The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) helps you pay for school or cover expenses while you’re training for a job. If you’ve served on active duty after September 10, 2001, you may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). Find out if you can get this education benefit.
If you have 2 or more qualifying periods of active duty, you may now qualify for up to 48 months of entitlement. You must be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and either the Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD) or the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR).
Note: Even if you gave up your right to use MGIB-AD or MGIB-SR benefits in the past (we call this “relinquishing” your benefits), you may now qualify to use some of that entitlement.
You may be eligible for education benefits if you meet at least one of these requirements.
At least one of these must be true:
Note: If you’re a member of the Reserves who lost education benefits when the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) ended in November 2015, you may qualify to receive restored benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
If you’re eligible, you may be able to use more than 1 education benefit depending on how many qualifying periods of active duty you’ve completed.
You can use only 1 education benefit. You’ll have to choose which education benefit you’d like to use. Once you make that choice, you give up the right to use the other benefit. You can use up to a maximum of 36 months of education benefits.
If you choose to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you can’t switch at a later date to use one of these other education benefits instead:
Note: It’s also true that if you choose to use MGIB-AD or MGIB-SR, you can’t switch at a later date to use Post-9/11 Bill benefits.
If you decide to use Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and you use up all your entitlement for that benefit, we’ll refund you part or all of the payments you made into MGIB-AD. The maximum amount you can get for a refund is $1,200.
Learn more about Montgomery GI Bill refunds
You can use MGIB-AD or MGIB-SR benefits and then switch to use Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
This is how your decision to switch affects your benefits:
Example: If you have 6 months of MGIB-AD entitlement left when you switch, you’ll have 6 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to use.
You can’t switch from using Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to using MGIB-AD or MGIB-SR. This is because when you choose to use Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, you give up your right to use MGIB-AD and MGIB-SR.
You may qualify for up to 48 months of benefits if you’re eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill and either MGIB-AD or MGIB-SR benefits.
Recent changes:
Note: We consider any reenlistment a separate period of active duty. But an extension isn’t a separate period of active duty.
This depends on when you were discharged from active duty.
If your service ended before January 1, 2013, your Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) benefits will expire 15 years after your last separation date from active service. You must use all of your benefits by that time or you’ll lose whatever’s left.
If your service ended on or after January 1, 2013, your benefits won’t expire thanks to a law called the Forever GI Bill - Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act.
You’ll need to apply.
The benefit amount depends on which school you go to, how much active-duty service you’ve had since September 10, 2001, and how many credits or training hours you’re taking.
Note: If you use Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, you’ll need to verify your enrollment every month to keep getting a monthly housing allowance or kicker payments.
If you already applied for and were awarded Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, your GI Bill Statement of Benefits will show you how much of your benefits you’ve used and how much you have left to use.
You may qualify for these additional benefits:
You can use your GI Bill benefits in many ways to advance your education and training.
Work toward a degree with these benefits:
Train for a specific career, trade, or industry with these benefits:
Work while you study with these benefits:
Take classes from home with these benefits:
Note: If your school changed to online classes because of COVID-19, we continued paying GI Bill benefits from March 1, 2020, to June 1, 2022. This ended on June 2, 2022. If your school doesn’t offer approved online classes, you’ll need to return to in-person classes to continue receiving GI Bill benefits.
Your MHA is based on the monthly military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents. We start with that amount, then we take into account these additional factors to calculate your MHA:
Note: Active duty service members and their spouses aren't eligible for MHA.
We use these campus definitions to help determine your location-based housing allowance:
Main campus. The primary teaching location of the school.
Branch campus. A school location that’s in a different zip code from the main campus. It has its own budget, administration, and resources. It also offers its own degree and certificate programs.
Extension campus. A campus of a school that may or may not be in the same zip code as the main or branch campus. It has the same budget, administration, and resources as the main campus or branch campus. It doesn’t offer its own degree or certificate programs.
No. In 2011, Congress passed a law that prohibits VA from paying MHA during school breaks. This includes breaks between semesters, quarters, and terms. Be sure to plan ahead to cover your housing costs when school isn’t in session.
If your enrollment starts after the first of the month or ends before the last day of the month, we’ll pay you a prorated housing payment for the part of the month you’re enrolled in classes.
Note: If you’re homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, we may be able to help. Call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838 for help 24/7. You’ll talk privately with a trained VA counselor for free.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The absence of the registration symbol ® does not constitute a waiver of VA’s trademark rights in that phrase.