DEA Chapter 35 for Dependents: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

Chapter 35 is not a line on the veteran's award letter

A lot of families hear "P&T" and assume the kids are already in the education program. They are not. DEA is a dependents' benefit under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35. The veteran's rating, or the service member's death or missing status, can open the door. It does not walk the spouse or child through it.

VA's live DEA page, last updated December 18, 2025, is the source for the gates below. Confirm it before you treat any of this as current.

The veteran or service member gate

One of these has to be true for the veteran or service member:

• The veteran is permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability.
• The veteran died as a result of a service-connected disability.
• The service member died in the line of duty.
• The service member is missing in action or was captured in the line of duty by a hostile force for more than 90 days.
• The service member was forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign entity for more than 90 days.
• The service member is in the hospital or getting outpatient treatment for a service-connected permanent and total disability and is likely to be discharged for that disability.

"Permanently and totally disabled" is a VA finding. A 100% schedular rating is not automatically P&T. A temporary 100% is not P&T. If the notice does not say permanent and total, do not invent that status for a DEA application. Read the decision. See What 100% Permanent and Total VA Disability Really Gets You.

Who counts as a child

VA's DEA page is more flexible here than people expect. A child can be married or unmarried. Age rules depend on when eligibility started.

If the child became eligible before August 1, 2023, one of these must be true to start using the benefit:

• The child is 18 years old, or
• The child completed high school or has a GED

If the child became eligible, turned 18, or completed high school on or after August 1, 2023, VA says the child can be any age to use the benefit.

Time limits also split on that August 1, 2023 line.

There is no time limit if any of these is true:

• The child became eligible for DEA on or after August 1, 2023, or
• The child turned 18 on or after August 1, 2023, or
• The child completed high school or received a GED on or after August 1, 2023

If eligibility, age 18, and high school all happened before August 1, 2023, VA generally gives up to 8 years to use the benefit before age 26. Later-use exceptions exist, including some military-service cases up to age 31. Read the live page for those facts.

A child on active duty cannot use DEA while serving. After leaving service, a dishonorable discharge blocks it.

One more child-specific rule that surprises people: if the child is receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), VA says the child has to give up those DIC payments when DEA starts. That is a child rule, not a spouse rule. See DIC and Survivor Claims.

Who counts as a spouse

A spouse can receive DEA and DIC at the same time. Divorce ends DEA eligibility. Remarriage after the veteran's death also ends the DEA that came through that veteran, with two exceptions on the live page:

• The new marriage was on or after January 1, 2004, and the spouse was at least 57, or
• The new marriage ends due to death or divorce, in which case VA restores remaining DEA

If the event that qualified the spouse happened before August 1, 2023, VA still uses time limits. In most cases the benefit ends after 10 years. If VA rated the veteran P&T and the veteran later dies, the spouse gets another 10 years. If the service member died on active duty, the benefit ends after 20 years. If VA rated the veteran P&T with an effective date within 3 years after discharge, the spouse's benefits usually end 20 years from that effective date.

If the qualifying event happened on or after August 1, 2023, VA says there is no time limit for the spouse.

A spouse on active duty cannot use DEA while serving. A later dishonorable discharge blocks it.

Months of entitlement

This is the part people mix up with the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

• Training that started before August 1, 2018: up to 45 months
• Training that started on or after August 1, 2018: up to 36 months

Those months are DEA months. They are not automatically the same pot as a transferred GI Bill or a Fry Scholarship. Fry interactions are their own rules.

A child may qualify for both DEA and the Fry Scholarship in some line-of-duty death cases, but can use only one at a time. Combined caps are 81 months or 48 months depending on the date of death and whether DEA rests on a different event. A spouse cannot use both. VA says the spouse's choice is one-way.

