Can A Military Reservist Use The VA Loan?

The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps all have Reserve options that allow you to serve in the military while still maintaining your full-time civilian career. While you may still deploy and participate in longer training exercises occasionally, the time commitment is much less in the Reserves than in active duty. The Reserves are designed to be available during times of war or emergency.

Reservists enjoy some benefits available to the active duty military force, including the VA Loan. There are different service time requirements that they must meet, however, based on the different work structure and scheduling that comes with being a military Reservist.

For those serving in the Reserves between August 2, 1990 and the present, they just need to have 90 days of service on active duty. Weekend drill is often counted as Inactive Drill Time, or IDT. Annual exercises and longer deployments count as Active Duty Time. When serving in the Reserves, it is important to pay attention to the classification of your work time. Not only does it impact your eligibility for benefits like the VA Loan, it can also come with different pay and points toward retirement eligibility and benefits.

Reservists who served prior to August 2, 1990 need to have 90 days of active duty service or 6 years in the Reserves. If they have already separated from the Reserves, their discharge needs to be honorable. Being placed on the retired list or shifting to the Standy Reserve or another element of the Ready Reserve, such as the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR), can also make the eligible. 

If you are not sure if your time in the Reserves counts toward eligibility, you can always check your eligibility with the VA by requesting a Certificate of Eligibility. With the Reserves, it is a good idea to periodically check your service record to make sure that all periods of active time are listed. Clerical errors do occur and are easily corrected if you have your own accurate records.