VA Form 22-5490: DEA vs. Fry Scholarship, Filing, and Enrollment

VA Form 22-5490 is the Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits, the form a spouse, surviving spouse, or child uses to claim benefits under either the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program (DEA, Chapter 35) or the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Chapter 33). The fastest way to file is online at va.gov; you can also mail a completed paper form to one of two VA regional processing offices.¹

Who Files This Form

Two groups of dependents use Form 22-5490: the veteran’s children (including stepchildren and adopted children) and the veteran’s spouse or surviving spouse. The qualifying event has to be one of these: the veteran died from a service-connected cause, is listed as missing in action or captured, or has been rated by the VA with a permanent and total service-connected disability.²

Children generally use DEA between ages 18 and 26, though the VA can allow an earlier start (as young as 14 for special restorative training) if the child has finished high school or the program calls for it.³

For spouses, the deadline depends on when the qualifying event happened. If the veteran’s death or permanent disability rating came before August 1, 2023, you generally have 10 years to use DEA benefits, extended to 20 years if the service member died on active duty. If the qualifying event happened on or after August 1, 2023, there is no time limit.²

Remarriage does not end a surviving spouse’s Fry Scholarship eligibility. If your original qualification came through a previous marriage, you keep it. Unused Fry benefits that already expired may be restored for use anytime after January 2, 2025, even if you’ve since remarried, but you’ll need to reapply using Form 22-5490.⁴

DEA or the Fry Scholarship: The Choice the Form Forces

If you qualify for both programs, Form 22-5490 makes you pick one. The form has separate election boxes for spouses and for children; you mark Chapter 35 (DEA) or Chapter 33 (Fry Scholarship).⁵ You can switch later, but the combined cap across both programs is 81 months of full-time training.⁴

The two benefits work very differently, so the choice matters.

What DEA (Chapter 35) Pays

DEA is a flat monthly stipend paid directly to you. It does not cover tuition separately; the stipend is the whole benefit. For October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, full-time college or vocational students receive $1,574 per month, three-quarter-time pays $1,244, and half-time pays $912.⁶ DEA also covers on-the-job training and apprenticeships (rates step down over time), and spouses (but not children) can use it for correspondence training. Total entitlement is 36 months if your training started on or after August 1, 2018, and 45 months if you started before that.²

What the Fry Scholarship (Chapter 33) Pays

The Fry Scholarship mirrors the Post-9/11 GI Bill. It pays three things separately: tuition and fees sent to your school, a monthly housing allowance sent to you, and up to $1,000 per year for books and supplies.⁷ For in-person students, the housing allowance is based on the DoD Basic Allowance for Housing for an E-5 with dependents, tied to the zip code of your school. You need to be enrolled at more than 50% of a full course load to receive any housing allowance. Online-only students receive up to $1,169 per month; foreign-school students receive up to $2,338.⁸ Total entitlement is up to 36 months.⁴

The rough rule: at an expensive school, the Fry Scholarship usually delivers more total value because it pays actual tuition. At an affordable community college or in an apprenticeship, DEA’s flat stipend often works out better because you keep the money whether tuition is high or low.

Documents to Have Ready

Pull these together before you open the application. Every item corresponds to a field on the form.⁵

Your Social Security number
The veteran’s VA file number or Social Security number
The veteran’s branch of service and dates of service
Your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit
Schools you’ve attended, dates, and any degrees or hours completed
The name and location of the school or training program you plan to attend, and your expected start date

If you haven’t picked a school yet, you can still submit. Leave the school fields blank, and the VA will process your eligibility determination without them.

Filling Out the Form

The paper form runs several pages. The online version at va.gov walks through the same questions in a guided flow that catches most mistakes. Either way, the form has four working parts.

Applicant Information

Enter your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, gender, mailing address, phone, and email. In the direct deposit section, enter your bank’s routing number and your account number, and mark whether the account is checking or savings.⁵ Electronic payment is much faster than a mailed check.

