Eligibility for TRICARE comes down to your relationship to a uniformed service member and your record in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. The program covers active duty members of all eight uniformed services, activated National Guard and Reserve members, military retirees, their spouses and dependent children, survivors, certain former spouses, and Medal of Honor recipients. Whether you qualify, which plan you can use, and what you pay all depend on your status, and every eligible person must be registered in DEERS before any benefit will pay out.1TRICARE. About Us
Active Duty Members
If you are serving on active duty, you are eligible for TRICARE and must enroll in TRICARE Prime, which covers your care at no cost.2TRICARE. TRICARE Prime This applies across all eight uniformed services defined by federal law: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, and Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1072 – Definitions Members on active duty are also entitled to care at any uniformed service facility.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1074 – Medical and Dental Care for Members and Certain Former Members
National Guard and Reserve Members
Guard and Reserve members get the same TRICARE benefits as active duty service members when called to active duty for more than 30 consecutive days. During that time they enroll in TRICARE Prime.5TRICARE. When Activated
When not activated, Selected Reserve members can buy TRICARE Reserve Select, a premium-based plan similar to TRICARE Select. For 2026, premiums run $57.88 a month for individual coverage and $286.66 for family coverage.6TRICARE. TRICARE 2026 Costs and Fees Preview You cannot buy it if you are on active duty orders for more than 30 days, covered under the Transitional Assistance Management Program, or eligible for Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage in your own right.7TRICARE. TRICARE Reserve Select
Spouses and Children
Federal law defines a service member’s dependents to include a spouse, biological children, adopted children, stepchildren, and certain others who meet dependency requirements.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1072 – Definitions A spouse can enroll in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select, with specific options tied to location and the sponsor’s status, and must be registered in DEERS before using any benefit.8TRICARE. Getting Married
Unmarried children keep TRICARE until age 21. The limit extends to age 23 if the child is enrolled full-time at an approved college or university and the sponsor still provides more than half of their financial support.9TRICARE. Children A child who cannot support themselves because of a mental or physical condition that began before age 21 can remain covered past these limits, as long as the condition continues and they remain dependent on the sponsor.
When two active duty members are married, each one has their own DEERS record and their own TRICARE Prime enrollment, and only one parent is listed as the sponsor for any children.8TRICARE. Getting Married
TRICARE Young Adult
Once a child ages out at 21 (or 23 for students), they can buy TRICARE Young Adult coverage up to age 26. The adult child must be unmarried and ineligible for an employer-sponsored plan.10TRICARE. TRICARE Young Adult For 2026, premiums are $794 a month for the Prime option and $363 for the Select option.11TRICARE. How Much Does TRICARE Young Adult Cost
Retirees
If you retire from active duty and draw retired pay, you and your eligible family members qualify for TRICARE and can choose Prime or Select. The 2026 family enrollment fee for TRICARE Prime depends on when the sponsor first entered service: $765 a year if service began before January 1, 2018 (Group A), and $927 a year if it began on or after that date (Group B).12TRICARE Newsroom. Learn Your 2026 TRICARE Health Plan Costs
Medical Retirement
Service members medically retired for injury or illness also qualify. If you are found unfit for duty because of a condition that may not be permanent, you may be placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List, which requires a physical exam at least every 18 months.13Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Disability Retirement If the condition stabilizes and is rated 30 percent or greater, you move to the Permanent Disability Retired List. Members on either list are TRICARE eligible.14TRICARE. Medical Retirement
Gray Area Reservists
Retired Reserve members who qualify for non-regular retirement but have not reached age 60 do not yet draw retired pay. They can purchase TRICARE Retired Reserve rather than wait.15TRICARE. TRICARE Retired Reserve For 2026, monthly premiums are $645.90 for individual coverage and $1,548.30 for family coverage.6TRICARE. TRICARE 2026 Costs and Fees Preview Enrollment in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program disqualifies you.
Turning 65 and TRICARE For Life
When a TRICARE-eligible beneficiary turns 65, coverage transitions to TRICARE For Life, which works alongside Medicare. To keep the benefit you must have both Medicare Part A and Part B.16TRICARE. Beneficiaries Eligible for TRICARE and Medicare There is no separate enrollment: coverage begins automatically the day you have both parts in place.17TRICARE. Turning 65 and TRICARE For Life
Timing matters. Sign up for Part B no later than two months before your 65th birthday to avoid a gap in TRICARE. If you miss that window, you may face a Part B late enrollment penalty and will have no TRICARE coverage during the gap.16TRICARE. Beneficiaries Eligible for TRICARE and Medicare One exception: if your sponsor is still on active duty, you can delay Part B without penalty until the sponsor retires, provided you sign up at least two months before the retirement date.17TRICARE. Turning 65 and TRICARE For Life
Survivors
When a service member dies, TRICARE continues for the surviving spouse and dependent children. Plan options and costs depend on whether the sponsor died on active duty, in the Guard or Reserve, or in retirement.18TRICARE. Survivors Children remain covered under the same age and dependency rules that apply to any TRICARE child.
A surviving spouse keeps coverage unless they remarry. Remarriage ends TRICARE permanently. Even if the second marriage later ends in divorce or death, the surviving spouse does not get TRICARE back.19TRICARE. Widowed Spouse Remarriage and TRICARE Eligibility
Former Spouses
A former spouse may keep TRICARE based on how long the marriage lasted and how much of it overlapped with the sponsor’s service. Two rules apply.
Under the 20/20/20 rule, the service member served at least 20 years of creditable service, the marriage lasted at least 20 years, and all 20 years of the marriage overlapped with the service. Meeting all three gives the former spouse lifetime TRICARE eligibility, subject to the conditions below.20TRICARE. Former Spouses
Under the 20/20/15 rule, the service and marriage still each reach 20 years, but only 15 years overlap. The former spouse then gets one year of transitional TRICARE from the date of the divorce or annulment.20TRICARE. Former Spouses
Under either rule, remarriage or coverage under an employer-sponsored health plan ends TRICARE eligibility.20TRICARE. Former Spouses
Medal of Honor Recipients
Former service members who received the Medal of Honor, along with their immediate dependents, are eligible for TRICARE regardless of total years served. Federal law treats these recipients as if they were entitled to retired pay for medical and dental care purposes.21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1074h – Medical and Dental Care – Medal of Honor Recipients and Dependents The benefit applies even to recipients who would not otherwise qualify through retirement or any other category.
Coverage After Separation
Leaving active duty does not immediately strip you of all coverage, but the bridge is limited.
The Transitional Assistance Management Program provides 180 days of continued TRICARE coverage for separating service members and their eligible family members. The clock starts on the date of separation. TAMP generally covers members involuntarily separating under honorable conditions, along with certain other qualifying separations. When the 180 days end, so does all TAMP-based coverage, including for dependent children.22TRICARE. Transitional Assistance Management Program
After that, former members and dependents who lose eligibility may buy coverage through the Continued Health Care Benefit Program. The CHCBP is not TRICARE but runs under similar rules, offering up to 18 months of premium-based coverage to people who were covered under TRICARE or transitional care the day before they lost eligibility. You must submit a written election within 60 days of losing coverage. Members discharged under adverse conditions are not eligible.23eCFR. 32 CFR 199.20 – Continued Health Care Benefit Program
DEERS Registration and Enrollment Windows
Being eligible on paper is not enough. Every TRICARE user must be registered in DEERS, and incorrect or outdated information can get your claims denied.24milConnect. FAQ – TRICARE and DEERS The sponsor is responsible for keeping each family member’s record current, which you can do through milConnect or at a military ID card office.25TRICARE. Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System
Each fall, TRICARE holds an Open Season when eligible beneficiaries can switch plans for the next calendar year. The November–December 2025 Open Season set coverage for January 1, 2026.26Federal Register. TRICARE Notice of Plan Program Changes for Calendar Year 2026 Outside Open Season, you can only change plans after a qualifying life event, which opens a 90-day enrollment window.27TRICARE. TRICARE Qualifying Life Events Fact Sheet Newborns, adopted children, and court-appointed children in the United States must be registered in DEERS within 90 days of birth or placement; for children born or placed overseas, the deadline is 120 days. Miss these deadlines and your family can lose coverage.