VA Loan Eligibility for Public Health Service & NOAA Officers

The VA home loan benefit was created to help Veterans, military members, and their families. But members of the lesser-known non-military uniformed services, the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, can also be eligible for this $0 down payment mortgage.

The benefits and the mortgage process aren’t any different for these non-military borrowers. The challenge can be establishing eligibility. These prospective buyers must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), just like any other Veteran or military member.

Getting your COE as a VA employee does require a little bit of paperwork, however. Let’s get into it.

VA Loan Eligibility for Public Health Service (PHS)

Public Health Service officers can submit to a lender PHS Form 1867, Statement of Service – Verification of Status of Commissioned Officers of the U.S. Public Health Service. This document is basically the Public Health Service’s version of the DD-214.

In turn, lenders can often upload this form to the VA’s online portal and obtain a Certificate of Eligibility for qualified buyers.

Public Health Service officers who can’t locate a copy of the Statement of Service can contact the PHS at 301-594-3064 or write to:

Personnel Services Branch, Division of Commissioned Personnel

U.S. Public Health Service

Room 4-35, Parklawn Building

5600 Fisher’s Lane

Rockville, MD 29857

Prospective buyers can also contact their VA Regional Loan Center with questions or for more eligibility information.

VA Loan Eligibility for NOAA Officers

Similarly, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officers can submit their unique paperwork to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA. For these would-be buyers, it’s NOAA Form 56-16, Report of Transfer or Discharge.

Prospective borrowers who don’t have this document can contact NOAA at 301-713-3453 or write to:

Commissioned Personnel Center

Chief, Officer Services Division (CPC1)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

1315 East-West Highway, Room 12100

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

NOAA officers can also direct their questions to their VA Regional Loan Center.