A new monthly housing allowance and kicker payment verification rule took effect for the 2021/2022 academic year. It started in September 2021 applying first to students using the Post 9/11 GI Bill and enrolled in a technical school or other non-degree program.
And now the rule also applies to most students using the Post 9/1 GI Bill and enrolled in degree programs on or after December 17, 2021.
The new verification procedure is similar to the one in place for students using the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). Under that GI Bill, students must report their attendance monthly to receive their monthly payments.
Exempted Students
While the new Post 9/11 GI Bill verification rule now applies to almost 85% of students – or more than 550,000 students – there are still 15% that do not fall under the new rule. Students in the following programs are exempt from verifying their attendance:
- Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA)
- VET TEC
- VRRAP
- Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Program
- Flight training
- Correspondence Training
- On-the-Job (OJT)
- Apprenticeship
IMPORTANT: Students currently enrolled in the winter term will not get their monthly housing allowance (MHA)/kicker payment on February 1 unless they verify their attendance using one of the procedures below.
Attendance Verification Procedure
This is initially a two-step process. The first step is opting into the verification system itself. The second step is a monthly attendance verification by either of the two methods:
- Text message
Fortunately, both steps are easy to do; but they are important steps for most students using Post 9/11 GI Bill, if they want their MHA/kicker payments on time. There are two ways to verify attendance:
Opting Into Text Message Verification
Eligible enrolled students will get an initial text message from the VA requesting them to enroll in the verification system. The text should read: “Post-9/11 GI Bill housing and kicker payments now require monthly enrollment verification. Would you like to submit yours via text? Please reply YES or NO.” Students must reply within 14 days of receiving this text message.
Responding with a “YES” to this text enrolls the student into the verification program. Students in the system will receive a text message on the last day of the month or last day of the term asking them “Did you remain enrolled in your courses in MONTH YEAR as certified? Please reply YES or NO”.
Students who dropped all of their courses must reply with a “NO”. Students attending all enrolled classes respond with a “YES”. A response one way of the other is required within six days of receiving the text.
Responding affirmatively triggers payment of the MHA/kicker. Not responding, or responding after six days, or responding negatively prohibits payment of the MHA/kicker.
Students who did attend class but did not respond within the six-day limit, must call the VA Education Center at 888-GIBILL-1 to verify their attendance and receive their MHA/kicker payment.
Note, that within a day of opting-in or verifying attendance monthly, students should receive a confirmation notice. That confirmation notice is important as it means the VA received your verification. If you do not receive confirmation, call the VA Education Center.
Email Verification
Students opting out of text message verification, attending school outside the U.S. or who are otherwise unable to verify by text messaging will be automatically enrolled in email verification instead. Students enrolled by this method will receive an email to the email address on file with the VA at the end of the month with the subject line: “Action Required: Verify Your Monthly Enrollment“.
Students clicking, “YES, my enrollment is the same.” will be taken to a webpage with a confirmation message. Students selecting “NO, my enrollment has changed.” must contact their School Certification Office (SCO) to ensure their enrollment record has been changed and is accurate.
Students using email verification must confirm their attendance within 14 days of receiving the email. Not responding, or responding outside of the 14-day limit, students must call the VA Education Center to confirm attendance and receive payment.
Students failing to verify their enrollment for two consecutive months will have future payments withheld until they comply!
The new verification process is easy to opt-into and verify enrollment. It will help prevent the dreaded overpayment issue that frequently happens when students change their enrollment but fail to notify the VA or their SCO. Using the verification system properly will ensure students get their MHA/kicker payments on time and for the correct amount.
