VA EDUCATION BENEFITS

After students have been certified for VA Education Benefits, they must verify monthly enrollment (selected chapters) to continue those benefits. Note recent changes (as of December 18, 2021), outlined below.

Chapter 33—NEW REQUIREMENT

On January 4, 2021, Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-315) was signed into law. Section 1010 of this law amends section 3313 of title 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) by adding a new subsection (I) on Verification of Enrollment. This subsection added a new requirement for Chapter 33 beneficiaries. In order to continue receiving their monthly housing allowance (MHA) and/or kicker payments, Chapter 33 beneficiaries at Non-College Degree (NCD) facilities began verifying their enrollment status each month for enrollment periods that began on or after August 1, 2021.

Effective December 18, 2021, the requirement for Chapter 33 beneficiaries to verify their enrollment information will be expanded to include students who attend Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) facilities. This expansion includes those taking IHL programs and NCD programs at an IHL school. The requirements to verify is effective for all terms that begin on or after December 17, 2021.

As of December 18, both NCD and IHL facility students will be able to verify their enrollment status in one of three ways:

Via Text Message

• Opt in: Students with a U.S. mobile phone number can use text messages as a simple, quick option for verifying monthly enrollment. As your enrollment approaches, you will receive the following opt-in text: “Post-9/11 GI Bill® housing and kicker payments now require monthly enrollment verification. Would you like to submit yours via text? Reply YES or NO.” Reply “YES” to opt in. The text message link will expire 14 days after receipt, so respond within that time frame.
• Verify: After opting in, you can verify your enrollment every month simply by responding to the following text message from VA: “Did you remain enrolled in your courses in MONTH YYYY as certified? Reply YES or NO. If you have dropped all your courses, you must reply NO.” Reply “YES” to verify enrollment for the previous month.

Enrollment verification via text message is safe and secure. VA will never ask for your personal information, such as social security number or bank account information, via text.

VA strongly recommends text message verification for verifying your enrollment. 

Via Email

Coming soon: For all NCD students and IHL students with enrollments after December 17, 2021, the option to verify enrollment via email will also be available. Additional details forthcoming.

Via Telephone

If you are unable to verify via text or email, you will need to contact the Education Call Center (ECC) at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) and ask a representative to verify your enrollment.

NOTE: ECC wait times may be high due to the number of students verifying enrollment each month.

If you’re not sure if VA has your phone number and/or email on file, you can also contact the ECC to update your contact information and ensure you can verify via text or email.

Chapters 30 and 1606

Students who are attending an Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) or Non-College Degree (NCD) program and who are receiving Montgomery GI Bill® —Active-Duty or Montgomery GI Bill®—Selected Reserve must also verify attendance every month before payment is issued.

Three Ways to Verify Attendance

• Online via the Web Automated Verification of Enrollment (WAVE)
• Using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) at 1-877-823-2379
• Calling a GI Bill® representative at 1-888-442-4551

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).