What DEA actually pays in 2026

DEA is a monthly payment to the student, not a tuition check to the school. VA's Chapter 35 rate page, last updated March 25, 2026, lists rates for October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

For college, university, and non-college degree programs:

• Full time: $1,574.00 a month
• 3/4 time: $1,244.00 a month
• 1/2 time: $912.00 a month
• Less than 1/2 and more than 1/4: $912.00 a month, or tuition and fees, whichever is less
• 1/4 time or less: $393.50 a month, or tuition and fees, whichever is less

On-the-job training and apprenticeships pay a declining monthly rate if the student worked at least 120 hours that month:

• Months 1 to 6: $999.00
• Months 7 to 12: $751.00
• Months 13 to 18: $493.00
• More than 19 months: $251.00

Special restorative training at full time pays $1,574 a month. Correspondence training is limited to spouses and pays 55% of the established cost of completed lessons. Licensing and certification tests can be paid up to $2,000, with entitlement charged at one month for every $1,574 paid.

Partial months are prorated. Enrollment has to be verified. As of January 2026, VA Education Service says Chapter 35 students verify enrollment each month to get paid.

Secondary school is closing

Public Law 117-328 changed the definition of "educational institution" by replacing "secondary school" with "post-secondary school." VA News, dated June 4, 2026, says DEA cannot be used for secondary education (high school coursework, GED-level training, tutoring, or academic remediation) for any program starting on or after August 1, 2026.

A student who started a secondary program before that date can be paid through the end of that academic term. VA says it cannot continue DEA for later secondary terms, even if those terms are required to graduate.

College, vocational training, apprenticeships, and on-the-job training remain the core of the program. If a family planned on high-school DEA this fall, that plan is now a post-secondary plan or it is not a DEA plan.

How to apply

The dependent applies. The veteran does not "add Chapter 35" on a disability claim.

Apply online or by mail on Dependents' Application for VA Education Benefits, VA Form 22-5490. If a school is already chosen, mail the form to the regional processing office for the school's state and tell the school certifying official to submit enrollment. If no school is chosen yet, mail it to the processing office for the state where the applicant lives.

The program has to be VA-approved. The GI Bill Comparison Tool is the public check. A school certifying official can also tell you which programs at that campus are approved.

Educational and career counseling can come with DEA. That is a counseling service, not a second stipend.

What this is not

DEA is not the Post-9/11 GI Bill, a transferred Chapter 33 benefit, or CHAMPVA. A 100% rating without P&T does not meet the live veteran gate. A pending claim is not eligibility. The application is still separate.

FAQs

Does a 100% rating automatically qualify my kids for Chapter 35?

No. VA's DEA page requires the veteran to be permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability, or to meet one of the death, missing, captured, detained, or pending-discharge P&T situations. A 100% rating can exist without P&T. Read the notice.

Do I apply on the veteran's disability claim?

No. The spouse or child files VA Form 22-5490, or applies online for DEA. The school then certifies enrollment. The veteran's award letter is evidence for the gate. It is not the application.

How many months does Chapter 35 last?

Up to 36 months if school or training started on or after August 1, 2018. Up to 45 months if it started before that date. Fry combinations have separate combined caps. Confirm the award letter VA sends the student.

Can a spouse get DEA and DIC together?

Yes, according to the live DEA page. A child receiving DIC has to give up those DIC payments when DEA starts. Those are different rules for different survivors.

What is the current full-time DEA rate?

For October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, VA pays $1,574.00 a month for full-time enrollment at an institution of higher learning or a non-college degree program. Less-than-full-time and OJT rates are lower. Check the Chapter 35 rate page before a new term.

Can DEA still pay for high school?

Not for a secondary program that starts on or after August 1, 2026. VA News states that high school coursework, GED-level training, tutoring, and academic remediation are out for new secondary programs after that date. A term that already started before August 1, 2026 can be paid through the end of that term only.

Sources

• Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (VA.gov, last updated December 18, 2025)
• Chapter 35 rates for survivors and dependents (VA.gov, last updated March 25, 2026)
• Future Chapter 35 rates (VA.gov)
• VA is discontinuing Chapter 35 education benefits for high school programs (VA News, June 4, 2026)
• VA Form 22-5490, Dependents' Application for VA Education Benefits

Disclaimer: Educational content only. Not legal or medical advice. Confirm against the veteran's actual notice and current eCFR / VA.gov. For claim-specific help, use a VA-accredited VSO, claims agent, or attorney.