VA Form 26-8937: Verification of Benefits Filing and VA Response

VA Form 26-8937, Verification of VA Benefits, is the one-page form a lender uses to confirm whether you qualify for a waiver of the VA funding fee on a VA-guaranteed home loan. You fill out the top with your identifying information and two certifications, sign it, and your lender sends it to a VA Regional Loan Center. A VA official completes the bottom, confirming your disability compensation status, any government debts, and whether the funding fee applies. Electronic submissions typically come back within about five business days.

Who Actually Needs to File It

Most veterans using a VA loan never touch this form. It exists for a narrow set of borrowers whose funding fee status the lender cannot verify through the usual channels. The form’s instructions limit it to people who fit one of these descriptions:

  • Currently receive VA disability compensation.
  • Previously received VA disability compensation but no longer do.
  • Would receive disability compensation but for receipt of military retired pay (the VA offset).
  • Filed a disability claim before discharge from active duty.
  • Are a surviving spouse receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

If none of those fit, your lender handles the funding fee through the standard loan file and this form is unnecessary. If one does fit, expect your lender to start the form early, because the VA’s answer changes what you owe at the closing table. The funding fee on a first-use purchase loan with less than 5% down is 2.15% of the loan amount, so on a $350,000 loan the exemption question is worth $7,525.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 3729 – Loan Fee

Filling Out the Top Section

The VA estimates the veteran’s portion takes about five minutes.2Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 26-8937 Verification of VA Benefits There are ten numbered items:

  • Item 1 — Name of Veteran. First, middle, and last name as it appears in VA records.
  • Item 2 — Current Address. Your current mailing address.
  • Item 3 — Date of Birth. MM/DD/YYYY.
  • Item 4 — VA Claim Folder Number. The C-File number, if you know it. The form treats this as optional, but including it helps the VA find your records faster.
  • Item 5 — Social Security Number. Format as 999-99-9999. The form states that providing your SSN is voluntary; leaving it off will slow processing because the VA matches records by it.
  • Item 6 — Service Number. Only needed if it differs from your SSN. Most veterans who served after the mid-1970s leave this blank.
  • Item 7 — Indebtedness Certification. Check the box stating whether you do or do not have a VA benefit-related debt, and authorize the VA to release the benefit information listed on the form.
  • Item 8 — Pre-Discharge Claim Certification. Check whether you have or have not filed a disability claim before discharge from active duty.
  • Item 9 — Signature. Sign in ink. Without this signature, federal privacy rules prevent the VA from telling your lender anything.
  • Item 10 — Date Signed. MM/DD/YYYY.

Before you sit down with the form, pull your most recent VA benefit award letter or disability rating decision letter. You can download both from va.gov/records/download-va-letters.3Veterans Affairs. Download VA Benefit Letters Matching the dates and figures on the form to what the VA already has on file prevents the kind of mismatch that sends the whole thing back for correction.

If you are not sure whether you have an outstanding VA debt, call the VA at 1-800-827-1000 before you sign Item 7. Item 7 and Item 8 are certifications under your signature, and knowingly making a false statement to influence a federally related loan transaction is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, carrying penalties of up to $1,000,000 in fines and up to 30 years in prison.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1014 – Loan and Credit Applications Generally The maximums are rarely imposed, but they show how the government treats loan-application accuracy.

How the Lender Submits It

Once you sign, your lender takes over. The form goes to the VA Regional Loan Center that covers the state where the property sits. The VA strongly prefers electronic submission through its WebLGY portal, where the lender uploads the form under the correspondence section in “E-Docs” as the “Form 26-8937” document type.5Department of Veterans Affairs. Circular 26-21-03 – Certificate of Eligibility Enhancements to Streamline Income Verification The VA stopped accepting faxed copies in March 2021, so the only alternative is mail, which adds transit time on both ends.

The VA tells lenders to allow five business days before calling 877-827-3702 to check on a submission.5Department of Veterans Affairs. Circular 26-21-03 – Certificate of Eligibility Enhancements to Streamline Income Verification If your closing date is tight, ask your lender to submit through WebLGY and to send it early.

What the VA Sends Back

The bottom half of the form is marked “FOR VA USE ONLY” and is completed by an authorized VA agent.2Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 26-8937 Verification of VA Benefits The response typically shows one of these outcomes:

  • Exempt from the funding fee because the veteran receives monthly compensation for a service-connected disability, with the dollar amount listed.
  • Exempt because the veteran was rated eligible for compensation through a pre-discharge exam or memorandum rating.
  • Not exempt, with the veteran receiving a non-service-connected pension. This response also flags the loan for prior approval processing, meaning the lender cannot close until the VA reviews the full loan package.
  • Rated incompetent by the VA, which likewise triggers prior approval processing so the VA can review the loan before closing.

The response also indicates whether any portion of the veteran’s monthly payment is being withheld to recover a prior overpayment. If the VA is recouping money, the lender needs to work with the reduced net figure when calculating affordability. Once the completed form comes back, the lender keeps it as a permanent part of the loan origination file.

If Your Disability Rating Comes Later

If your disability claim is still pending on the day you close, you will pay the full funding fee. There is no exemption for a pending application or an intent to file. You may still get the money back later. If the VA eventually awards a service-connected rating with an effective date that falls on or before your closing date, you can apply for a refund of the funding fee.6Veterans Affairs. VA Funding Fee and Loan Closing Costs

The effective date controls, not the decision date. A rating issued two years after closing can still trigger a refund if its effective date predates the closing. If the effective date falls after closing, or if you only receive a proposed or memorandum rating without a formal compensation award, no refund is available.