Who Is Considered a Veteran For Dependency Status Purposes?

The FAFSA Simplification Act has changed the statutory basis for determining who is a veteran for FAFSA dependency status purposes. Dear Colleague Letter GEN-23-11 highlights that the definition of veteran contained in the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, [20 USC 1087VV] now aligns with the Veterans Administration (VA) definition in Section 101(2), Title 38 of the U.S. Code, which defines veteran status for veterans’ benefits purposes.

Who is a veteran? A veteran is “a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.” A student is a veteran for Title IV purposes if he or she was released from service under ANY condition other than "dishonorable" and:

1. Has engaged in active duty (including basic training) in the U.S. armed forces;
2. Was a National Guard or Reserves enlistee who was called to active duty for other than state or training purposes;
3. Was a cadet or midshipman at one of the service academies, or
4. Is not a veteran at the time of FAFSA filing but will be a veteran before June 30 of the award year covered by the FAFSA.

Except for #4 above, in order to qualify to apply as independent as a veteran for Title IV purposes, the student must first be released, or discharged, from military service. The Form DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, verifies that status.

38 USC 101(21)-(23) defines the terms “active duty,” “active duty for training,” and “inactive duty training.” Financial aid administrators should use these definitions to determine whether an applicant is a veteran.

Who is not a veteran? An applicant should not indicate veteran status on the FAFSA if he or she:

1. Is currently serving in the U.S. armed forces and will continue to serve through the end of the award year covered by the FAFSA;
2. Has never engaged in active duty (including basic training) in the U.S. armed forces;
3. Is currently a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) student or a cadet or midshipman at a service academy;
4. Is a National Guard or Reserves enlistee activated only for state or training purposes; or
5. Was engaged in active duty in the U.S. armed forces but released under dishonorable conditions.

Is boot camp considered active duty service? Basic training (boot camp) counts as active duty service for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and for those who attended a U.S. military academy or military academy preparatory school, as long as the condition of discharge is characterized as anything other than “dishonorable.” There is no minimum amount of time the student must have served to be a veteran—even one day counts and even basic training (boot camp) counts—but it does have to be active service.

Basic training does not count as active duty service for members of the U.S. National Guard or Reserves. To be considered a veteran for dependency status purposes, the discharge status must also be other than dishonorable, but the actual service must include being called up to active duty service. These applicants must have completed basic training plus some period of active duty service (regardless of how long) to qualify to claim independent status as a veteran.

Note: Dishonorable and other than honorable are not the same. Only "dishonorable" means dishonorable. All other statuses, including "other than honorable," means the student is independent if he or she is a veteran for Title IV purposes. See AskRegs Q&A, Is an "Other Than Honorable" Discharge the Same As a "Dishonorable" Discharge? 

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