How to Get Your Certificate of Eligibility

The VA home loan program is part of the original GI Bill prepared by Congress in 1944 to help returning soldiers more quickly assimilate back into civilian life, and one of the ways to accomplish that was to help them buy their own home. The VA Loan program features no down payment, low rates, and reduced closing costs.  In order to take advantage of this program you must be an eligible veteran. A lender will determine your eligibility by reviewing your Certificate of Eligibility, or COE.

How you can obtain a copy for yourself:

You can obtain your COE in one of three ways:

• Online through the eBenefits Portal.
• By mail. You will need to complete VA Form 26-1880, Request for Certificate of Eligibility.
• Through your lender. This is really easy, since your lender will do the work for you!

Simplify – Your lender can request on your behalf:

Approved VA lenders have access to an online system that allows the VA lender to request and receive a copy of the COE directly from the VA. Once the lender makes the request, the COE is delivered electronically and received in a matter of moments. The only time you should take on the task yourself is checking to make sure you do in fact have eligibility or to see how much entitlement you have remaining if you’ve used a VA loan before.

Remember, your VA lender uses the Certificate of Eligibility to determine whether you’ve earned the VA home loan benefit. And yes, you certainly can get your COE on your own, but let the VA lender do the heavy lifting for you.

Want to learn more? Visit our VA loans page or give us a call today.