Chapter 35 VA Benefits: Dependents' Educational Assistance

Who qualifies for Chapter 35

According to VA, you may qualify if you are the child or spouse of a veteran or service member who has, or had, at least one of these:

• A service-connected permanent and total (P&T) disability
• A service-connected death, or a death in the line of duty
• Missing in action or captured for more than 90 days
• Forcibly detained or interned by a foreign entity for more than 90 days
• A hospitalization or outpatient treatment for a service-connected P&T disability, with an expected discharge for that disability

The P&T designation is what matters for most living veterans. A 100% rating alone is not enough; VA has to rate the disability permanent and total. The 100% disabled veteran benefits guide explains the difference and the other family benefits P&T unlocks, such as CHAMPVA. Children can be married or unmarried, can't use DEA while on active duty, and can't have a dishonorable discharge if they served.

Chapter 35 rates for 2026–2027

VA pays the student a monthly amount based on enrollment. These are the rates for institutions of higher learning and non-college degree programs, effective October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 (VA DEA rates):

That is about a 3% increase over the October 1, 2025 rates (VA past rates):

On-the-job training and apprenticeships, correspondence courses and special restorative training have their own rate tables on the same VA page. VA also reimburses licensing and certification test fees up to $2,000, and national test fees with no set limit.

How many months you get

You can get up to 36 months of benefits if your school or training started on or after August 1, 2018, or up to 45 months if it started before then (38 U.S.C. 3511). Studying part time uses entitlement more slowly, so the months stretch further.

Time limits for children and spouses

A law signed in December 2022 removed the time limit for many families. Under 38 U.S.C. 3512(g), people who first become eligible on or after August 1, 2023, and children who turn 18 or finish high school on or after that date, can use DEA at any time.

• Children (earlier eligibility): generally from age 18 or high school graduation until age 26. Exceptions apply if eligibility starts or the parent dies between 18 and 26, and for children who serve in the military.
• Spouses (qualifying event before August 1, 2023): generally 10 years from the date VA determines eligibility or the date of death, or 20 years if the service member died on active duty. Some extensions apply.
• Spouses (event on or after August 1, 2023): no time limit.
• Marriage changes: divorce ends a spouse's eligibility. Remarrying after the veteran's death ends it too, unless the new marriage was on or after January 1, 2004 at age 57 or older, or the new marriage ends by death or divorce.

What you can use Chapter 35 for

• College and graduate degrees, with tutorial assistance
• Vocational, technical and non-college degree programs
• On-the-job training, apprenticeships and entrepreneurship training
• Licensing and certification tests and prep courses, and national tests
• Work-study, co-op training, correspondence and distance learning
• Educational and career counseling

Check that a school or program is approved with VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool or by asking the school's certifying official. Many states add their own tuition waivers for the same families, such as the Hazlewood Act Legacy benefit in Texas.

DIC, the Fry Scholarship and other benefits

• DIC: a spouse can get DEA and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation at the same time. A child receiving DIC has to give up those payments when they start using DEA.
• Fry Scholarship (spouses): you can't use both. You choose one.
• Fry Scholarship (children): if your parent died in the line of duty before August 1, 2011, you may qualify for both but use one at a time, with a combined cap of 81 months of full-time training. For deaths on or after August 1, 2011, you can use both only if your DEA eligibility comes from a different event, with a combined cap of 48 months.

How to apply for Chapter 35

1. Apply online with VA Form 22-5490, the application for DEA and the Fry Scholarship. You can also download the paper form and mail it to the regional processing office for your school's state (or your home state if you haven't picked a school).
2. After you enroll, the school's certifying official sends your enrollment to VA. Payments go to you, and you verify your enrollment each month to keep them coming.
3. Already using DEA and want to switch benefits or change the veteran your entitlement comes from? VA says to use Form 22-5490 for that as well.

Free help is available from a VA-accredited representative, which you can find with VA's accredited representative search. Basepass doesn't file applications.

Sources

VA: Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance, current DEA rates, 2025–2026 rates and VA Form 22-5490; U.S. Code: 38 U.S.C. 3511 and 3512. All checked October 19, 2026. Basepass is independent and not affiliated with VA. Rules can change; VA.gov is the final word.