HEALTHCAREVA program
Blind and Low Vision Rehabilitation Services
Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation for veterans and active-duty service members who are blind or have low vision, including vision devices and training in their use, visual skills, and orientation and mobility training, to help them live independently.
Available to enrolled veterans, and to active-duty service members, who are blind or have low vision
Step-by-step guide
How blind rehabilitation starts
- For veterans, enrolled in VA health careFor veterans, the medical benefits package opens with enrollment in VA health care.
- Blindness or low visionVA.gov describes these services for Veterans and active-duty service members who are blind or have low vision.
Source: 38 CFR 17.36(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.38(a)(1)(vi) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab)
Where does the care happen?
- Outpatient blind and low vision services
Rehabilitation services are part of the VA medical benefits package. VA.gov lists vision devices and training, visual skills, sensory training, orientation and mobility, communication skills, adjustment counseling, and family-centered care.
Source: 38 CFR 17.38(a)(1)(vi) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab)
- Inpatient Blind Rehabilitation Center
Depending on your needs, the care can happen in an inpatient program, where you live full time for a short period. VA.gov links to the inpatient Blind Rehabilitation Centers.
- A VA provider finds the care is neededVA gives care in the medical benefits package only if appropriate health care professionals find it is needed to promote, preserve, or restore your health and it is in accord with generally accepted standards of medical practice.
Source: 38 CFR 17.38(a)(1)(vi) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.38(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab)
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA health care application VA Form 10-10EZ, the application for VA health care. | Enrollment in VA health care | Apply to VA online, by phone, by mail, or in person at a VA medical center. | |
| VA eye care records The records of your VA eye exams and eye care. | Blindness or low vision | VA already has records of the eye care it gives. VA staff read them in VA systems. | |
| VA care team finding Your VA health care team decides the care is needed. | That the service is needed for your care | Your VA health care team makes this finding. Ask your VA provider. |
VA eye care staff and the VIST coordinator work from VA records. BeneVets does not ask for copies of them.
Steps, in order
- 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)
- Enroll in VA health care
Apply for VA health care with VA Form 10-10EZ, online, by phone, by mail, or in person. If you are already enrolled, skip this step.
Source: VA Form 10-10EZ (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VA health care (opens in new tab)
- Contact the VIST coordinator
Find your nearest VA medical center with the VA.gov facility locator and ask for the VIST coordinator.
Source: VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab); VA.gov: find VA locations (opens in new tab)
- Or write to the program office
You can also write to the Blind Rehabilitation Service program office: Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Blind Rehabilitation Service (117B), 810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20420.
Source: VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab)
- Talk through outpatient or inpatient care
Depending on your needs, care happens in an outpatient setting or at an inpatient Blind Rehabilitation Center for a short stay.
Source: VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.38(b) (opens in new tab)
- Ask about eyeglasses and hearing aids
If you also need eyeglasses or hearing aids, ask the prosthetic representative at your VA medical center which group in the rule covers you.
Source: 38 CFR 17.149(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VA vision care (opens in new tab)
Good to know
VA.gov says to contact the Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) coordinator at your nearest VA medical center to learn about blind rehabilitation services.
Source: VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab); VA.gov: find VA locations (opens in new tab)
VA does not provide guide dogs. It works with non-VA agencies that do. If your VA clinical team prescribes a guide or service dog from an accredited program, VA pays for veterinary insurance, equipment, and travel to get the dog.
Source: VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.148 (opens in new tab)
Eyeglasses, contact lenses, and hearing aids follow a separate rule with its own list of groups. Veterans with vision so impaired that aids are needed to take part in their own medical treatment are one of those groups.
Source: 38 CFR 17.149(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.38(a)(1)(viii) (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
Sources checked October 8, 2026: 38 CFR 17.36(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.38(a)(1)(vi) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.38(a)(1)(viii) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.38(a)(2)(viii) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.38(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.148 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.149(b) (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab), VA.gov: blind and low vision rehabilitation services (opens in new tab), VA.gov: VA vision care (opens in new tab), VA.gov: find VA locations (opens in new tab), VA.gov: how to apply for VA health care (opens in new tab), VA Form 10-10EZ (opens in new tab)