TRANSITIONVA program
VR&E Independent Living Track
For veterans and service members whose service-connected disability limits daily living activities such as bathing, dressing, and getting around the community, and who cannot return to work right away, this track provides services to help them live as independently as possible. It can also run alongside a job goal.
Available to veterans and service members in VR&E with a serious employment handicap who need services to live as independently as possible
Step-by-step guide
What VA looks for before an independent living program
- A serious employment handicapA counselor finds a significant impairment in your ability to prepare for, get, or keep a suitable job, not overcome, with your service-connected disability a substantial part of the cause. It sits on top of the VR&E rating rules: 20 percent or more, or under 20 percent with this serious handicap.
- A job goal is not reasonably workable right nowVA decides that reaching a job goal is not currently reasonably workable. VA.gov puts it as your disabilities keeping you from looking for or returning to work.
- Independence that can improve and lastVA decides that your independence in daily living can improve and that the gains can reasonably be expected to continue after the program ends.
Source: 38 CFR 21.52(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 21.40(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 21.40(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 21.162(a) (opens in new tab)
How are independent living services used?
- An independent living program
For veterans whose disabilities keep them from looking for or returning to work right now. The program helps you live and function more independently with family and in your community, and can help you become ready for a job goal later.
Source: 38 CFR 21.162(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 21.160 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (opens in new tab)
- Independent living services alongside a job plan
Independent living services can also be part of a plan that leads to work, part of an extended evaluation, or added to employment services. VA.gov says you may get them while you work toward a job you and your counselor set as a goal.
- A VR&E plan that calls for the servicesYour counselor includes the independent living services in your rehabilitation plan, an extended evaluation, or your employment services.
Source: 38 CFR 21.160 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (opens in new tab)
Time limits
An independent living program runs up to 24 months. A counselor can add up to 6 more months, with the VR&E officer agreeing, when that would substantially increase your independence. A counselor can also extend it past your basic VR&E period.
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA rating decision or benefit summary letter The VA letter that shows your service-connected disabilities and combined rating. | The service-connected rating VR&E starts from | VA holds it. You can download decision letters and a benefit summary letter on VA.gov. | Yes |
| VR&E application VA Form 28-1900, the application for Veteran Readiness and Employment. | That you asked VA for VR&E | Apply online on VA.gov, by mail to the VR&E Intake Center, or in person at a VA regional office. | |
| Initial evaluation with a VR&E counselor A meeting with a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor about your daily living, your disabilities, and your goals. | Whether a serious employment handicap exists and whether a job goal is workable now | VA schedules it after it gets your application. | |
| Records of your disabling conditions Records that show how many disabling conditions you have and how severe they are, including any mental health conditions. | How much your conditions limit work and daily living | VA develops these facts during the evaluation. VA health records are already with VA; tell your counselor about care outside VA. |
Papers go to VA and your VR&E counselor. BeneVets does not ask for copies of them.
Steps, in order
- Apply for VR&E
File VA Form 28-1900 online, by mail, or at a VA regional office. Service members without a rating yet can apply too.
Source: VA Form 28-1900 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VR&E (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 21.30 (opens in new tab)
- Get free help with the application
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. VA.gov lists working with an accredited representative as one way to apply.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VR&E (opens in new tab)
- Go to orientation
If VA accepts your application, it invites you to an orientation session at your nearest VA regional office.
Source: VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VR&E (opens in new tab)
- Meet your counselor for the initial evaluation
A Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor decides whether you have an employment handicap, whether it is serious, and whether a job goal is reasonably workable now.
Source: 38 CFR 21.50(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 21.52(a) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VR&E (opens in new tab)
- Build an independent living plan
You and your counselor write an Individualized Independent Living Plan. The VR&E Officer has to agree with it before the program is approved.
- Use the services in your plan
Your counselor helps you get the services in the plan, through VA or, when VA cannot arrange them, through other public or private programs.
Source: 38 CFR 21.160 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (opens in new tab)
- Ask for a decision review if you disagree
If you disagree with VA on your VR&E application, you can ask for a decision review.
Source: VA.gov: how to apply for VR&E (opens in new tab); VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab)
Good to know
Evaluation and counseling to set goals, referral to support resources, training in independent living skills, attendant care, health maintenance programs, and help finding suitable housing. VA.gov adds a check for the VR&E home adaptation grant and guidance on adaptive housing grants.
Source: 38 CFR 21.160 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (opens in new tab)
Up to 24 months, with up to 6 more months when a counselor finds it would substantially increase your independence. The program can run past your basic VR&E period when a counselor finds that is needed.
Source: 38 CFR 21.76(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 21.45 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (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 21.30 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.40(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.40(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.45 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.50(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.52(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.52(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.76(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.160 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 21.162(a) (opens in new tab), VA.gov: how to apply for VR&E (opens in new tab), VA.gov: VR&E Independent Living track (opens in new tab), VA Form 28-1900 (opens in new tab), VA.gov: download VA benefit letters (opens in new tab), VA.gov: review medical records online (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab), VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab)