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Chapter 31: Veteran Readiness & Employment
VR&E can pay for a degree, a certification, tools for a trade, or help starting a business, when your service-connected disability gets in the way of work. It can pay more than the GI Bill in some cases, and it does not use up your GI Bill months.
At a glance
| Who | Veterans with a service-connected rating who have an "employment handicap" (your disability limits your ability to get or keep suitable work) |
| Rating needed | 20% or more with an employment handicap, or 10% with a serious employment handicap (38 CFR 21.40) |
| Time limit | None if you were discharged on or after Jan 1, 2013. Before that: 12 years from separation or first rating, extendable for a serious employment handicap |
| Form | VA Form 28-1900, online |
| Official page | va.gov VR&E eligibility |
The five tracks
- Reemployment: return to your old job with accommodations.
- Rapid Access to Employment: job search help, resume, interviews.
- Self-Employment: business plan and start-up help.
- Employment Through Long-Term Services: degree, certificate, apprenticeship, with tuition, books, fees, and a monthly allowance.
- Independent Living: for veterans who cannot work yet; services to live more independently.
Monthly subsistence allowance (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Full-time school, no dependents: $837.23 a month. With one dependent $1,038.49; two dependents $1,223.79; each additional $89.18. Or, if you are eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you can choose the GI Bill housing allowance instead, which is usually much higher.
Source: benefits.va.gov subsistence rates (updated Sep 23, 2026).
Traps
- A counselor decides. Eligibility is just the door. A Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor must agree that your plan is needed and feasible. Come prepared to explain how your disability limits your work.
- The old 12-year rule still shows up in the regulation (38 CFR 21.41) but the statute (38 U.S.C. 3103(g), 2021) removed it for post-2013 discharges. The statute wins.
- Keep your GI Bill. Using VR&E does not use up GI Bill months in most cases, but ask the counselor how your plan is charged.
How to apply
- Submit VA Form 28-1900 online.
- Attend the orientation and the counselor meeting (often by video).
- Build the rehabilitation plan together and sign it.
Sources
- VA VR&E eligibility (page updated Nov 7, 2025)
- VA VR&E programs (tracks) (page updated June 15, 2026)
- 38 CFR 21.40 basic entitlement
- 38 U.S.C. 3103 periods of eligibility (subsection (g) removes the 12-year limit for discharges on/after Jan 1, 2013)
- Subsistence allowance rates (updated Sep 23, 2026)
- VA Form 28-1900 (form revised Dec 2025)
All links checked and content verified on Oct 16, 2026. Rules change; confirm on the official page before you act.