Looking for a new and exciting career after your time in the military can be both exciting and daunting. But, with the GI Bill, you don't have to worry as it opens a lot of doors for you in transitioning back to civilian life.
Everyone knows you can get college paid for with the GI Bill, but many don't know that you can also pay for licenses and certifications.
With a license or certificate, paid by the GI Bill, you can quickly leverage your skills to accelerate your chosen civilian career.
Overview: GI Bill For Licenses And Certifications
If you are wondering whether you can use your GI Bill entitlement benefits to take a license or certification test, then the answer is YES. The GI Bill covers the cost of license and certification tests to allow you to practice your profession and advance your career. Approved tests can be reimbursed up to $2,000 per test for the total test cost, which is prorated on your entitlement benefits.
Having a license or certificate opens many different opportunities for you. If you want to know whether you qualify for this benefit, how you can use it, and what tests you can take, read on further.
Eligibility Criteria for Certification Reimbursement
The GI Bill covers the license and certification test costs of all eligible individuals belonging to any of the following programs:
- Post 9/11 GI Bill
- Montgomery GI Bill- Active Duty
- Montgomery GI Bill- Selected Reserve
- Reserve Education Assistance Program
- Veterans Educational Assistance
- Dependents Educational Assistance
If you are eligible for this benefit, there is no time limit as to when you can take advantage of it. So, as long as you have remaining entitlement benefits, you can use them to take license and certification tests anytime!
What Licensing and Certification Tests are Approved?
Many veterans wonder if the GI Bill covers a particular test or certification.
To help with this, we listed some of the most common and exciting career opportunities with license and certificate requirements that are covered by the GI Bill.
GI Bill License Test Ideas:
A license is often required to practice your chosen civilian profession.
Here are some of the most common occupations with licenses paid for by the GI Bill:
Sales and Finance: insurance, real estate, sales, accounting, auditing, auction, appraisal
Health and Medicine: dentistry, medicine, medical tech, nursing, midwifery, veterinary medicine, embalming, occupational and physical therapy, counseling, psychiatry, and clinical psychology
Law and Local Authority: law, bail, private investigation, security, fraud, fire, and emergency
Construction and Domestic Needs: engineering, architecture, construction, land surveying, plumbing, electricity, locksmith work, pest control
Hospitality: hairdressing, manicure, aesthetics, cosmetology, acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic, body piercing
Others: education and special education, social work, language interpretation, scuba diving (cool right?)
You can check out the complete list of accredited license tests here (just type in the name of the license test in the search bar).
GI Bill Certification Test Ideas:
Certificates are skill-based accreditations that many veterans voluntarily take to advance their careers. There are a ton of certification tests covered by the GI Bill...
...many that are non-traditional, fun, and exciting even as a hobby.
Take note that the GI Bill only credits certification tests taken for professional career advancement and not training certifications.
Here are some GI Bill- approved certification tests you can take:
Sports: sports referee, mixed martial arts, swimming
Health and Fitness: personal training, health coaching, yoga, pilates, kettle ball
Communications and Media: video editing, public relations, audio and video tech, radio and TV engineering
Hospitality: culinary, pastry, hotels, alcohol service
IT: website development, computer network engineering
You may see the complete list of accredited certification tests here.
What's The Difference between “National Testing” and “Licensing and Certifications”?
The GI Bill also pays for national tests to help you pursue a formal education such as college or graduate school.
Here are the national tests covered by the GI Bill:
Approved college admissions tests:
- SAT (formerly "Scholastic Assessment Test")
- ACT (American College Testing)
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
- Approved tests that you can take to earn college credits:
- AP (Advanced Placement Examination)
- CLEP (College-Level Examination Program)
- DSST (DANTES Subject Standardized Tests)
- ECE (Excelsior College Examinations)
- PLA (Prior Learning Assessment) testing through learningcounts.org
- Approved graduate school admissions tests:
- GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)
- GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
- LSAT (Law School Admission Test)
- MAT (Miller Analogies Test)
- Approved admissions tests for pre-health professional programs:
- DAT (Dental Admission Test)
- MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
- OAT (Optometry Admission Test)
- PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test)
Information sourced from the VA website.
You may see the complete list of tests and fees here.
Once you know what kind of test you want to take, you might be wondering about the costs of the test and how much the GI Bill will pay for.
If so, keep reading!
How your
GI Bill Entitlement is Charged For Licenses and Certifications:
Your GI Bill benefits will cover the test costs for licenses, certifications, and national tests. The maximum payable amount for each test is $2,000.
The cost of each test is charged to your entitlement benefits on a prorated basis depending on your monthly rate for full-time training.
You can use this computation guide to see how much you can be reimbursed for:
(Actual Test Cost / $2,042.06) = Months of Entitlement Used
*This rate applies every time you take a test, and is rounded to the nearest whole month.
You can take as many tests as you want in different fields, and retake any tests that you fail. Your GI Bill benefits will pay for all these tests as long as you have remaining entitlement benefits.
You can also retake a test that you already passed if this is required to renew your license or certification.
If you are taking a national test:
The GI Bill also pays for registration fees, the actual cost of the specialized test you are taking, and administrative fees associated with the test.
The GI Bill does not in any way cover fees such as pre-test costs and other optional charges, such as expediting fees for test results.
Now you know how much your GI Bill benefits can cover in taking license and certification tests.
Step By Step Process To Use The GI Bill For License And Certification Tests:
Once you are ready to take the test, follow this step by step guide on how to use your benefits:
The process of using your GI Bill benefits to pay for license and certification tests is easy! Just follow these three simple steps:
1. Fill out the application form. These are available online or at the nearest VA regional processing office.
For the licensing and certification test reimbursement form, fill out the VA Form 22-0803, or click here to download the PDF file.
For the national test reimbursement form, fill out the VA Form 22-0810, or click here to download the PDF file.
You will need to provide your basic information, Social Security number, VA File number, information on the test you took, as well as the licensing organization.
2. Attach your proof of payment and an authorization letter to release your test information to the VA office.
3. Send in your application.
For license and certification tests, you may send your application through the Ask A Question website, or by mail to the nearest VA regional processing office.
For national tests, you may send your application by mail to the nearest VA processing office.
You can check out the complete list of processing offices here.
Wait up to 30 days for your application to be processed and approved. Take note that this does not include transit time for applications sent by mail.
That's it! Using your GI Bill benefits to pay for license and certificate tests is simple and easy.
Start taking those tests to open unlimited doors of opportunities for your shiny new civilian career.
If you're wondering what other GI Bill opportunities there are, explore our database of over 29,000 VA-approved schools, on-the-job training programs, and more: https://milversity.com/explore
