Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance
DEA, Chapter 35. It pays for school for the children and for the spouse or surviving spouse of certain Veterans. Most Families never hear the word Survivors' in the name, so they never find out it is theirs.
Whose Family qualifies
The age rules on this page mean nothing until this part is true.
Chapter 35 is tied to the Veteran's situation, not to the student's grades or need. It is for the child, spouse or surviving spouse of a Veteran or service member who:
- Is rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability — meaning VA has decided the disability is total and is not expected to improve; or
- Died from a service-connected disability; or
- Died while on active duty; or
- Is missing in action, captured in the line of duty, or forcibly detained by a foreign government or power.
Spouses and surviving spouses
This is the part people get wrong, and it is the part that costs the most.
The child age rules further down this page do not apply to you. You have your own clock, and which clock you are on depends on one date.
If the qualifying event happened before August 1, 2023, benefits generally end 10 years from the date you became eligible. That stretches to 20 years if the service member died on active duty, or if the Veteran was rated permanently and totally disabled within 3 years of discharge.
The age and time limits for a child
August 1, 2023 splits this one too.
If you became eligible, turned 18, and finished high school all before August 1, 2023, the older rules apply to you:
- Your benefit generally runs from your 18th birthday or the day you finished high school, whichever came first, and ends on your 26th birthday.
- If the Veteran parent's service-connected death or permanent and total rating happened after you turned 18 but before you turned 26, you instead get 8 years from the beginning date you elect — and that 8 years can run past your 26th birthday.
- If you served on active duty yourself, the period can extend 8 years from your first discharge, but never past your 31st birthday.
Where you can use it, and for how long
- College and university
- Technical and vocational school
- Apprenticeships and on-the-job training
- Other VA-approved training programs
How many months. Up to 36 months of benefits. Up to 45 months if your training began before August 1, 2018. Taking the age limit away did not add months — it only took away the deadline for using the months you have.
What it is worth
I am not printing a monthly figure here, and here is why.
Chapter 35 pays a set monthly amount while you are in training. The amount depends on your training time — full time, three-quarter time, half time — and on the type of program.
Chapter 35 pays you, the student. It is not paid to the school the way some other VA education programs are, so plan for tuition and fees separately.
Chapter 35 or the Fry Scholarship
Some children qualify for both. You still run one at a time.
- If your parent died before August 1, 2011, you may qualify for both the Fry Scholarship and DEA — but you can use only one program at a time.
- If your parent died on or after August 1, 2011, you can use both only if you qualify for DEA through a different qualifying event.
Before you pick, sit down with a school certifying official or an accredited representative and compare the two against your actual program and your actual costs. The two benefits are built differently and one may be worth considerably more to you than the other. (VA's Fry Scholarship page.)
The form and the step
- Apply with VA Form 22-5490, Dependents' Application for VA Education Benefits. You can do it online at va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/education-and-careers/dependents-education-assistance.
- Pick your school or training program and talk to its school certifying official. That is the person on campus who reports your enrollment to VA. Every approved school has one.
- Apply even if you are unsure you qualify. A decision on paper beats a guess, and a denial gives you something you can appeal or correct.
A county Veterans Service Officer or an accredited representative will help you file at no cost. Nobody should charge you a fee or a percentage to apply for this.
CHAMPVA is a different program
Health care, not education. Its age rules are not the Chapter 35 age rules.
CHAMPVA — the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs — is health coverage for certain Family members of a Veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died from a service-connected disability. The "no age limit, no time limit" language on this page belongs to Chapter 35 only. CHAMPVA has hard age limits for a child:
- A dependent child is covered until age 18.
- VA's own wording: "If you're enrolled in high school, college, or another educational institution, you can keep CHAMPVA benefits between ages 18 and 23. Your benefits end when you're no longer enrolled or when you turn 23, whichever comes first." You do not have to be full time — you have to show proof of enrollment.
- After 23, coverage generally ends unless a special exception applies.
What a spouse or surviving spouse should know
Spouses are the largest group on CHAMPVA and almost never appear on the flyers.
CHAMPVA also covers the spouse or surviving spouse of a Veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died from a service-connected disability.
- You cannot be eligible for TRICARE. CHAMPVA is for Family members who are not TRICARE eligible.
- It is not free care. CHAMPVA is a cost-sharing program. There is a calendar-year deductible, then you pay a share of VA's allowable amount, and there is a yearly cap on what your cost sharing can total. Some care — including inpatient mental health care, care for alcohol or substance use disorders, organ transplants and some dental care — needs preauthorization first. Current figures and the full covered-services list are at va.gov/resources/champva-care.
- CHAMPVA is run by VA, but it is separate from the VA health care system that treats Veterans. Signing up for CHAMPVA does not enroll you in VA health care.
- Apply with VA Form 10-10d at va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/health-and-disability/champva.