Frequently Asked Questions

Every semester you wish to receive benefits. Please see our Forms page for the certification form.

You should submit your certification as soon as your schedule is finalized but no more than 120 days before the first day of the term.

You can update your address when you certify your hours.

If you are not certifying at the time of your address change you need to notify UCF Veteran Services AND you need to notify the VA by calling 1-888-442-4551.

You can be one of SIX chapters:

• Chapter 35: You are the dependent of a veteran who is 100% permanently disabled or deceased.
• Chapter 33: You are a veteran that has qualified for either chapter 30 or chapter 1607 benefits, or the dependent of a veteran who has qualified for either chapter 30 or chapter 1607 benefits and they have transferred their benefits to you.
• Chapter 31: You are a veteran who has a service connected disability of at least 10% or more.
• Chapter 30: You were, or are, active duty who has completed the initial obligation period of at least two years.
• Chapter 1606: You are currently serving in the National Guard or the Reserves.
• Chapter 1607: You are currently serving in the National Guard or the Reserves and have been deployed for at least 90 days under Title 10 orders.

Your chapter will determine which forms you will need to complete or bring with you. All forms must be typed (except the checklist). Please see the Forms page of our website.

This can only be done as a chapter 33.

1. Go to https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/TEB/consent?continueToUrl=%2FTEB%2f and complete the Transfer of Educational Benefits (TEB) form. Print and keep for your records.
2. Once the TEB is completed, your dependent must go to http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp. They will need to complete a 1990E Transfer of Entitlement (TOE) application form through the Veterans’ Online Application (VONAPP). Print and keep for your records.
3. Once both the TEB and TOE have been completed, bring copies of these to the school’s Veteran Services Office (VSO) to finish processing.

22-1995 Forms – Read and answer all questions that apply

PART I

1. 1A. Students Full Name
2. 1B. Students full Address – Make sure this matches VA ONCE
3. 1C. Phone numbers
4. 1D. VA File Number – This is always the STUDENT’s social security number
5. 1E. E-mail Address
6. 1F. Social Security Number – This is the VETERAN’s social security number (if the student is the veteran the social should be the same as item 1D)

PART II

1. 2. Check the appropriate chapter
2. 3. This will always be School Attendance
3. 4A. List the type of degree the student is working toward. Ex: MA, Bachelors, PhD etc…
4. 4B. List ALL Majors, Minor and certificate programs. Make sure that ALL of the programs that are declared with UCF are also listed in this section of the 1995.
5. 4C. NEW School. This will be one of two things:
   • UCF, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 21816; or
   • N/A
6. 4D. OLD or Current School. This will be one of two things:
   • The Name and Address of your previous school; or
   • UCF, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816
7. 4E. When and Why… this can be N/A or a reason

PART III

1. 5. Bank Account information – Leave this Blank. We cannot change direct deposit account information. We do not submit these to the VA to change direct deposit information. If direct deposit information needs to be changed call 1-877-838-2778 or 1-800-827-1000

PART IV

1. 6. Information on dependants (COMPLETE THIS ONLY IF YOU SERVED BEFORE JAN 1, 1977 AND CURRRENTLY HAVE DEPENDANTS) – this means most of our students will leave blank.
2. 7. Recent Periods of Active duty – optional
3. 8. ONLY FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
4. 9. ANSWER ONLY IF ON ACTIVE DUTY
5. 10. Remarks

PART V

1. 11. SIGNATURE – This form MUST be signed

22-5495 Forms – Read and answer all questions that apply

PART I

1. 1. Name of Applicant
2. 2. Mailing address – This address MUST match the address on the current cert. This is where payments will be sent.
3. 3A. Student’s Social Security number
4. 3B. Student’s Birthday
5. 3C. VA File Number – This is usually the Veterans Social Security number – not always. In some cases the Veteran actually had a file number which usually begins with a “C” and is followed by 8 numbers.
6. 3D. Suffix letter: 41A, 42B, 10W etc. – this is how the VA will distinguish between each dependent.
7. 4A. Sex of applicant - Optional
8. 4B. Applicant’s e-mail address.
9. 5A. What is your relationship to the Veteran?
10. 5B. Please provide at least one good telephone number.

PART II

1. 6A. Veteran’s name
2. 6B. Veteran’s Social Security Number
3. 6C. Veteran’s File number (this is not always their social security number)
4. 7. Veteran’s date of birth
5. 8. Veteran’s branch of service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard)
6. 9. Veteran’s service number (if known)
7. 10. Veteran’s date of death or date listed as MIA or POW (if applicable)

PART III

1. 11, 12A, and 12B. Answer these questions only if you are the spouse of the veteran.
2. 13A and 13B – COMPLETE ITEM 13 ONLE IF YOU ARE A CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE OF THE US GOVERNMENT.

PART IV

1. 14. Answer Yes if you have spent any time in the military (including National Guard and Reserve time)
2. 15. List all periods that the student has spent on active duty if applicable.

