DISABILITYVA program

Automobile Allowance and Adaptive Equipment

One-time payment toward the purchase of a vehicle and/or adaptive driving equipment for veterans whose service-connected disability affects their ability to operate a standard vehicle.

Available to veterans with qualifying service-connected loss of limb use or severe burn injury

View on VA.gov

Example value

Up to ~$22,355One-time payment

Step-by-step guide

What VA looks for: Vehicle grant and adaptive equipment

A disability on the listLoss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both feet or one or both hands. Permanent vision loss in both eyes: 20/200 or less in the better eye with glasses, or side vision narrowed to 20 degrees or less in the better eye. A severe burn injury: deep burn scars that tighten, limit movement of a limb or the trunk, and keep you from driving. Or ALS.
Connected to serviceThe disability is service connected, or treated as service connected under 38 U.S.C. 1151 (disability from VA care or a VA program). For a service member, it came from an injury or disease in service. If VA has not rated it yet, the disability compensation claim comes first.
Licensed drivers onlyOn the application you promise that only properly licensed people will drive the vehicle. If you cannot get a license, someone licensed can drive it for you. Equipment for driving needs your valid driver's license or learner's permit; equipment to help you get in and out does not.

Source: 38 CFR 3.808(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.808(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.808(c) (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab); VA Form 10-1394 (opens in new tab)

Which benefit fits your disability?

Vehicle grant and adaptive equipment
A payment toward a new or used vehicle, paid to the seller, plus the adaptive equipment your disability calls for. VA looks for a service-connected disability on the list and an application that promises only licensed drivers will drive the vehicle. Veterans and service members on active duty can apply.
Source: 38 CFR 3.808(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.808(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.808(c) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab)
Adaptive equipment only
For service-connected ankylosis of one or both knees or one or both hips (a joint that has become stiff and fixed), VA covers adaptive equipment but not the vehicle grant. Adaptive equipment includes items like power steering, power brakes, power seats and windows, and lifts to help you get in and out. Equipment for driving needs a valid driver's license or learner's permit. VA can pay you or the equipment seller, and it can pay more than once.
1. Ankylosis of a knee or hip, connected to serviceA VA rating for ankylosis of one or both knees or one or both hips, service connected or treated as service connected under 38 U.S.C. 1151.
Source: 38 CFR 3.808(b) (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab); VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); VA Form 10-1394 (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.158(a) (opens in new tab)

What to gather, and what it shows VA

Documents for this benefit: what each is, what it shows VA, and how VA gets it
Document	What it shows	How VA gets it	Have it?
Your VA rating decision The VA decision letter that lists your service-connected conditions and their ratings.	A listed disability VA already connects to service	VA already holds it in your file, and you can download decision letters on VA.gov. When a rating decision finds a disability on the list, VA sends the application form with it.	Yes
Medical records of the disability VA or private medical records that show the loss or loss of use, the vision loss, the burn scars and how they limit movement, ALS, or the ankylosis.	The disability and how much it limits you	VA will request your VA records for you. For private records, send copies to VA, or complete VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a so VA can request them.
Statements about driving with burn scars Your own statement, or statements from people who know you, about how burn scars limit your movement and your driving.	How the burn injury keeps you from driving	Your statement goes on VA Form 21-4138, and a witness can use VA Form 21-10210. Both go to VA, which weighs medical and lay statements on whether a burn injury keeps you from driving.
Application for the vehicle grant VA Form 21-4502. It asks about your service and the type of vehicle, holds your promise about licensed drivers, and also counts as your application for the equipment listed for your disability.	Your request, and your promise that only licensed drivers will drive	Apply online on VA.gov, or mail VA Form 21-4502 to the address on the form. VA fills in its approval section and sends the form back to you.
Application for adaptive equipment VA Form 10-1394, for adaptive equipment only, for equipment not listed for your disability on VA Form 21-4502, or for repairs and reinstallation. It asks about your license and the vehicle.	The equipment you need, the vehicle it goes on, and your license	Bring it to the prosthetic representative at your local VA medical center with an itemized estimate, then send the final itemized invoice, paid receipt, or bill of sale. VA pays a registered equipment provider or repays you.

Records and statements go to VA. BeneVets never asks you to upload or type them here.

Steps, in order

Get the disability service connected first
The vehicle grant and adaptive equipment start from a service-connected disability. If you have not filed a disability compensation claim for it, file VA Form 21-526EZ first.
Source: VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab)
Get free help from a VSO
Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab)
Check the equipment fit before you pick a vehicle
VA suggests talking with a VA health care provider before you choose a vehicle, so the equipment you need fits that make and model. A VA driver rehabilitation specialist or prosthetic representative can help, and VA health care offers driver training.
Source: VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab); VA Form 10-1394 (opens in new tab)
Apply for the vehicle grant
Apply online on VA.gov, or mail VA Form 21-4502 to the address on the form. There is no deadline, and you can apply before or after you leave the military. VA.gov asks you to wait for VA approval before you buy. If you already bought a vehicle, talk with a VSO before you apply.
Source: VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.808(c) (opens in new tab)
Buy the vehicle after approval
VA fills in the approval section of your form and sends it back. Before you buy, make sure the seller agrees to send VA the completed form and an itemized invoice. When you pick up the vehicle, sign and date the original form, not a copy, and give it to the seller. VA pays the seller.
Source: VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab)
Get adaptive equipment approved first
Contact the prosthetic representative at your local VA medical center before you get any new or used equipment. For equipment only, or for equipment not already listed for your disability, bring VA Form 10-1394 with an itemized estimate, then send the final itemized invoice, paid receipt, or bill of sale.
Source: VA Form 10-1394 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.158(b) (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab)

Good to know

What the vehicle grant pays

The grant goes toward one new or used vehicle, such as a car, van, truck, motor home, or a farm machine like a tractor, and it includes taxes that are part of the price. Adaptive equipment is paid separately. The law caps the grant, and VA.gov lists the current limit. VA pays the seller, not you. A leased vehicle does not count.

Source: 38 CFR 3.808(a) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); VA.gov: special benefit allowance rates (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab)

A second vehicle grant

VA can make another vehicle grant if more than 30 years have passed since VA paid your last one, or if a natural or other disaster destroyed the vehicle through no fault of yours and insurance did not pay you for the loss. Apply again on VA Form 21-4502.

Source: VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab)

Adaptive equipment limits

VA provides adaptive equipment for no more than two vehicles at a time, or in any four-year period. The exceptions are a vehicle lost to fire, theft, an accident, or court action, repairs that cost too much, or a change in your condition that calls for a different vehicle. A vehicle you sell or give to someone in your household, or to a business you or they own, still counts toward the two. VA does not pay for added equipment it has not approved.

Source: 38 CFR 17.158(a) (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-4502 (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab)

No deadline, in service or after

There is no time limit to apply, and you can apply before or after you leave the military. A service member's application counts as filed on the date it is given to military authorities to send to VA.

Source: 38 CFR 3.808(c) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: automobile allowance and adaptive equipment (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.A (opens in new tab)

BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you