Who can be seen at a Vet Center
Vet Center counseling is free and confidential. You do not need to be enrolled in VA health care, and you do not need a VA disability rating. Eligibility is set by VA, not by us.
If you are not sure, call and ask. VA's own guidance for Vet Center staff says they look for reasons and means to qualify people rather than turn them away. The fastest answer comes from any Vet Center, or the Vet Center Call Center at 877-927-8387, 24 hours a day.
Veterans and service members
Veterans and current service members — including National Guard and Reserve members — are eligible if any one of these applies:
- Served on active duty in a combat theater or an area of hostility.
- Experienced military sexual trauma.
- Gave emergency medical care or mortuary services to casualties of war while on active duty.
- Served on a drone crew that directly supported operations in a combat zone or area of hostility.
- Served in response to a national emergency or major disaster declared by the President, or under a governor's orders after a disaster or civil disorder.
- Took part in Coast Guard drug interdiction operations, anywhere.
- Vietnam-era Veterans who used a Vet Center before January 2, 2013.
Family members
Vet Center services are available to family members when taking part supports the Veteran's or service member's goals. That includes spouses, partners, parents, children and others close to them.
Families commonly come for help coping with a deployment, and for help supporting a Veteran through readjustment to civilian life. You can call and ask on your own behalf — you do not need the Veteran to call first.
Caring for a Veteran
Caregivers are family for this purpose, and a Vet Center can see you. VA also runs a separate Caregiver Support Line at 855-260-3274, which you can call about yourself.
Bereavement counseling
Vet Centers provide bereavement counseling at no cost to the families of:
- Service members who died in service to the country.
- Reservists and National Guard members who died while on duty.
- A Veteran who was receiving Vet Center services at the time of death, if the death was unexpected or happened during hospice or similar care.
- Veterans and service members who died by suicide.
What it costs
Nothing. There is no copay, no billing, and no requirement to be enrolled in VA health care or to have a service-connected disability.
Is it confidential?
VA describes Vet Center counseling as confidential, and Vet Centers are deliberately sited as community offices, separate from VA medical facilities — which VA says is meant to protect confidential counseling and reduce barriers to care. If you want to know exactly what is recorded, who can see it, and how it relates to your VA medical record or a pending claim, ask the counselor when you call. It is a normal question.
Where to go next
Find the Vet Center closest to you, or browse by state. If the nearest site is a long drive, counseling by phone and video is available.