead. Always download the current edition from VA.gov; submitting an outdated form can delay processing and interrupt payments.¹

Do not confuse 21-674 with 21-674b, the School Attendance Report. You use 21-674b after benefits have already been approved, to report status changes such as leaving school or getting married. The VA sends 21-674b to you and expects it back within 60 days of the student starting the course; if it isn’t returned, benefits based on school attendance are discontinued.³

One more boundary: this form does not add a child to your record for the first time. That initial step uses VA Form 21-686c (Declaration of Status of Dependents). Form 21-674 picks up where 21-686c leaves off — proving that a child already on your record, who would otherwise age out at 18, is still in school.

Who Qualifies

Federal law defines a “child” for VA benefit purposes as an unmarried person under 18, or someone between 18 and 23 pursuing a course of instruction at an approved educational institution.⁴ Approved institutions include schools, colleges, academies, technical institutes, and universities.⁵

Three situations end eligibility:

The child marries. Marriage removes the child from the statutory definition regardless of enrollment.⁴
The student stops attending classes.
The child turns 23. School-attendance benefits cannot extend past the 23rd birthday.

The Filing Deadline That Protects Retroactive Pay

Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.667, if you file within one year of the child’s 18th birthday, the VA can pay from that birthday forward with no gap. If the child starts school after turning 18, you have one year from the course start date to file and receive payment back to when the course began.⁶ Miss the one-year window and the VA pays only from the date you actually file. The practical rule: submit this form before or shortly after your child turns 18.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Veteran or claimant’s full name and VA file number, if you have one
Student’s full name, Social Security number, and date of birth
Student’s current mailing address and marital status (with marriage date if ever married)
School name and whether it is accredited
Key dates from the school’s academic calendar: the official beginning date of the term, the date the student started or expects to start, and the expected graduation date
Prior term beginning and ending dates if the student attended an accredited school at the end of the last term
Whether the student receives Chapter 35 Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA), the Fry Scholarship, benefits under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), or attends a school wholly supported by the federal government

You do not need transcripts, tuition receipts, or financial aid records.¹

Filling Out the Form

If you’re filing on paper, use black or blue ink and print clearly.

Part I: Claimant and Student Information

Item 1 takes the veteran or claimant’s name; Item 2 the VA file number (leave blank if you don’t have one — the VA can locate it from other identifying information). Item 3 is an optional email address. Items 4 through 8 collect the student’s identifying details: full name, Social Security number, date of birth, marital status, and current address. If the student has ever been married, provide the marriage date in Item 7B.¹

School and Enrollment Details

Item 9A asks whether the student receives Chapter 35 DEA, the Fry Scholarship, FECA benefits, or attends a school wholly supported by the federal government. Answer “Yes” only if one of those specific situations applies; the VA treats receiving both additional compensation for school attendance and one of these federal education programs at the same time as a prohibited duplication.¹ “Wholly supported” means the federal government pays for tuition, housing, meals, clothing, medical care, books, and supplies. Examples include service academies, service academy prep schools, Job Corps centers, and some Native American schools.

Item 10A asks whether attendance has been continuous. Normal breaks during the school year, like winter or spring break, do not count as interruptions. Items 11A through 11C ask for three dates: the official beginning date of the term, the date the student started or expects to start, and the expected graduation date. Pull these from the school’s academic calendar or registrar; approximate dates invite follow-up requests. Items 12A through 12C cover the prior school term.

Part III: Signature

Item 16A requires a signature. If the student has reached the age of majority and is claiming benefits on their own behalf, the student signs. Otherwise, the veteran, surviving spouse, guardian, or custodian signs and notes the relationship to the student in Item 16C.¹ Add a daytime phone number in Item 16D so the VA can call rather than mail if something is unclear.

How to Submit

Online

The fastest route is online, with one quirk: you don’t file 21-674 as a standalone. Start VA Form 21-686c (Application Request to Add and/or Remove Dependents) on VA.gov, and when the form asks what you’d like to do, select “Add a child 18 to 23 years old who’ll be attending school (VA Form 21-674).” The system walks you through the 21-674 questions inside that workflow and submits everything electronically at the end.⁷

By Mail

Print and mail the completed form to:

Department of Veterans Affairs
Claims Intake Center
PO Box 4444
Janesville, WI 53547-4444⁸

Use certified mail or a service with delivery tracking. Online submission gives you instant confirmation the form is in the queue; mailed forms take longer to appear in the system.

After You Submit

Once the VA processes the form, it updates the benefit rate to include the dependent student. If more information is needed, the VA sends a notice. Watch your mail and your VA.gov inbox so a clarification request doesn’t turn into a months-long delay.

Approval is not the last step. The VA will send you a School Attendance Report (VA Form 21-674b) that must be returned within 60 days of the student starting the course, or benefits paid on school attendance will be discontinued.³

Report Changes to Avoid an Overpayment

Notify the VA immediately if the student drops out, transfers, reduces enrollment, marries, or starts receiving DEA or another federal education benefit. Use VA Form 21-674b to report these changes.¹ If the VA keeps paying the higher rate because it wasn’t told, the overpayment becomes a debt, and the VA Secretary can recover it by withholding part of future benefit payments until it’s repaid.⁹ Reporting a change when it happens is far simpler than unwinding an overpayment later.

1
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 21-674 – Request for Approval of School Attendance
2
Veterans Affairs. Add Dependents to Your VA Disability Benefits
3
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 21-674b – School Attendance Report
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 101 – Definitions
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 US Code 104 – Approval of Educational Institutions
6
eCFR. 38 CFR 3.667 – School Attendance
7
Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 21-674
8
Veterans Affairs. How to File a VA Disability Claim
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 5314 – Indebtedness Offsets