VA Form 28-10286 is the request veterans use to retroactively move a completed period of education from Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill) into Chapter 31 (Veteran Readiness and Employment). If you trained under the GI Bill and later qualified for VR&E, filing this form can recover tuition, fees, books, and housing costs that Chapter 33 didn’t fully cover, and it can restore GI Bill entitlement months for later use. You mail the form with your supporting evidence to the VR&E Intake Center in Janesville, Wisconsin, and you have 60 days after filing to get every document in.
Confirm You Qualify Before You File
Retroactive induction is governed by 38 CFR 21.282(c), which sets out seven conditions that must all be true. Read them before you spend time on the form.
- The training took place while you were awaiting discharge for disability or within your Chapter 31 eligibility window.
- You were entitled to VA disability compensation during that training period, or would have been but for active-duty service.
- You met Chapter 31 requirements at the time: a service-connected disability rated at 20 percent or more with an employment handicap, or 10 percent with a serious employment handicap.
- The VA determines the courses you completed were reasonably needed for your vocational goal and can be incorporated into your rehabilitation plan.
- The VA has recouped any education benefits already paid to you under another program for that same period.
- A Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor has completed your initial evaluation.
- The VA does not need additional time to determine whether a vocational goal is feasible for you.
One boundary worth naming: the retroactive start date you can request cannot be earlier than the effective date of the VA disability rating that qualified you for Chapter 31. If the training happened before your qualifying rating took effect, that period isn’t recoverable through this form.
Filling Out the Form
Download the current version from vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-28-10286-ARE.pdf. It runs a few pages across three sections.
Personal Information and Start Date
Items 1 through 6 collect your legal name, the last four digits of your VA file number, date of birth, mailing address, phone, and email. Match what the VA already has on file so nothing gets kicked back.
Item 7 asks for the retroactive induction start date. Enter the first day of the earliest term you want moved to Chapter 31, formatted MM/DD/YYYY. Remember the effective-date limit above.
Kicker, STEM, and What You’re Requesting
Items 8 and 9 ask whether you received a kicker payment or an Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship payment during the period. Answer honestly. If you received kicker payments, an overpayment equal to the total kicker amount during the retroactive period will be created when your entitlement moves to Chapter 31. If you received STEM payments, up to 9 months of them may be deducted from the Chapter 33 months being moved back.
Items 10 through 13 are yes-or-no boxes for what you want the VA to do:
- Item 10: move entitlement months from Chapter 33 back to Chapter 31.
- Item 11: reimburse the difference in tuition and fees between what Chapter 33 paid and what Chapter 31 would have covered.
- Item 12: reimburse the difference in books and supplies.
- Item 13: reimburse the difference in monthly housing allowance.
Check only the boxes that apply. If Chapter 33 covered your tuition in full but left you short on books, you might select 10 and 12 and skip 11 and 13.
Acknowledgments and Signature
Items 14 through 17 are verification statements. Item 14 confirms your entries are accurate and formally initiates the request. Sign item 15 only if you answered yes to item 8 (kicker overpayment acknowledgment). Sign item 16 only if you answered yes to item 9 (STEM deduction acknowledgment). Item 17 is there to withdraw a claim; leave it blank or mark no if you’re moving forward. Item 18 is your signature and date. Without a signature, the form won’t be processed.
Supporting Documents You Need to Send
The form is short. The evidence behind it is where most of the work sits, and what you gather depends on which boxes you checked.
For item 10 (movement of entitlement), you need the dates of each term, transcripts showing the classes you completed, and a degree audit showing those classes apply to your identified vocational goal.
For item 11 (tuition and fees), send the dates of each term plus documentation from each school showing total tuition and fees and exactly how the balance was paid: Pell Grants, Chapter 33 payments, scholarships, student loans, or anything else applied.
For items 12 and 13 (books and supplies, housing allowance), gather comparable records showing what you received under Chapter 33 and what you actually spent.
Start pulling transcripts, degree audits, and school billing records before you mail the form. The 60-day documentation window starts when the VA receives Form 28-10286, not when you finish assembling evidence. Missing the deadline can result in denial or reduced benefits.
Where to Send It
Mail the completed form and supporting documents to:
Department of Veterans Affairs
VR&E Intake Center
P.O. Box 5210
Janesville, WI 53547-5210
Certified mail with return receipt gives you a timestamped proof of delivery, which matters if the 60-day window is ever disputed. Keep a full copy of everything you send.
Digital submission may also be available through the AccessVA portal at eauth.va.gov/accessva using the Direct Upload option; you’ll sign in with Login.gov or ID.me. You can also send documents to your assigned VR&E counselor by VA secure messaging if your counselor accepts that method. Confirm with them first.
After You File
A VR&E case manager reviews your request against the seven conditions in 38 CFR 21.282(c), verifies your disability rating timeline, checks that the training aligns with your rehabilitation plan, and confirms the period falls within your eligibility window. The 60-day clock for supporting evidence is already running when the form arrives, so don’t wait to be asked.
The effective date of a retroactive induction is the date when all seven conditions are met. For a veteran (rather than a servicemember still on active duty), that date cannot be earlier than the effective date of the VA disability rating establishing the qualifying service-connected disability.
If the VA approves the request, it recalculates what Chapter 31 would have paid you for the retroactive period, subtracts what Chapter 33 already covered, and reimburses the difference in each category you asked about. Your Chapter 33 entitlement months are restored for later use or, where transfer applies, for an eligible dependent. Chapter 31 subsistence allowances and education benefits are excluded from federal taxable income, and the VA does not issue a W-2 or 1099 for these payments.
If the VA Denies Your Request
A denial usually points to one of the seven conditions: the training fell outside your eligibility window, the coursework didn’t align with your vocational goal, or documents were missing. The decision letter will name the condition that failed.
If you have new evidence that addresses the reason, file a Supplemental Claim on VA Form 20-0995. The online filing option at VA.gov is currently limited to disability compensation claims, so a VR&E-related supplemental claim will likely need to go in on paper. If you believe the VA made an error on the evidence already in the file, a Higher-Level Review using VA Form 20-0996 is the other lane. Both have a one-year filing deadline from the date of the decision letter.
When the denial was for late documentation, refiling with a complete package is sometimes cleaner than appealing. Your VR&E counselor can help you decide which route fits your situation.