Post-9/11 GI Bill Details

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Soldier student in a dorm.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides education benefits for members who have served on active duty for 90 or more days since Sep. 10, 2001. The Post-9/11 GI Bill can pay your full tuition and fees, provide you with a monthly housing allowance while you are going to school, and give you up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies.

If you live in the middle of nowhere, the Post-9/11 GI Bill will even provide you with a one-time relocation allowance to move to where your school is located.

Another provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill allows eligible service members to transfer their unused benefits to family members.

You can use your Post-9/11 GI Bill for college and many other types of training. See our list of all the covered program types.

Post-9/11 benefit payments are tiered based on your length of creditable active-duty service since Sep. 10, 2001. (See the table below to determine your benefit tier.)

The Post-9/11 GI Bill has several facets including:

Basic Eligibility Criteria for Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits

At a minimum, you must have served at least 30 days of continuous active-duty service after Sep. 10, 2001, and been discharged due to a service-connected disability; or served an aggregate of 90 days of active-duty service after Sep. 10, 2001, and received an honorable discharge. 

For reservists and Guard members, the following active duty qualifies for Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility:

  • All Title 10 active duty supporting named contingency operations
  • Title 32 service for the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the National Guard
  • Title 32 service under section 502(f) for the purpose of responding to a national emergency
  • All voluntary active duty, with the exception of active duty for medical care and medical evaluation

What You Qualify For

If You Are ... You Qualify For

Tuition and Fees

Monthly Housing Allowance

Book Stipend

Yellow Ribbon

Relocation

On 
Active 
Duty

X

 

X

 

 

Veteran

X

X

X

X

X

Spouse Using
Transferred Benefits

X

NOTE 1

X

NOTE 1

X

Child Using
Transferred Benefits

X

X

X

X

X

NOTE 1: A spouse cannot get the monthly housing allowance or Yellow Ribbon benefit if the sponsor is still on active duty. 

Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefit Tiers

Your Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and housing allowance payments are based on your length of creditable active-duty service after Sept. 10, 2001. If you are discharged for disability after at least 30 days of active duty, you automatically receive the 100% benefit tier. Active-duty time for the Post-9/11 GI Bill can also include Title 10 mobilizations and some Title 32 duty for reservists and National Guard members. The following table shows the benefit tiers and corresponding active-duty time:

Post-9/11 Service

Percentage of Maximum Amount Payable

At least 36 cumulative months 

100%

At least 30 days active duty and discharged due to service-connected disability 

100%

At least 30 months 

90%

At least 24 months 

80%

At least 18 months

70%

At least 6 months

60%

At least 90 aggregate days - but less than six months 
(Cannot include Entry Level or Skills Training time)

50%

Tuition and Fees

VA will pay your tuition and fee payments directly to the school. Tuition payments are based on your length of creditable active-duty service after Sep. 10, 2001.

For example, if you served 24 months on active duty after Sep. 10, 2001, your GI Bill benefit tier percentage is 80%. If you are attending a public school with tuition of $10,000 per semester, 80% of your tuition and fees, or $8,000, would be paid by the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The GI Bill can pay up to the full resident tuition at any public school if you are qualified to receive benefits at the 100% rate based on your active service shown above. 

Public schools must offer resident tuition to all veterans who have been out of the military for less than three years, their dependents using transferred benefits, and dependents using transferred benefits of active-duty members. 

If you are attending a private or foreign school, the VA will pay you an annual maximum of $27,120.05 in the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Learn more about Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fee coverage.

Monthly Housing Allowance

The Post-9/11 GI Bill also pays a monthly housing allowance based on the ZIP code of the location of the school you are attending -- not your home ZIP code. This stipend currently averages $1,934.80 but can exceed $2,700 depending on where you go to school. Students taking 100% of their courses online are eligible for a monthly stipend equal to half of the national average stipend, or $967.40.

Housing allowance payments are based on your length of creditable active-duty service after Sept. 10, 2001.

For example, if you served 24 months on active duty after Sep. 10, 2001, your GI Bill benefit tier percentage is 80%. If you are attending a school with a monthly housing allowance of $1,000 a month, you would receive 80% of your housing allowance or $800/month.

This stipend is based on the DoD's Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents. This stipend does not require students to live on campus.

NOTE: Service members currently on active duty, their spouses using transferred benefits and those taking courses on a half-time basis or less do not qualify for Monthly Housing Allowance.

Book and Supply Stipend

You may receive an annual book stipend of up to $1,000 per year with the Post-9/11 GI Bill. This stipend will be paid at the beginning of each term. It is paid proportionately based on the number of credits taken by each student at $41.67 per credit hour.

Yellow Ribbon Program

The Post-9/11 GI Bill also includes a provision to help students avoid some or all of the out-of-pocket tuition and fees associated with education programs that may exceed the Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition benefit. The Yellow Ribbon Program is not automatic -- schools must enter into an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs to share the expense.

To qualify to receive the Yellow Ribbon benefits, you must meet the following criteria:

  • Qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill at the 100% benefit tier
  • Be attending an approved institution of higher learning in the U.S.  

Learn more about the Yellow Ribbon Program.

One-Time Relocation Allowance

You may also receive a one-time rural relocation benefit payment of $500 to help cover the cost of relocating from a rural location to attend school.

To qualify, you must:

  • Be an otherwise eligible veteran.
  • Reside in a county with six persons or less per square mile (as determined by the most recent decennial census) and:
  • Either physically relocate at least 500 miles to attend an educational institution 
    - or -
  • Travel by air to physically attend an educational institution if no other land-based transportation exists.

Benefit Transferability

The Department of Defense (DoD) is authorized to allow individuals who, on or after Aug. 1, 2009, have served at least six years in the Armed Forces and who agree to serve at least another four years in the Armed Forces to transfer unused entitlement to their spouse. The Department of Defense may, by regulation, impose additional eligibility requirements and limit the number of months transferable to not less than 18 months. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Public Health System (PHS) personnel are also eligible to transfer their entitlement to eligible dependents.

NOTE: The ability to transfer benefits is limited to those currently serving in the military.

Learn more about transferability.

What Can You Use the Post-9/11 GI Bill For?

You can use your Post-911 GI Bill for many types of education programs including:

Keep Up With Your Education Benefits 

Whether you need a guide on how to use your GI Bill, want to take advantage of tuition assistance and scholarships, or get the lowdown on education benefits available for your family, Military.com can help. Subscribe to Military.com to have education tips and benefits updates delivered directly to your inbox.

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