Is the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606) the Same as the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)?

The mix-up

Guard and Reserve members often mash Chapter 1606 and Chapter 33 into one sentence: “the GI Bill” as a tuition-plus-housing package. VA does not write MGIB-SR that way.

1. A monthly MGIB-SR deposit is treated as the same payment as Post-9/11 tuition plus housing plus books. VA's compare page splits those payment styles: MGIB-SR is paid to you; Post-9/11 tuition and fees go to the school.
2. Selected Reserve / National Guard service is treated as automatic Post-9/11 eligibility. MGIB-SR has its own Selected Reserve obligation, IADT, and standing-in-unit gates. Post-9/11 is a different qualifying-service package for post-9/11 active duty, as those pages write it.
3. Both programs are treated as something you can freely toggle for the same period of service. The compare page says the opposite for Post-9/11 / MGIB-AD / MGIB-SR.
4. The Forever GI Bill “does not expire” note is applied to Chapter 1606. That sentence is written on the Post-9/11 page. MGIB-SR usually ends when you leave the Selected Reserve.
5. Chapter 1606 is treated as the same article as Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (Chapter 30). That is a different program. Chapter 30 versus Chapter 33 is /blog/montgomery-gi-bill-vs-post-911.

This page is only the Selected Reserve / Chapter 1606 versus Chapter 33 split. It is not Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E / Chapter 31) versus Post-9/11, and it is not Fry Scholarship versus DEA. Those are different programs. Fry versus DEA is /blog/fry-scholarship-vs-dea. VR&E is on VA's VR&E page and on the same compare page.

What MGIB-SR (Chapter 1606) is

From VA's Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve page (updated January 31, 2025): MGIB-SR offers up to 36 months of education and training benefits. If you are a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard, you may be eligible. Find out if you qualify on that live page.

You may be eligible if you meet the requirements that page lists.

One of these must be true:

• You have a 6-year service obligation (you agreed to serve 6 years) in the Selected Reserve, or
• You're an officer in the Selected Reserve and you agreed to serve 6 years in addition to your initial service obligation

That page's note: your obligation must have started after June 30, 1985, or for some types of training after September 30, 1990.

And all of these must also be true, as that page writes them:

• You complete your initial active duty for training (IADT), and
• You get a high school diploma or certificate of equal value, like a High School Equivalency Diploma or GED, before finishing IADT (you cannot use 12 hours toward a college degree to meet this requirement), and
• You stay in good standing while serving in an active Selected Reserve unit (you'll still be eligible if you're discharged from Selected Reserve service due to a disability that was not caused by misconduct)

When eligibility usually ends

That MGIB-SR page says you can receive benefits until your eligibility period ends or you use all of your entitlement, whichever comes first. Eligibility for this program usually ends the day you leave the Selected Reserve. The compare page writes the same idea as: you can use MGIB-SR only while you are serving in the Selected Reserve.

The MGIB-SR page then lists exceptions. You can still qualify for MGIB-SR benefits for 14 years from the date of your first 6-year obligation if at least one of these is true:

• You separated because of a disability that wasn't caused by misconduct, or
• Your unit was deactivated between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2014, or
• You involuntarily separated (not by choice) for reasons other than misconduct between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2014

Mobilization extension, as that page writes it: VA may extend your eligibility period if you are called to active duty, for the amount of time you are mobilized plus 4 months. For example, if you are mobilized for 12 months, VA will extend the eligibility period for 16 months. That extension still applies even if you leave the Selected Reserve after mobilization.

Benefits, as that page writes them: you can get money for tuition and training. This note does not invent dollar rates. Check the current payment rates for MGIB-SR.

Apply, as that page lists the steps: get your Notice of Basic Eligibility (DD Form 2384-1) from your unit; confirm the program is approved with the GI Bill Comparison Tool; submit VA Form 22-1990 (Application for VA Education Benefits) or apply from the how-to-apply page; ask the school or training program to certify enrollment; then verify enrollment at the end of each month to keep receiving payments. Use VA's enrollment-verification page for that step.

What Post-9/11 (Chapter 33) is

From VA's Post-9/11 GI Bill page (updated July 23, 2026): the Post-9/11 GI Bill (PGIB), or Chapter 33, helps you pay for school or cover expenses while you are training for a job. If you have served on active duty after September 10, 2001, you may qualify. Confirm the live list on that page — this note does not invent which orders count.

The compare page headlines Post-9/11 eligibility this way: you must have started your service on or after September 11, 2001, and 1 of these must be true: you served for at least 90 days total on active duty; or you served for at least 30 days on active duty, without a break, and were honorably discharged with a service-connected disability; or you received a Purple Heart. Read the Chapter 33 page for the fuller list, including notes that page prints about transferred benefits.

