Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E)

Five ways VR&E can help

VR&E helps a veteran with a service-connected disability prepare for, find, and keep meaningful employment. It has five tracks, and a VR&E counselor works with you to find the right one:

• Reemployment — back to your old job
• Rapid access to employment — quick path to a new job
• Self-employment — starting your own business (requires an approved business plan and a VA feasibility review)
• Employment through long-term services — education and training for a new career
• Independent living — for a veteran whose disability makes working right now not reasonable. This one gets left off most flyers. If you are too disabled to work, this track is still built for you (VA says you need a serious employment handicap for this track; services can include an evaluation of a home adaptation grant, and typically run up to 24 months, with possible extensions)

The rating you need

VA's own words: you need a service-connected disability rating of at least 10%.

• 20% or higher — you may qualify if VA finds you have an employment handicap
• 10% — you may qualify if VA finds you have a serious employment handicap
• Below 10% — VR&E itself is generally not open to you yet, but you can still get free VA career and education counseling through Personalized Career Planning and Guidance (PCPG, Chapter 36) — apply with VA Form 27-8832. And if your condition has gotten worse, file for an increased rating first; a higher rating can open the VR&E door

You don't have to wait until you're out

A Soldier can apply for VR&E before separation, in either of two situations:

• You have a 20% or higher pre-discharge (memorandum) rating and an expected separation date
• You are awaiting discharge for a severe illness or injury

Tuition, training, and the plan around it

• Tuition and fees
• Books and supplies
• Tools, equipment, and other supplies — but only what VA determines is necessary for your plan; it is not an open-ended allowance
• Medical, dental, and other special assistance your rehabilitation plan needs

Training your counselor can approve toward a suitable job:

• Education and training for a professional or vocational field — including a college degree, when your counselor determines that level of education is needed to reach your job goal. There is no automatic entitlement to a degree at any level, and graduate or doctoral training is approved only by exception
• Licensing and certification, apprenticeships, and on-the-job training, where your counselor determines they fit your goal
• Self-employment training
• Job-seeking help such as resume development and job-search skills coaching, plus employment accommodations. VA can also work with an employer on your behalf (for example salary subsidies, assistive technology, or non-paid work experience)

Subsistence allowance & your 48 months

• VR&E pays you a separate monthly subsistence allowance while you train — it is not the GI Bill housing allowance and is not calculated the same way. It is based on your rate of attendance and number of dependents, and the rate changes every October 1. Check VA's own current rate page before you count on a number: benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/subsistence_allowance_rates.asp
• If you also qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you may be able to elect its housing-based subsistence rate instead — but only if you still have Chapter 33 eligibility and entitlement left, and once you switch you generally cannot switch back until the end of that term. It is not automatically the better deal: that rate is reduced if you are not training full time and pays nothing at half-time or below, and fully online training is capped. Ask your counselor to run both numbers for your own schedule before you sign your rehabilitation plan
• VR&E gives you up to 48 months of entitlement. If VA finds you have a serious employment handicap, that 48 months can be extended. Using VR&E does not use up your GI Bill. VA says Chapter 31 usage does not deduct from your Post-9/11 or Montgomery GI Bill entitlement, so your GI Bill can be saved for later (another degree, or transfer to family where you are eligible). It only runs the other way: if you already used months under another VA education program, VA deducts that time from your 48 months of VR&E. If VR&E turns you down, your GI Bill is still there

When you need to apply, and what if you're denied

• Discharged before January 1, 2013: your basic period of eligibility runs 12 years from whichever is later — your date of separation, or the date VA first told you your rating was service-connected. That window can be extended if VA finds you have a serious employment handicap
• Discharged on or after January 1, 2013: there is no time limit

Three ways to file

Still on active duty and not yet rated? Use VA Form 28-0588 instead.

What happens after you apply

Real numbers and official pages

• VA benefits hotline: 1-800-827-1000, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET
• Veterans Crisis Line, any time: dial 988, then press 1
• Apply for VR&E, and see how it works: va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/how-to-apply
• Form 28-1900: va.gov/forms/28-1900; Form 28-0588 (active duty, not yet rated): va.gov/forms/28-0588
• Find your VA regional office: va.gov/find-locations
• Free help filing: an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO)