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When Does the GI Bill Expire?

Joe Wallace

There are many common questions about the GI Bill. One of the most frequently asked questions about this critical VA benefit is how long it lasts until it expires; can you lose your GI Bill benefit if you don’t use it in time?

Post-9/11 GI Bill Expiration Dates

If you applied for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and your military service ended before the first day of 2013, your GI Bill benefits expire 15 years after your “last separation date from active service,” according to VA.gov. Veterans must use the GI Bill benefit by then, or the remainder is lost.

If your service ended on or after January 1, 2013, your GI Bill benefits DO NOT EXPIRE.

Read More: Veteran Education Benefits Guide

Montgomery GI Bill Expiration Dates

According to VA.gov, “Montgomery GI Bill benefits expire 10 years after you separate from the military,” but an extension may be possible, as we will explore below.

Qualifying For a GI Bill Extension

Despite the expiration times listed above, some may qualify for an extension of their GI Bill benefits. VA.gov says vets may qualify for a GI Bill extension if any one of the following is true:

• You served a “later period of active duty” of 90 consecutive days or more;
• You have a medical issue that prevented you from attending school
• You were held by a foreign government or power “after your last discharge or release from active duty” according to VA.gov.

Qualifying After Serving a Later Period of Active Duty

The Department of Veterans Affairs requires you to send a written extension request, including one or both of the following documents:

• A copy of orders to report for active duty, or
• A copy of DD214 or other discharge papers

Mail the letter and the documents to your nearest VA Regional Processing Office.

When Illness or Disability Kept You Out of School

The Department of Veterans Affairs requires you to send a written extension request, including the following documents:

• A copy of orders to report for active duty, or
• A copy of DD214 or other discharge papers
• A description of the type of illness or disability that prevented you from school
• The dates from when you couldn’t attend school
• A doctor’s statement listing the diagnosis, treatment, and other details

The VA also requires you to submit “a description of each job you held during this time period when you couldn’t attend school because of your disability.”

• The type of job
• The employer’s name and address
• Start and end dates for the employment and number of hours per week

Mail all the above to your nearest VA Regional Processing Office.

Extensions for Those Held by a Foreign Government

VA.gov requires a formal letter requesting a GI Bill extension to include “start and end dates” when you couldn’t attend school “because you were being held by a foreign government.”

A Word on the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship

The Rogers STEM Scholarship is another way to continue using federal education benefits. This program offers qualifying applicants additional education when using the Post-9/11 GI Bill to get education in high-demand technological fields.

You may qualify for a GI Bill extension under this program if you are a veteran or a Fry Scholar meeting one of the following VA requirements:

• You are enrolled in an undergraduate STEM degree program;
• You are enrolled in a “qualifying dual-degree program,”
• You have “a post-secondary degree or a graduate degree in an approved STEM degree field” and want to continue in a clinical training program;
• You have a post-secondary degree in a STEM degree field and are pursuing teaching certification.

Read more: GI Bill STEM Extension

 

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