HOUSINGVA program
Native American Direct Loan (NADL)
Direct VA loan for Native American veterans, and veterans married to a Native American, to buy, build, or improve a home on federal trust land, as a low-interest, 30-year fixed mortgage. It can also refinance an existing NADL to lower the interest rate.
Available to Native American veterans, or veterans married to a Native American, for a home on federal trust land where the tribal government has an agreement with VA
Step-by-step guide
What you get
A home loan from VA itself to buy, build, or improve a home on federal trust land, or to refinance an existing NADL to a lower rate.
What VA looks for: a home on trust land
- A tribal agreement with VAYour tribal government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with VA for how the program works on its trust land. The tribe must be federally recognized.
- A valid COEYou have a VA home loan COE, which VA issues when your service meets its rules.
- Credit and income that meet VA’s standardsYou meet VA’s credit standards and show you make enough to cover the mortgage payments and the other costs of owning a home.
- A home on trust land that you will live inYou will live in the home. You hold, or get with the loan, an interest such as a lease in the lot or home on trust land, and that interest secures the loan.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4527(a) (opens in new tab); VA Home Loans: tribes with NADL agreements (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to request a VA home loan COE (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4527(e) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4527(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4501 (opens in new tab)
What is the loan for?
- Buy, build, or improve a home on trust land
A Native American veteran, or a veteran married to a Native American, may be able to get a loan from VA to buy, build, or improve a home on federal trust land. Native American here includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4527(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4501 (opens in new tab)
- Refinance an NADL you have
You can refinance a current NADL to lower the interest rate.
- An NADL nowThe loan you refinance is an existing NADL.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VA funding fee and closing costs (opens in new tab)
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your COE The certificate VA issues for the home loan benefit. It also lists past VA loans charged to the benefit. | That you have the home loan benefit, and any NADL you have now | Request it online on VA.gov, or by mail on VA Form 26-1880. | Yes |
| COE request (VA Form 26-1880) The VA form for a COE by mail. It asks about your service and any past VA loans. | Your service and any past VA loans | Mail it to the regional loan center for your state, listed on the last page. Requests online need no paper form. | |
| Your tribe’s MOU with VA The agreement between VA and your tribal government for NADLs on its trust land. | That VA can make NADLs on your tribe’s land | VA holds it. Check the MOU list on VA’s home loan site, or ask the NADL coordinator. | |
| Your interest in the land A lease or other interest in the trust land lot or home that lets you use and live on it, which you hold or get with the loan. | Your right to use the land, which secures the loan | Under the MOU, you convey this interest to VA as security for the loan, or the tribe holds it for VA when tribal law does not allow that. | |
| Proof of income Records showing what you earn. | That you can cover the mortgage and the costs of owning a home | They go to VA, the lender, when the NADL coordinator asks for them. Not to BeneVets. | Yes |
For an NADL, VA is the lender, so papers go to VA through the NADL coordinator. BeneVets does not ask for copies of them.
Steps, in order
- Check whether your tribe has an MOU
VA keeps a list of tribal governments with an NADL MOU. If your tribe does not have one, you or your tribal government can contact the NADL team at NADL@va.gov or 888-349-7541.
Source: VA Home Loans: tribes with NADL agreements (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab)
- Request your COE
Request a VA home loan COE online on VA.gov, or by mail on VA Form 26-1880.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to request a VA home loan COE (opens in new tab); VA Form 26-1880 (opens in new tab)
- Contact an NADL coordinator
Email NADL@va.gov or call 888-349-7541 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. Ask about the current interest rate and how to start.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab)
- Gather proof of income
Have records ready that show you make enough to cover the mortgage payments and the other costs of owning a home.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab)
- Close the loan
Pay the funding fee unless an exemption applies, such as receiving VA compensation. You can pay it in cash or add it to the loan. Other closing costs are paid in cash.
Source: VA.gov: VA funding fee and closing costs (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4527(d) (opens in new tab)
- To refinance, ask the coordinator
If you have an NADL now, ask an NADL coordinator about refinancing it to a lower rate.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab)
- Get free help
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. A VSO can help with the COE request; the loan itself runs through the NADL coordinator at VA.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 14.627(h) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to request a VA home loan COE (opens in new tab)
Good to know
For most VA home loans a private lender makes the loan. For the NADL, VA is the lender. It is a 30-year fixed-rate loan, with no down payment in most cases, no private mortgage insurance, and limited closing costs. You can use it more than once.
Source: VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to request a VA home loan COE (opens in new tab)
Land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans, land under federal restrictions on sale (including Native Hawaiian homelands), land owned by an Alaska Native regional or village corporation, and communally owned land on a Pacific island. Natives of Hawaiian Home Lands, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas, and Guam can use the NADL.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4501 (opens in new tab); VA Home Loans: tribes with NADL agreements (opens in new tab)
On VA’s chart effective April 7, 2023, the funding fee is 1.25% to buy and 0.5% to refinance. There is no fee if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability. Other closing costs are paid in cash, not from the loan, and no one else may charge you a service or broker fee for getting an NADL.
Source: VA.gov: VA funding fee and closing costs (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4527(d) (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 7, 2026: 38 CFR 14.627(h) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4501 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4527(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4527(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4527(d) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4527(e) (opens in new tab), VA.gov: Native American Direct Loan (opens in new tab), VA.gov: how to request a VA home loan COE (opens in new tab), VA.gov: VA funding fee and closing costs (opens in new tab), VA.gov: VA home loan limits (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab), VA Home Loans: tribes with NADL agreements (opens in new tab), VA Form 26-1880 (opens in new tab)