Is a DD-214 required for a VA loan?
For separated veterans, yes — usually Member Copy 4. Everyone else proves service a different way: active-duty borrowers use a current Statement of Service, and Guard or Reserve members who were never activated use NGB Form 22 for each period of service plus NGB Form 23, their retirement points statement.
What this actually means.
The DD-214 documents service dates and character of discharge, and VA needs both to issue the COE for a separated veteran. Member Copy 4 is the version carrying the discharge reason. If you served in the Guard or Reserve and were never activated, VA asks instead for NGB Form 22 for each period of service, NGB Form 23, and proof of character of service — which is where a discharge certificate such as a DD Form 256 usually does its work; VA does not name that form itself, it names the evidence. Activated Guard and Reserve members are back to a DD-214. Worth knowing before you go hunting through a filing cabinet: your lender requests the COE first, and VA's system already holds enough service data to issue it outright for most borrowers, so the paperwork only becomes your problem when the automated path cannot confirm eligibility. Lost or never-issued records can be requested from the National Personnel Records Center, which takes weeks. Subject to VA guidelines.
Where this can move.
WebLGY automatic eligibility, manual processing for Guard/Reserve and surviving spouses, and entitlement-restoration timing can change the COE result.
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More VA questions on COE.
Educational only. VA guidelines, lender overlays, rates, fees, and underwriting requirements can change. Final eligibility depends on full underwriting review. Mortgage Expert, Inc. is not affiliated with the VA, HUD, or any government agency.