# Privacy Act of 1974: System of Records
**AGENCY:**
Department of Veterans Affairs.
**ACTION:**
Notice of a new matching program.
**SUMMARY:**
Notice is hereby given that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) intends to conduct a re-established computer matching program. This will match personnel records of the Department of Defense (DoD) with VA records of benefit recipients under the Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty, Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The goal of these matches is to identify the eligibility status of Veterans, servicemembers, and reservists who have applied for or who are receiving education benefit payments under the Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty, Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The purpose of the match is to enable VA to verify that individuals meet the conditions of military service and eligibility criteria for payment of benefits determined by VA under the Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty, Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve, and Post-9/11 GI Bill.
**DATES:**
Comments on this match must be received no later than 30 days after date of publication in the *Federal Register* . If no public comment is received during the period allowed for comment or unless otherwise published in the *Federal Register* by VA, the new agreement will become effective a minimum of 30 days after date of publication in the *Federal Register* . If VA receives public comments, VA shall review the comments to determine whether any changes to the notice are necessary. This matching program will be valid for 18 months from the effective date of this notice. This agreement shall be valid for 18 months from its effective date. The agreement may be renewed for up to an additional 12 months, if the conditions outlined in the Computer Matching Agreement are met and with the concurrence of the Data Integrity Boards of the participating agencies.
**ADDRESSES:**
Comments may be submitted through *www.Regulations.gov* or mailed to VA Privacy Service (005R1A), 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response to CMA VBA/DoD MGIB and Post 9/11 (which uses records covered under SORN 58VA21/22/28). Comments received will be available at regulations.gov for public viewing, inspection or copies.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Brian Schlias, Data Analytics Team Chief, Education Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, (918) 658-1710.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
This matching program supports VA's administration of education benefits by verifying eligibility information with the Department of Defense (DoD). The current agreement is being reestablished to continue these data exchanges and ensure accurate benefit determinations. The existing agreement expired on February 6, 2026.
The authority to conduct this match is found in 38 U.S.C. 3684A(a)(1). The records covered include eligibility records extracted from DoD personnel files and benefit records that VA establishes for all individuals who have applied for and/or are receiving or have received education benefit payments under the Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty, Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill. These benefit records are contained in a VA system of records identified as 58VA21/22/28 entitled: Compensation, Pension, Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Records—VA, first published in the *Federal Register* at 41 FR 9294 (March 3, 1976), and last amended at 90 FR 44464 (September 15, 2025), with other amendments as cited therein.
*Participating Agencies:* This computer match is between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD).
*Authority for Conducting the Matching Program:* The authority to conduct this match is 38 U.S.C. 3684A(a)(1).
*Purpose(s):* This agreement establishes the conditions under which the Department of Defense (DoD) agrees to disclose information regarding eligibility to education benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve and the Post-9/11 GI Bill to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The purpose of this computer matching program between VA and DoD is to verify that individuals meet the conditions of military service and eligibility criteria for payment of benefits determined by VA under three enacted programs.
*Categories of Individuals:* Veterans, Servicemembers, Reservists and Dependents.
*Categories of Records:* Department of Defense (DoD), as the source agency, will provide to VA the eligibility records on DoD individuals which contain specific data relating to eligibility requirements, including member contribution amounts, service periods, and transfer of entitlement. VA will match on attributes, including Social Security Number (SSN), DoD Electronic Data Interchange Personal Identifier (EDIPI or VA ID), Date of Birth, Last Name, and File Identification Number.
*System(s) of Records:* These benefit records are contained in a VA system of records identified as 58VA21/22/28 entitled: Compensation, Pension, Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Records—VA, first published in the *Federal Register* at 41 FR 9294 (March 3, 1976), and last amended at 90 FR 44464 (September 15, 2025) and eligibility records are extracted from a DoD system of records identified as DMDC 02, DoD, entitled “Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS),” published in the *Federal Register* at 87 FR 32384 (May 31, 2022).
*Signing Authority:* The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Lisa Rosenmerkel, Chief Privacy Officer and Chair of the Data Integrity Board, Department of Veterans Affairs approved this document on February 26, 2026 for publication.
Dated: April 8, 2026.
Saurav Devkota,
Government Information Specialist, VA Privacy Service, Office of Compliance, Risk and Remediation, Office of Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.