Benefits, as that Chapter 33 page writes them, include:

• Tuition and fees. If you qualify for the maximum benefit, VA says it will cover the full cost of public, in-state tuition and fees. VA caps the rates for private and foreign schools and updates those rates each year. This note does not invent those caps. Check the current payment rates for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
• Money for housing if you are in school more than half time. VA says it will base the monthly housing allowance on the cost of living where your school is located. The compare page says the housing allowance, if you are eligible, is paid to you directly every month. That compare page also points to housing costs during school breaks — read the live page.
• Money for books and supplies, up to the maximum stipend per school year as VA writes it — not a dollar figure invented here. The compare page says that stipend is paid to you at the start of the enrollment period.
• Other assists as that Chapter 33 page lists them. Confirm the live list.

Expiration, as that page writes it, depends on when you were discharged from active duty:

• If your service ended before January 1, 2013, Post-9/11 benefits expire 15 years after your last separation date from active service. You must use all of your benefits by that time or you will lose whatever is left.
• If your service ended on or after January 1, 2013, your benefits will not expire, thanks to a law that page names the Forever GI Bill - Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act.

The compare page repeats the same January 1, 2013 split. Apply with VA Form 22-1990 or from the how-to-apply page.

Extra Chapter 33 lanes this note does not rewrite: Yellow Ribbon Program if you need more money for higher private-school or out-of-state tuition as that program page describes it; transfer of Post-9/11 benefits (TEB) — read VA's transfer page; and Fry Scholarship for a child or surviving spouse after a line-of-duty death, which is a different article: /blog/fry-scholarship-vs-dea.

How payments differ

From the compare VA education benefits page (last updated August 6, 2025):

• Post-9/11. Tuition and fees: VA sends payments to your school. Housing allowance: if you are eligible, VA pays you directly every month. Books and supplies stipend: VA pays you at the start of the enrollment period. Additional payments may include Yellow Ribbon if you are eligible and the school participates, as that page lists that extra.
• MGIB-SR. VA will pay you directly every month. Additional payments may include the $600 Buy-Up program if you are eligible, as that page lists it. Learn about the $600 Buy-Up program on VA.gov — this note does not invent extra monthly dollars.

That is the payment difference. It is not a promise that one program pays more. Do not plan around a blog number. Post-9/11 current rates · MGIB-SR current rates.

One program per period of service

The compare page says you must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for Post-9/11, MGIB-AD, and MGIB-SR. (VR&E uses a different character-of-discharge sentence on that same page — other than dishonorable — and is not this article.)

If you are eligible for GI Bill benefits, that compare page says:

• You may be eligible to get up to 36 months of benefits from 1 of Post-9/11, MGIB-AD, or MGIB-SR.
• You can use only 1 of those education benefits for a single period of service. Once you choose a benefit, you cannot switch to a different benefit for the same period of service.
• In certain situations, you may be eligible for more than 1 education benefit. But you can only get a maximum of 48 months of combined education benefits, as that page writes it. If you need help figuring out how many months you can get, VA points to Ask VA.

This note does not tell you which program to elect, and it does not invent leftover-month math. Read the live pages, including each program's rates page, before that choice. Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (Chapter 30) is a third program on that same compare list — not this article: /blog/montgomery-gi-bill-vs-post-911.

What this note is not

• Not advice on which GI Bill program to elect.
• Not a rate table. Use the live MGIB-SR rates and Post-9/11 rates pages.
• Not the Chapter 30 Active Duty versus Post-9/11 note. That different article is /blog/montgomery-gi-bill-vs-post-911.
• Not a rewrite of VR&E (Chapter 31), Yellow Ribbon, TEB, or Fry / DEA. Fry versus DEA is /blog/fry-scholarship-vs-dea. Yellow Ribbon lives on VA's Yellow Ribbon page. TEB lives on VA's transfer page.
• Not accredited representation; independent of VA; no guaranteed outcome.

Sources

• VA.gov — Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) (updated January 31, 2025)
• VA.gov — Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606) rates
• VA.gov — Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) (updated July 23, 2026)
• VA.gov — Post-9/11 GI Bill rates
• VA.gov — Compare VA education benefits (last updated August 6, 2025)
• VA.gov — How to apply for the GI Bill and related benefits
• VA Form 22-1990 — Application for VA Education Benefits
• VA.gov — Yellow Ribbon Program
• VA.gov — Transfer your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits
• VA.gov — $600 Montgomery GI Bill Buy-Up program
• VA — GI Bill Comparison Tool · VA — Verify your school enrollment · VA — Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) · VA — Get help from an accredited representative
• Internal: /blog/montgomery-gi-bill-vs-post-911 · /blog/fry-scholarship-vs-dea · /blog/va-accredited-representative

Quick answers

Educational only. Not a VSO, attorney, or claims agent. Not affiliated with VA. No guaranteed outcome. Confirm the live VA.gov MGIB-SR page, Post-9/11 page, compare-education-benefits page, Form 22-1990 page, and current rates pages before you act. This article does not invent ratings, monthly dollars, housing amounts, book-stipend figures, election advice, or eligibility outcomes.