Your Certificate of Eligibility is VA's confirmation of how much entitlement you have and whether you're exempt from the funding fee. Answer four quick questions below and we'll route you to the right path for your record — and list exactly what VA still needs from you.
No-obligation VA pre-qualification review.
A Certificate of Eligibility is the VA document proving you meet the service requirement and showing your available entitlement. Most applicants get it instantly on VA.gov, a VA lender can pull it through WebLGY, or you can mail VA Form 26-1880. Surviving spouses use VA Form 26-1817.
Most veterans get the COE instantly online; if your record can't be verified, a WebLGY request through a licensed professional is the usual next step.
Reviewed by the licensed mortgage team at Simply Approved Mortgages · Last verified August 31, 2026 against the VA Lenders Handbook (M26-7)
Check my eligibility firstTell us how you served, which records you already hold, your service dates and discharge, and whether you've used a VA loan before. You'll get the right path for your record, the exact forms, and a list of any document gaps to close.
The documents VA requires — and the right way to get your certificate — depend entirely on this answer.
All three routes produce the same certificate. The difference is how long it takes and how easily a records problem can be fixed.
Sign in with your Login.gov or ID.me account and request the COE directly. Most veterans with a clean, digitized record get the certificate on screen immediately.
Request on VA.gov →Licensed mortgage professionals can pull your COE through VA's WebLGY portal and flag record discrepancies straight to the Regional Loan Center. This often resolves records that the online request returns as 'not found'.
Have us pull it for you →Mail your completed VA Form 26-1880 with supporting documents to the Atlanta Regional Loan Center's Eligibility Center. Use this as a fallback when the electronic paths can't verify your record.
Get VA Form 26-1880 →Search by form number or keyword — for example 26-1880 (Request for a Certificate of Eligibility) or 26-1817 (surviving spouse). Results and PDFs come straight from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Common:
The certificate is one page, and three lines on it decide your loan structure.
Once you have it, run your numbers with the funding fee calculator or check what you qualify for with the 60-second eligibility check. The full walkthrough lives in our COE guide.
Our licensed team can request it through WebLGY while you shop. No credit pull to start.
SAM is the Simply Approved Mortgages AI assistant, grounded in the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7, 38 CFR Part 36 and the county loan-limit file behind this page. It answers general VA questions. A licensed mortgage loan originator reviews every scenario before any terms are confirmed.
Hi — I'm SAM with Simply Approved Mortgages. Ask a question about VA Certificates of Eligibility, or pick one of the popular questions beside this box.
AI assistant — general VA loan education only, not financial, legal or tax advice, not a loan approval, pre-approval or commitment to lend. Simply Approved Mortgages LLC (NMLS #2620881) is an independent mortgage broker and is not the VA, HUD or any government agency, and is not endorsed by them. All loans are subject to lender underwriting, appraisal and final approval. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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Program rules and figures on this page are taken from the primary government sources below, not from third-party summaries.
Verified against VA Lenders Handbook M26-7, Change 6 — August 12, 2026. Simply Approved Mortgages is not affiliated with or endorsed by HUD, VA, or any government agency.
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