Veteran or Service Member Information

Enter the veteran’s name, Social Security number or VA file number, branch, and dates of active duty. If the veteran previously filed a VA claim, note that. The VA uses this information to match your application against the veteran’s service record and confirm the qualifying rating or death is on file.

Benefit Election

Select Chapter 35 (DEA) or Chapter 33 (Fry Scholarship). The form splits this into separate questions for spouses and for children; answer only the one that applies to you. If you’re switching from a benefit you were already receiving, enter a relinquishment date marking when the old benefit ends and the new one begins.⁵

Education and Employment History

List schools attended with dates and any hours or degrees earned. Enter the name, location, and expected start date of the program you plan to attend. The VA uses this to calculate the correct entitlement and confirm the program is approved. If you’re currently employed, enter your employer’s information.

The form itself warns that knowingly providing false information is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, punishable by fines and up to five years in prison.⁹

How to Submit

Online

Apply through the VA’s online portal at va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/education-and-careers/apply-for-dea-fry-form-22-5490/.¹⁰ You’ll need a Login.gov or ID.me account. The online form gives you a confirmation of receipt as soon as you submit.

By Mail

Download the form from va.gov and mail the completed application to the regional processing office that handles the state where your school is located. If you haven’t chosen a school yet, use the office for the region where you live.⁵

Eastern Region: VA Regional Office, P.O. Box 4616, Buffalo, NY 14240-4616
Western Region: VA Regional Office, P.O. Box 8888, Muskogee, OK 74402-8888

The form’s instructions list which states fall under each region. Confirm before mailing; the wrong office adds weeks.

After You Submit

Average processing for education benefit claims runs about 30 days.¹¹ If the VA asks for more information, that timeline resets when you send it in. You can track the claim through the VA’s online status tool.

If your application is approved, you’ll receive a decision letter. Bring it to the VA certifying official at your school to activate your benefits and start enrollment certification.¹² The certifying official reports your enrollment to the VA, which releases your payments.

Verify Enrollment Every Month

Approval is not the end. Both DEA and Fry Scholarship recipients must verify enrollment every month to keep payments coming. Each month you confirm your credit or clock hours and the start and end dates for that period.¹³ You can verify online through va.gov, by responding to the VA’s monthly text (if you opt in when you start) or email, or by phone Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET (TTY: 711). Skip a month and the payment for that month won’t arrive. This is the most common reason benefits suddenly stop.

Watch Out for Withdrawals

Dropping a class after the VA has already paid for it creates a debt. Unless you can show circumstances beyond your control (illness, a death in the family, unavoidable job changes, sudden loss of child care, unexpected military service), you owe back the full amount paid from the first day of the term.¹⁴ There is a one-time exclusion that lets you drop up to six credit hours without giving any reason, but you only get it once across your entire period of eligibility.

If Your Application Is Denied

A denial isn’t necessarily final. The VA’s decision review system offers three paths. You can file a Supplemental Claim on VA Form 20-0995 if you have new evidence.¹⁵ You can request a Higher-Level Review, where a more senior reviewer examines the same evidence for errors. Or you can appeal directly to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Each option has its own timelines, and your denial letter explains how to file.

More often, applications don’t get denied outright, they stall. If the VA can’t verify the veteran’s service or your relationship to the veteran, the claim waits until you provide documentation. Answering VA requests for evidence quickly is the single best way to avoid months of delay.

1
Veterans Affairs. About VA Form 22-5490
2
Veterans Affairs. Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 3512 – Periods of Eligibility
4
Veterans Affairs. Fry Scholarship
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Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 22-5490 – Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits
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Veterans Affairs. Chapter 35 Rates for Survivors and Dependents
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Veterans Affairs. Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) Rates
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Veterans Affairs. Fry Scholarship Rates
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
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Veterans Affairs. Apply for DEA or Fry Scholarship (VA Form 22-5490)
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Veterans Affairs. How to Apply for the GI Bill and Related Benefits
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Veterans Affairs. After You Apply for Education Benefits
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Veterans Affairs. Verify Your School Enrollment
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Veterans Affairs. How Your Reason for Withdrawing From a Class Affects Your VA Debt
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Veterans Affairs. Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim