Surviving Spouse Eligibility

VA lists possible paths for an unremarried surviving spouse of a Veteran who died in service or from a service-connected disability, and a spouse of a service member missing in action or held as a prisoner of war. Each requires an individual VA benefit determination.

A separate statutory path can apply when the Veteran's death was not service connected but the Veteran received—or was entitled to receive—compensation for a service-connected disability rated totally disabling for the required period: 10 years immediately before death, at least five years continuously from discharge to death, or at least one year immediately before death for a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999. This does not make every spouse of a totally disabled Veteran eligible.

Do not import the DIC remarriage age of 55 into the home-loan rule. VA's current home-loan page lists possible eligibility when the spouse did not remarry, or did not remarry before age 57 or before December 16, 2003.

A surviving spouse who remarried before December 16, 2003, on or after age 57 faced a separate historical application deadline. Submit the actual marriage history so VA can determine which rule applies.

Choose the path based on current DIC status. VA decides survivor-benefit and COE eligibility; after a COE is issued, a lender separately reviews income, credit, property, occupancy, and the mortgage application.

1. Receiving DIC: complete VA Form 26-1817 and include the Veteran's DD-214 or other separation papers if available. Submit through a participating lender or the Regional Loan Center identified by VA.
2. Not receiving DIC: complete VA Form 21P-534EZ and include the marriage license, death certificate, and Veteran's DD-214 or other separation papers if available. Send that package to the VA Pension Intake Center, then follow VA's COE steps after its benefit determination.
3. MIA or POW, remarriage, or total-disability-duration case: use the current VA survivor page and provide the status and relationship records VA requests rather than assuming a standard form path resolves eligibility.