Va Form 26-1880 - Request For A Certificate Of Eligibility (Page 2 of 3) in pdf

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VA FORM 26-1880

PRIVACY ACT NOTICE - VA will not disclose information collected on this form to any source other than what has been authorized under the Privacy Act of 1974

or Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations 1.576 for routine uses (for example: the authorized release of information to Congress when requested for statistical purposes)

identified in the VA system of records, 55VA26, Loan Guaranty Home, Condominium and Manufactured Home Loan Applicant Records, Specially Adapted Housing

Applicant Records, and Vendee Loan Applicant Records - VA, published in the Federal Register. Your obligation to respond is required in order to determine the

qualifications for a loan. Your obligation to respond is required to obtain or retain benefits. Giving us your SSN account information is voluntary. Refusal to provide

your SSN by itself will not result in the denial of benefits. VA will not deny an individual benefits for refusing to provide his or her SSN unless the disclosure of the

SSN is required by Federal Statute of law in effect prior to January 1, 1975, and still in effect.

RESPONDENT BURDEN - This information is needed to help determine a veteran's qualifications for a VA guaranteed home loan. Title 38, U.S.C., section

3702, authorizes collection of this information. We estimate that you will need an average of 15 minutes to review the instructions, find the information, and

complete this form. VA cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless a valid OMB control number is displayed. You are not required to respond to a

collection of information if this number is not displayed. Valid OMB control numbers can be located on the OMB Internet Page at

If desired, you can call 1-800-827-1000 to get information on where to send comments or suggestions about this form.

A. YOUR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

Item 1 - Tell us your complete name, as you would like it to appear on your Certificate of Eligibility (COE).

Item 4B - If you served under another name, provide the name as it appears on your discharge certificate (DD Form 214).

Item 8B - In most cases, your VA claim number is the same as your Social Security Number. If you are not sure of your VA claim number, leave this field blank.

B. MILITARY SERVICE

Item 9 - NOTE - Cases involving other than honorable discharges will usually require further development by VA. This is necessary to determine if the service was

under other than dishonorable conditions.

Item 9A - If you are currently serving on regular active duty, eligibility can usually be established based on data in VA systems. However, in some situations you may

be asked to provide a statement of service signed by, or by direction of, the adjutant, personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters. The statement

may be in any format; usually a standard or bulleted memo is sufficient. It should identify you by name and social security number, and provide: (1) your date of entry

on your current active duty period and (2) the duration of any time lost (or a statement noting there has been no lost time). Generally this should be on military

lettherhead.

Item 9B - Active Service (not including Active Duty Training or Active Guard Reserve service) - the best evidence to show your service is your discharge certificate

(DD Form 214) showing active duty dates and type of discharge. If you were separated after October 1, 1979, the DD214 was issued in several parts (copies). We are

required to have a copy showing the character of service (Item 24) and the narrative reason for separation (Item 28). We prefer the MEMBER-4 copy, however, we can

accept any copy that contains these items. The copy number is shown on the bottom right of the form. We don't need the original; a photocopy is acceptable. Any

Veterans Services Representative in the nearest Department of Veterans Affairs office or center will assist you in securing necessary proof of military service.

Item 9C - National Guard Service: You may submit NGB Form 22, Report of Separation and Record of Service, or NGB Form 23, Retirement Points Accounting, or

their equivalent. We are required to have a copy showing character of service.

Selected Reserve Service (Including Active Duty Training and Active Guard Reserve) - You may submit a copy of your latest annual retirement points statement

and evidence of honorable service. There is no single form used by the Reserves similar to the DD Form 214 or NGB Form 22. The following forms are commonly

used, but others may be acceptable:

Army Reserve

DA FORM 5016

Naval Reserve

NRPC 1070-124

Air Force Reserve

AF 526

Marine Corps Reserve

NA VMC 798

Coast Guard Reserve

CG 4174 or 4175

If you are still serving in the Selected Reserves or the National Guard, you must include an original statement of service signed by, or by the direction of, the adjutant,

personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters showing your date of entry and the length of time that you have been a member of the Selected

Reserves. At least 6 years of honorable service must be documented.

C. PREVIOUS LOANS

Items 10 through 14. Your eligibility is reusable depending on the circumstances. Normally, if you have paid off your prior VA loan and no longer own the home, you

can have your used eligibility restored for additional use. Also, on a one-time only basis, you may have your eligibility restored if your prior VA loan has been paid in

full but you still own the home. Normally VA receives notification that a loan has been paid. In some instances, it may be necessary to include evidence that a previous

VA loan has been paid in full. Evidence can be in the form of a paid-in-full statement from the former lender, a satisfaction of mortgage from the clerk of court in the

county where the home is located, or a copy of the HUD-1 or Closing Disclosure settlement statement completed in connection with a sale of the home or refinance of

the prior loan. Many counties post public documents (like the satisfaction of mortgage) online.

Item 11A. One-Time Restoration. If you have paid off your VA loan, but still own the home purchased with that loan, you may apply for a one-time only restoration

of your entitlement in order to purchase another home that will be your primary residence. Once you have used your one-time restoration, you must sell all homes

before any other entitlement can be restored.

Item 12A. Regular (cash-out) Refinance. You may refinance your current VA or non-VA loan in order to pay off the mortgage and/or other liens of record on the

home. This type of refinance requires an appraisal and credit qualifying.

Item 13A. Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan (IRRRL). You may refinance the balance of your current VA loan in order to obtain a lower interest rate, or

convert a VA adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate. The new loan may not exceed the sum of the outstanding balance on the existing VA loan, plus allowable fees

and closing costs, including VA funding fee and up to 2 discount points. You may also add up to $6,000 of energy efficiency improvements into the loan. A certificate

of eligibility is not required for IRRRL. Instead, a Prior Loan Validation, obtained through our online system WebLGY can be used in lieu of COE. Presently, this

application is only available to lenders. In WebLGY, a lender can select Eligibility from the toolbar and then Prior Loan Validation. Enter the veteran's Social Security

Number and Last Name. The system will then, in most cases, pull up the veteran's active loan information. Print the prior Loan Validation screen and use it in lieu of

the COE.

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VA FORM 26-1880, DEC 2016

Va Form 26-1880 - Request For A Certificate Of Eligibility Page 2

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