Who can I transfer my GI Bill® to?
Your spouse, your children, or both, and each one must be enrolled in DEERS. Children include biological, adopted and stepchildren, wards and foster children. Parents, siblings and other family are not dependents a member can transfer to.
Authority38 U.S.C. 3319, 10 U.S.C. 1072Registerteb-who-gets, teb, teb-child-by-22, teb-child
Transcript
- Asked, plainly. Who can I transfer my GI Bill to? Asked by a parent thinking about transferring
- Your spouse, your children, or both, and each one must be enrolled in DEERS.
- Children include biological, adopted and stepchildren, wards and foster children.
- Parents, siblings and other family are not dependents a member can transfer to.
- The law behind it. 38 U.S.C. 3319, 10 U.S.C. 1072. The full answer is at wegotyou1776.com/questions
- We Got You 1776. Plan around your education benefits. wegotyou1776.com/questions
How does this apply to you?
If you are planning for the family
Plan on months for the people DEERS lists as your dependents: a spouse, children or both. If a family member dies, you can give that person’s unused months to another eligible family member.
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If you have already separated
After you separate or retire you cannot add a family member to the transfer, unless a family member you named dies. Months can still move among the family members you already named.
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If you are building a lesson
For a lesson: the months go to a spouse, children or both; children include biological, adopted and stepchildren, wards and foster children; each must be in DEERS; parents and siblings cannot receive them.
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Can I transfer my GI Bill to my brother or sister?
No. Parents, siblings and other family are not dependents a member can transfer to. The months go only to a spouse, children or both.
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Can I transfer my GI Bill to my stepchild?
Yes. Children who can receive months include stepchildren, and the stepchild must be enrolled in DEERS.
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Can I give my GI Bill to my child?
Yes, if you qualify: at least 6 years of service and an agreement to serve 4 more, requested while you are still serving. Your child can start once you have served 10 years and the child has a diploma or turns 18, and uses the months before 26.
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Can my son get my GI Bill if he’s already 23?
Not new months. He can use months you already gave him until he turns 26. Months can be given to a child only while the child is your dependent in DEERS, and DoD’s guide says a student over 22 can no longer receive additional transferred months.
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Do family members need to be in DEERS to receive a GI Bill transfer?
Yes. Each spouse or child receiving months must be enrolled in DEERS, and months can go to a child only while the child is still the member’s dependent there.
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Who counts as family for a GI Bill transfer?
Transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill months go to a member’s dependents, and the Defense Department decides each transfer. The months go to a spouse, children or both, and each person receiving months must be enrolled in DEERS. Who counts as a dependent comes from 10 U.S.C. 1072, the definition a transfer of months uses. The member needs at least 6 years of service and agrees to serve 4 more, and requests the transfer in milConnect while still serving.
Children include biological and adopted children, stepchildren, wards and foster children. Parents, siblings and other family are not dependents a member can transfer to, so a brother, sister, mother or father cannot receive months.
For a child, when the months are given matters. Months can be given to a child only while the child is still the member’s dependent in DEERS, and DoD’s guide says a student over 22 can no longer receive additional transferred months. A child can start using months once the member has served 10 years and the child has a high school diploma or equivalent or turns 18, and uses them before turning 26.
A spouse can use transferred months right away, whether the member is serving or separated. The member can split the months among family members in any amount and change the split later, for months VA has not yet paid out. A student on transferred months is paid at the same rate as the person who transferred them.
The list of who can receive months closes when the member leaves. After separating, retiring or moving to the Individual Ready Reserve, a member cannot add a family member unless a family member already named dies. If a family member dies, the member can give that person’s unused months to another eligible family member. If the member dies, months already transferred stay with the family, and VA divides any months the member had not given out evenly among the family members named.
By We Got You 1776, LLC.
Other ways people ask this
- who counts as a dependent for a GI Bill transfer
- can I transfer my GI Bill to my dependents
- can I transfer my GI Bill to an adopted or foster child
- can I give my GI Bill to a family member
- can I transfer my GI Bill to my parents
Related questions
- Is it worth reenlisting so I can transfer my GI Bill to my kids?Asked the way a parent thinking about transferring asks
- Can I transfer my GI Bill after I retire or separate?Asked the way a Veteran after separation asks
- Is there an age limit for my child to use my transferred GI Bill?Asked the way a mom planning for the family asks
- Can I change or take back the GI Bill months I transferred?Asked the way a parent who already transferred asks
Terms (2)
- Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)
- 38 U.S.C. 3312(a), 38 U.S.C. 3313(c)(1)
- The Post-9/11 education benefit: up to 36 months that pay tuition and fees to the school, a monthly housing allowance set by the campus ZIP code, and a yearly payment for books and supplies. How much it pays depends on how long the member served (the eligibility tier).
- Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB)
- 38 U.S.C. 3319(b) and (c), 38 CFR 21.9571(b)
- Giving Post-9/11 GI Bill months to a spouse or children, the member’s dependents in DEERS. The Defense Department decides it: a member with at least 6 years of service who agrees to 4 more can transfer up to 36 months, requested through milConnect while still serving. VA’s rule calls it transfer of entitlement.
From The Order Matters, The Terms, Plainly, and terms added or reworded here since, which go into the book at its next update.
Art from this page (3)
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See all the artSources (8)
The official sources this answer is built on, the law first, then the official pages.
- 10 U.S.C. 1072Who counts as a dependent: the definition a transfer of months uses
- 38 U.S.C. 3319Transfer of Post-9/11 GI Bill months to a spouse or child
- 38 CFR 21.9571Transfer of entitlement
- 38 CFR 21.9636Post-9/11 GI Bill discontinuance dates
- VA.govTransfer your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits
- VA.govTransferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit rates
- DoD milConnectTransfer of Education Benefits guide, version 4.5, March 2026
- DoD milConnectRequest, change or revoke a transfer of Post-9/11 GI Bill months
The full list is on Sources and Official References.
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| The Order Matters, PDF | First Edition, Revised October 2026, ISBN 979-8-9967812-0-1 | |
| The Order Matters, EPUB | First Edition, Revised October 2026, ISBN 979-8-9967812-1-8 | |
| College Tool | Version 1.2.3, App Store and Google Play | |
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| Official sources | Citation register, 110 sources |
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