How to Get Your GI Bill Certificate of Eligibility

To get your GI Bill Certificate of Eligibility, apply online at VA.gov using VA Form 22-1990 (or the correct variant for your situation), and expect a decision letter in about 30 days.¹ The COE is the letter that confirms which GI Bill program you qualify for, your benefit percentage, and how many months of entitlement you have left. Your school’s certifying official needs it before the VA will release tuition, housing, or stipend payments on your behalf.

Pick the Right Form First

Which form you file depends on who you are and which program you’re claiming.

VA Form 22-1990 is the standard application for most GI Bill programs, including the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33), Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (Chapter 30), and Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606).²
VA Form 22-1990N is for applicants under the National Call to Service program.³
VA Form 22-1990e is for spouses or children using Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits that a service member has already transferred to them. The dependent must submit this form themselves, signed in to their own Login.gov or ID.me account. The VA cannot process it if the service member submits it on the dependent’s behalf.⁴

If you’re not sure which chapter you’re eligible under, filing Form 22-1990 is usually the right move. The form asks about your service and lets the VA determine the best-fit program.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather these before opening the application so you don’t have to stop and hunt for paperwork:

Your Social Security Number.
Your DD Form 214 discharge document. If you don’t have a copy, you can request one from the National Archives using eVetRecs or a Standard Form 180; more recent discharges may be available on milConnect. You can also apply without it, and the VA will request it on your behalf, though that adds time.⁵
Your DD Form 2384-1 (Notice of Basic Eligibility) if you’re applying under the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve. Get it from your unit before applying.⁶
Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of your housing allowance and stipends.
The name and address of the school you plan to attend, if you’ve picked one.

How to Submit the Application

Online

The fastest route is VA.gov. Sign in, open the appropriate 22-1990 form, and work through the sections on personal information, military service, and education plans. When you finish, submit the form and save the confirmation.

By Mail or In Person

You can also download Form 22-1990 from VA.gov, fill it out by hand, and mail it to the VA regional processing office. Another option is to visit a VA regional office in person, or work with the veterans affairs office at your school, where a staff member can walk you through it. These routes take longer than filing online but are useful if the website gives you trouble or you want in-person help.

What Happens After You Apply

The VA averages about 30 days to process education benefit claims.¹ When a decision is made, the VA mails you a decision letter. If you applied for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits online, you may also be able to download the letter from VA.gov.

Take the letter to the certifying official at your school, usually in the financial aid or veterans services office. Until that person submits your enrollment certification to the VA, no tuition payments or housing deposits go out. The certifying official reports your program, enrollment dates, credit hours, and tuition. For Chapter 33 students, the school is required to submit a second certification after the drop/add period with final tuition figures before the VA pays the school directly.⁷

How to Read Your COE

Your COE packs a lot into a short document. The pieces to look at:

The GI Bill chapter you’re approved for (Chapter 33, Chapter 30, Chapter 1606, and so on).
Your benefit percentage. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, this is 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100% based on how long you served on active duty. Tuition coverage, monthly housing allowance, and the books and supplies stipend all scale to this percentage. Veterans discharged for a service-connected disability after at least 30 continuous days receive 100% regardless of total service length.⁸
Your remaining entitlement, shown in months and days. Most programs provide up to 36 months of total entitlement. After you start using benefits, you can track what’s left with the GI Bill Statement of Benefits tool on VA.gov.⁹¹⁰
An expiration date, if one applies. Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits expire 15 years after separation for veterans discharged before January 1, 2013. There is no expiration for those who separated on or after that date.¹¹

Getting Another Copy if You Lose It

How you replace a lost COE depends on when you got it and which program you’re under. If you applied for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits on VA.gov and received your decision letter on or after August 20, 2022, you can download the letter directly from VA.gov.¹²

If your letter is older than that cutoff, or if you’re a family member using transferred benefits, the download option won’t work. Contact the VA through the Ask VA portal or call 888-442-4551 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET) to request a copy.¹²

If Your Discharge Is Below Honorable

An honorable discharge is the standard requirement for GI Bill eligibility across all chapters. A general, other-than-honorable, or lower characterization doesn’t shut you out automatically, but it adds steps. You can apply for a formal discharge upgrade through your service branch’s discharge review board, or ask the VA to conduct a Character of Discharge review to determine whether your service qualifies for education benefits without a full upgrade.¹³ Both reviews take time, so start them early if you think either applies to you.

1
Department of Veterans Affairs. After You Apply For Education Benefits
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Department of Veterans Affairs. Apply for VA Education Benefits (VA Form 22-1990)
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Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 22-1990n
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Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 22-1990e
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Department of Veterans Affairs. Get Your Military Service Records
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Veterans Affairs. Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR)
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Certification Basics
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MyArmyBenefits. Post-9/11 GI Bill
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Veterans Affairs. Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)
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Department of Veterans Affairs. Check Your Remaining Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits
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Veterans Affairs. Getting a GI Bill Extension
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Veterans Affairs. Download Your VA Education Letter
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Department of Veterans Affairs. GI Bill and Other Education Benefit Eligibility