Guard, Reserve And The VA Loan
Can National Guard and Reserve members get a VA loan?
Yes, in more than one way. Federal law opens the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan to National Guard and Reserve service.Six years of drilling is one way in. Time on orders can get you there sooner.
This page shows each way to qualify, the papers that prove it, and what a lender looks at.
Start Here
Who these rules are for
These rules cover the National Guard and the Reserve. Federal law names seven parts: the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve.
- If you served on active duty before you joined, check that service first. Federal law's six year way is for members who do not already qualify another way.
- Time in the Individual Ready Reserve does not count toward six years. VA's lender handbook counts only service in an active or drilling status.
- These are federal rules. They are the same in every state.
Sources: 10 U.S.C. 10101. 38 U.S.C. 3701(b)(5). VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 2 (Topic 5, d). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
Ways To Qualify
The ways in, for the Guard and the Reserve
You need one way, not all of them. Here is how each one works for the Guard and for the Reserve.
National Guard
Army and Air90 days, not for training
On federal (Title 10) orders.
90 days in total, with 30 in a row
Under the Title 32 orders named below.
6 creditable years
Still serving, or after you leave, on the terms below.
Reserve
All five Reserves90 days, not for training
Active duty for training does not count.
Does not apply
This way is for the Guard only.
6 creditable years
Still serving, or after you leave, on the terms below.
Full-time Guard duty
The orders decide it, not the mission. Full-time Guard duty counts only if your orders were under 32 U.S.C. 316, 502, 503, 504 or 505, and you were entitled to federal pay for the duty or gave up that pay.
Full-time Guard duty covers training or other duty under those sections. It does not cover monthly drills, or basic or initial training.
Federal law added this way in January 2021, and it reaches back to service from any date. VA says that if you were turned down before and now qualify, you can apply again.
Six creditable years
VA's lender handbook describes a creditable year as a year you actually drilled. After six, federal law covers you if you:
- are still serving in the Selected Reserve, the drilling part of the Guard and Reserve, or
- were discharged honorably, or
- were placed on the retired list, or
- moved from the Selected Reserve to the Standby Reserve or another part of the Ready Reserve after honorable service.
For this way, VA's lender handbook says a general discharge under honorable conditions does not qualify. If a service-connected disability ended your service before six years, federal law still covers you.
Sources: VA home loan eligibility. 38 U.S.C. 3701(b)(5) and (b)(7). 10 U.S.C. 101(d)(5). VA Circular 26-21-08, April 15, 2021, kept in force by Change 1, March 5, 2024. VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 2 (Topic 4, d; Topic 5, d). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
Proving It
The papers VA asks for
Your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) is how VA confirms you qualify. You can request it online, or your lender can request it for you.
- Still serving and never activated: a statement of service signed by your commander, adjutant or personnel officer. It shows your total creditable years, and that you are a drilling member.
- Activated, now or in the past: your DD214 or other discharge papers. If you are still on orders, VA's lender handbook asks for a statement of service with a copy of your orders.
- Using full-time Guard duty: papers that show the activation. That can be a DD214 that shows the Title 32 section, your DD220 with the orders, or an annual points statement.
- Out of the Guard, never activated: your NGB Form 22 for each period of Guard service, your retirement points statement, and proof of the character of your service.
- Out of the Reserve, never activated: your latest annual retirement points statement and proof of honorable service.
If your COE rests on service you are still doing, VA's lender handbook says your lender needs proof that you are still serving on the day you sign the loan.
Sources: How to request a VA home loan COE. VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 2 (Topic 1, b; Topic 4, c and d). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
What Your Lender Looks At
Drill pay, orders and the funding fee
Drill pay
VA's lender handbook lets a lender count Guard or Reserve pay if you have served long enough to show it will likely continue for more than 12 months. Your total active and reserve service can help show that. If not, the lender can use it only against debts that run 6 to 24 months.
The handbook also tells lenders to consider how a call-up could change your income.
If your contract or orders end soon
VA's lender handbook has the lender check when your current contract ends, and, if you are on active duty, when your orders end. If either date is within 12 months of closing, the lender needs more proof, such as a reenlistment or extension, or the income you will have after, like your civilian job. Our guide to Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and your VA loan lists the proof VA accepts.
If orders keep you away from the home, see our guide to VA loan occupancy rules.
The funding fee
For loans closed since January 1, 2020, federal law sets the same funding fee for Guard and Reserve members as for active duty veterans. VA's funding fee page shows one set of rates for both. Our funding fee guide explains who does not pay it at all.
Sources: VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting (Topic 2, k and l), updated August 26, 2026. 38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(2). VA funding fee and closing costs. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
What To Ask
Questions for your lender
VA decides whether you qualify. Your lender decides on your loan, following VA's rules. Ask your lender:
- Can you request my COE, and which of my papers will VA need?
- Will you count my drill pay, and how much service history do you need to see?
- My orders end within a year. What proof do you need?
- I am still serving. What do you need from my command before closing?
- Do I pay the funding fee, and how much?
This page is not legal or financial advice. VA decides whether you qualify, and your lender decides on your loan.
A page can explain how Guard and Reserve service opens the VA loan.An agent who knows how military benefits work can help you plan a purchase around drill, orders and a civilian job.
Mission Ready Operators know how military life, rank and benefits work, and how orders and moving dates work. Questions about your loan belong with your lender.
Last reviewed October 2026 · Maintained by My Military HQ
Common Questions
Questions people ask about Guard and Reserve VA loans
Can National Guard members get a VA loan?
Yes. VA's eligibility rules let Guard members qualify with 90 days of federal active duty that is not for training, 90 days of full-time National Guard duty with at least 30 in a row, or six creditable years in the Guard. After six years, federal law covers you if you are still serving, were discharged honorably, were placed on the retired list, or moved to the Standby Reserve or another part of the Ready Reserve after honorable service.
Can Reservists get a VA loan?
Yes. VA's eligibility rules let Reserve members qualify with 90 days of active duty that is not for training, or six creditable years in the Selected Reserve. After six years, federal law covers you if you are still serving, were discharged honorably, were placed on the retired list, or moved to the Standby Reserve or another part of the Ready Reserve after honorable service. Federal law names five Reserves, and the rules cover all of them: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard Reserve.
How many years in the Guard or Reserve do you need for a VA loan?
Six creditable years is one way, and VA's lender handbook describes a creditable year as a year you actually drilled. It is not the only way. VA's rules also count 90 days of active duty that is not for training, and, for the Guard, 90 days of full-time National Guard duty with at least 30 in a row.
Do monthly drills count toward the 90 days?
No. VA says full-time National Guard duty does not include inactive duty, such as monthly drills, and does not include basic or initial training. Years you actually drilled count toward the six year way instead, according to VA's lender handbook.
Does drill pay count as income for a VA loan?
It can. VA's lender handbook lets a lender count Guard or Reserve pay if you have served long enough to show it will likely continue for more than 12 months. Your total active and reserve service can help show that. If not, the lender can use it only against debts that run 6 to 24 months.
Do Guard and Reserve members pay a higher VA funding fee?
Not on loans closed since January 1, 2020. Federal law sets the same funding fee for Guard and Reserve members as for active duty veterans from that date, and VA's funding fee page shows one set of rates for both. Whether you pay the fee at all is a separate rule.
Sources
Where every fact came from
Every rule on this page comes from VA or federal law. Where they do not say something, we left it out.
- The ways Guard and Reserve members qualify. Eligibility for VA home loan programs, VA, last updated September 22, 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- The six year way, who it covers after six years, a disability that ends service early, the Selected Reserve, and full-time Guard duty. 38 U.S.C. 3701(b)(5) and (b)(7), United States Code. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- What full-time National Guard duty is: the five Title 32 sections and federal pay. 10 U.S.C. 101(d)(5), United States Code. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- The seven parts of the Guard and Reserve. 10 U.S.C. 10101, United States Code. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- Monthly drills and basic training do not count as full-time Guard duty, service from any date counts, and applying again after a denial. VA Circular 26-21-08, April 15, 2021, VA. Kept in force by Circular 26-21-08, Change 1, March 5, 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- Creditable years, the Individual Ready Reserve, the discharge needed for the six year way, papers for current and former members, and proof of service at closing. VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 2, Veteran's Eligibility and Entitlement, updated July 9, 2026, VA. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- The papers VA asks for, and how to request a COE. How to request a VA home loan Certificate of Eligibility, VA, last updated September 22, 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- Drill pay as income, and members on active duty orders. VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting, updated August 26, 2026, VA. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
- The same funding fee for Guard and Reserve members since January 1, 2020. 38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(2), United States Code, and VA funding fee and closing costs, VA, last updated October 5, 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
What we left out on purpose. We give no funding fee rates: VA's page has them. VA's lender handbook still prints an older line about a higher funding fee for the Guard and Reserve. The law changed that for loans closed from January 1, 2020, so we follow the law. We do not cover discharges other than the ones named above, or duty under state orders. This page covers VA loans only.
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