How to apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E, Chapter 31)
Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E, Chapter 31) provides counseling, training, education, job placement and independent-living services to veterans and service members whose service-connected disability limits their ability to work. Veterans qualify to apply with a VA disability rating of at least 10% and a discharge that is not dishonorable; a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor then decides entitlement by finding an employment handicap. Veterans discharged before January 1, 2013 have a 12-year basic eligibility period (extendable for a serious employment handicap); those discharged on or after that date have no time limit. VR&E pays approved training costs and a subsistence allowance — and veterans with Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement can elect the usually higher GI Bill housing rate instead. Apply online, on VA Form 28-1900, in person or through a free accredited representative.
What you'll need
- VA Form 28-1900 (Application for Veteran Readiness and Employment for Claimants with Service-Connected Disabilities), or the online application
- Your VA rating decision (10% or more service-connected)
- Service members without a rating: VA Form 28-0588 (VA Vocational Rehabilitation — Getting Ahead After You Get Out)
- Your work and education history for the counselor's evaluation
Step-by-step
Step 1: Check eligibility and your time period
Veterans: a service-connected disability rating of at least 10% and a discharge that is not dishonorable. If you left active duty before January 1, 2013, your basic period of eligibility ends 12 years after the later of your notice of separation or your first VA rating, unless a counselor finds a serious employment handicap; if you left on or after January 1, 2013, there is no time limit. Service members: a pre-discharge (memorandum) rating of 20% or more with separation approaching, enrollment in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System or the Physical Evaluation Board process, or a severe injury that makes you automatically eligible before a rating.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/eligibility/
Step 2: Know the five tracks
Reemployment (return to your former job with employer support); Rapid Access to Employment (job search and placement using your existing skills); Self-Employment (help starting a business); Employment Through Long-Term Services (education or training for a new field, including college, vocational or technical school, apprenticeships and on-the-job training); and Independent Living (services to live as independently as possible when work is not possible right away). Services can also include assistive technology, case management, counseling and medical referrals.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/programs/
Step 3: Apply
Apply online at VA.gov, or mail VA Form 28-1900 to Department of Veterans Affairs, VR&E Intake Center, PO Box 5210, Janesville, WI 53547-5210, or apply in person at a VA regional office or through an accredited VSO representative, claims agent or attorney. Service members who do not yet have a rating use VA Form 28-0588 instead. Benefits Delivery at Discharge lets you file your disability claim 180 to 90 days before separation so the rating and VR&E can start sooner.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/how-to-apply/
Step 4: The counselor's evaluation and your plan
After you apply, VA schedules an orientation and a meeting with a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC), who decides whether you have an employment handicap — a service-connected disability that limits your ability to prepare for, obtain and maintain suitable employment — and whether you are entitled to services. If you are, you and the counselor write a rehabilitation plan that sets the track, the goal and the services VA will pay for. VetSuccess on Campus counselors are available at participating schools.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/how-to-apply/
Step 5: Payments and how VR&E interacts with the GI Bill
VR&E pays the approved training costs in your plan directly and pays you a monthly Chapter 31 subsistence allowance while you train. If you have at least one day of Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement left and are within your GI Bill eligibility period, you can elect the GI Bill subsistence rate (the monthly housing allowance) instead — in most cases it is higher; your counselor records the election. Using VR&E does not use up your GI Bill entitlement, but months already used under another VA education program are deducted from your remaining VR&E entitlement unless the counselor approves a retroactive induction.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/eligibility/
Critical tips
- The counselor, not the rating, decides entitlement: a 10% rating lets you apply; an employment handicap gets you in.
- Rated 10% but turned down for a serious employment handicap? Ask the counselor to document the finding — it also controls whether a pre-2013 veteran's 12-year period can be extended.
- If you plan to use VR&E for school, compare the Chapter 31 allowance with the Post-9/11 housing rate before the term starts and elect the higher one.
- VR&E is not only college: self-employment, apprenticeships, on-the-job training and independent-living services are all tracks.
- A county veterans service officer can help with the application for free: warriorsfund.org/find-cvso.
- In crisis: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.