After you apply for benefits from the VA, they will mail your COE to you through the USPS. This will be a piece of paper sent to your address that was on your application for benefits with the VA. Some of you may have brought a paper copy to our office or emailed a version to someone at the university. We have found that many people thought they sent it to us when in fact it went to another office and likely never made it into their file.
Not sure what a COE looks like? See the attachment link at the bottom of this news post for a "Sample COE" to get an idea of the paper you are looking for.
For most of you you uploaded it when you first created your VA Works account. But DOUBLE CHECK that it is there by following these steps.
1. Log into VA Works.
2. Click on your profile in the top right corner and select ACCOUNT.
3. Scroll down to the Profile section and click on the INTAKE tab.
4. Then scroll down to the attachments section.
5. This is a READ ONLY section so you cannot make changes but it will let you see if you have a file uploaded or not.If that blue box is checked, we DO NOT have your COE on file.
6. If we have yours, you are good to go! We will email you if the file doesn't work or is the wrong document.
7. If you have not submitted, please locate your COE and email as soon as possible to vmsc@uark.edu and we will upload it on your behalf. You may also have a Statement of Benefits document and in most cases this can be used in lieu of the COE if it has your name, VA file number, which benefit you qualify for, and how much you have left (months).
Go to this VA website to learn more about how to request a copy of your COE. https://www.va.gov/education/download-letters/ or call the VA Education Hotline at 888-442-4551.
We also recommend a copy of your/the veteran's DD214 for scholarship and other verification purposes. This document is internal to the VMSC and not shared with other university departments. You may redact this document to your liking as long as we can see the name (which should match the name on the benefits), branch, years of service, and type of separation.
If you have questions, please reach out to our office.
CertificateofEligibilitySample.pdf