PART V

1. 16. This will usually be “School Attendance”
2. 17A. List the type of degree you are working toward. Ex: MA, Bachelors, PhD etc…
3. 17B. Program of study: List ALL Majors, Minor and certificate programs. Make sure that ALL of the programs that are declared with UCF are also listed in this section of the 22-5495.
4. 17C. NEW School. This will be one of two things:
   1. UCF, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 21816; or
   2. N/A
5. 17D. OLD or Current School. This will be one of two things:
   1. The Name and Address of your previous school; or
   2. UCF, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816
6. 17E. When and Why… this can be N/A or a reason can be listed
7. 18. REMARKS
8. 19A. SIGNATURE – This form MUST be signed
9. 19B. Date

The credit requirements to receive Chapter 33 BAH during the Summer Sessions are the same as the Fall and Spring Semesters. You must meet the following requirement:

• You must be enrolled in more Credit Hours than the requirement for the Enrollment Status of 1/2 Time.

Download a pdf document that explains the VA Credit Requirements in more detail.

Once you have certified with the UCF Veteran Services Office (VSO) (done every semester you wish to receive benefits), you will automatically be deferred if you submit your certification by the end of drop/add week for that semester. Tuition and fee deferrals at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are automatic.

If you see through your myUCF account (under “Fee Invoice”) that your tuition and fees have not been deferred, yet you already certified with the UCF Veteran Services Office, it is because Financial Aid has not updated this yet. The reason is Financial Aid does not update this to the school until after the drop/add week of the semester, at which time they determine who receives deferrals. After the drop/add week, it may take a week or two for your fee invoice to reflect your deferral date.

No. You can submit your paperwork as soon as your schedule is finalized. We will date stamp your certification form when it is received and when tuition and fees are posted, we will process all certifications in the order that they were received.

To calculate your monthly BAH:

Visit: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
Use UCF’s Zip Code: 32816
Pay Grade: E-5 (with Dependents)

When you filled out your application, there was a block for you to write in your financial information for direct deposit. You may also have elected to receive your benefits by mailed check. Chapter 35 is the only chapter that cannot choose to receive direct deposit. Chapter 35 receives benefits by mailed check only. If you initially set up your benefits to be sent by check, you may change to direct deposit through https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave/ or by calling 1-877-838-2778.

Note: it can take up to 30 days for your direct deposit changes to become effective.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for the VA to process your claim once we have submitted your paperwork. Please allow 7-10 business days for our office to complete your paperwork (during peak times please allow 3 weeks).

Note: we cannot submit certifications for the following students until your tuition and fees are posted on your fee invoice:

• All Chapter 33 students
• Students who are on active duty
• Graduate students
• Students enrolled in “Less Than Half Time”

There are many reasons why you may not have received your benefits:

• You may not have applied for your benefits with Veteran Affairs.
  If you have not applied yet, you can apply here at http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp.
• You may not have certified with the University of Central Florida (UCF) Veteran Services Office (VSO).
  If this is the case, you will need to visit our Forms page and submit the proper paperwork.
• You may have certified with UCF VSO within 30 days of the start of the semester.
  You may not have submitted your paperwork early enough to be fully processed. Generally, your paperwork is processed by the UCF VSO within 5-7 business days. If your paperwork was submitted near the beginning of the semester, please allow two weeks for the UCF VSO to process. After we submit your certification to Veteran Affairs (VA), it may take the VA 6-8 weeks to process your paperwork.
• Have you recently changed your direct deposit information or mailing address?
  If you have, it will take some time for Veteran Affairs to process the change. If you receive your benefits by check, the check may have been sent to your old address. If you receive your benefits by direct deposit, Veteran Affairs may have tried to make a deposit in your previous account.

University of Central Florida (UCF) Veteran Affairs Office (VSO) can qualify you for up to a $600.00 short-term advance meant for books. You can find this form here http://finaid.ucf.edu/index.htm and clicking “Forms,” then the respective aid year in the drop-down list. On the newly loaded webpage, click “Short Term Advance for Books.” Fill out the form and bring it to the UCF VSO to be approved so you can turn it in to Financial Aid.

You can change your direct deposit information by logging in to https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave/ or by calling 1-877-838-2778.

Note: it can take up to 30 days for your direct deposit changes to become effective.

Unfortunately, the list of benefit programs that Veteran Affairs (VA) allows you to collect along with the chapter 33 is not yet for certain. As soon as we know more information, we will post the details here.

In order to certify here with the Veteran Services Office (VSO), you need to make sure the classes you are taking at the transient school will count as credit toward your degree at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Go to http://www.facts.org and complete the online Transient Student Form. You will receive an email confirming the courses at your transient university can be credited to your degree here at UCF. Print out the confirmation email and turn in to the UCF VSO along with your certification form. You will also need to contact the Certifying Official at the school where you are taking your transient classes in order for them to submit that enrollment to the VA.

At the end of the semester, you will need to send/turn-in your transcripts from the transient institution to UCF or you will not be able to receive veteran benefits the following semester.

The VA will pay for any course you take that falls under your degree program; minors and certificate programs included.

Contact the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Veteran Services Office (VSO) to find out if the course(s) you are taking have been approved by the Veteran Affairs (VA) State Approving Agency (SAA).