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Find out if you're eligible and how to apply for VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits for Veterans and surviving spouses. You may qualify if you receive a VA pension and need help with daily activities or if you spend most of your time in your home because of a permanent disability.
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VA Aid and Attendance benefits and Housebound allowance

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VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits provide monthly payments added to the amount of a monthly VA pension for qualified Veterans and survivors. If you need help with daily activities, or you’re housebound, find out if you qualify.

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Q&A

Am I eligible for VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits as a Veteran or survivor?

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VA Aid and Attendance eligibility

You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension and you meet at least one of these requirements.

At least one of these must be true:

  • You need another person to help you perform daily activities, like bathing, feeding, and dressing, or
  • You have to stay in bed—or spend a large portion of the day in bed—because of illness, or
  • You are a patient in a nursing home due to the loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability, or
  • Your eyesight is limited (even with glasses or contact lenses you have only 5/200 or less in both eyes; or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less)

Housebound benefits eligibility

You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension and you spend most of your time in your home because of a permanent disability (a disability that doesn’t go away).

Note: You can’t get Aid and Attendance benefits and Housebound benefits at the same time.

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Q&A

How do I get this benefit?

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You can apply for VA Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits in one of these ways:

Send a completed VA form to your pension management center (PMC)

Fill out VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance) and mail it to the PMC for your state. You can have your doctor fill out the examination information section. 

Get VA Form 21-2680 to download
Find your PMC

You can also include with your VA form:

  • Other evidence, like a doctor’s report, that shows you need Aid and Attendance or Housebound care
  • Details about what you normally do during the day and how you get to places
  • Details that help show what kind of illness, injury, or mental or physical disability affects your ability to do things, like take a bath, on your own

Learn about the evidence you’ll need to support your claim

If you’re in a nursing home, you’ll also need to fill out a Request for Nursing Home Information in Connection with Claim for Aid and Attendance (VA Form 21-0779).
Get VA Form 21-0779 to download

Apply in person

You can bring your information to a VA regional office near you.
Find your nearest VA regional office

Q&A

How long does it take VA to make a decision?

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It depends. We process claims in the order we receive them, unless a claim requires priority processing.