The Quick Read: No, not when the loan you are paying off is itself a VA loan. VA will not guarantee that refinance until the old loan is “seasoned,” meaning 210 days have passed since its first payment due date and six monthly payments have been made. If you are paying off a conventional, FHA, or USDA loan instead, the VA seasoning test does not apply. Both clocks must be satisfied, and the later one controls.
This page covers who the rule hits, how to find your own date, what happens if a lender offers to close early, and what to do while you wait. It is written for homeowners who live in the home. Program details are subject to lender guidelines and full file review, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
VA cash-out estimate
Seeded with an example value, a typical balance, and a round cash request at the first-use fee; change any field.
Editable benchmark: 7.32% as of October 22, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a VA cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $350,000 home value, a $193,000 current balance, the full-value VA cap with the first-use funding fee financed, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, and property taxes and insurance estimated at typical national rates. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a VA cash-out refinance quote; a VA loan is priced by the lender at lock. The total loan, funding fee included, is capped at the program leverage on the reasonable value; the fee follows the tier chosen. The cash available is what the cap allows less the balances paid off and the fee, before closing costs, which are not included. The HELOC line is the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling applied to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. The debt-to-income figure is a guideline; residual income decides a VA file. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
What Does “Seasoning” Mean on a VA Cash-Out?
Seasoning is the age of the loan you are paying off. Think of it as a waiting period between your first VA loan and your next refinance. The goal is to stop a borrower from being refinanced again and again before the first loan has had time to prove itself.
Many borrowers assume a lender invented this. It did not. The rule sits in federal law, and it binds every lender. VA’s own Circular 26-19-22 traces the requirement to Section 309 of the 2018 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which added 38 U.S.C. § 3709. No lender can waive it for you.
The rule applies only to a VA-to-VA refinance. The VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 6 says seasoning means the age of the existing VA-guaranteed loan being refinanced. It also says the requirement does not apply to cash-out refinances of non-VA loans or other liens of record.
How the Two-Part Test Works
You need both of these to be true when the new loan closes:
- At least 210 days have passed since the first monthly payment on the old loan came due.
- You have made six monthly payments on the old loan.
The later of the two controls. Say you made your payments on schedule from the start. The 210-day mark usually arrives after the sixth payment, so the calendar is your bottleneck. Skip or miss a payment, and the payment count can become the bottleneck instead.
Two details trip people up. First, the 210 days run from the first payment due date, not from your closing date. VA Circular 26-20-16, Exhibit A clarifies this. Second, paying ahead does not shorten anything. Six early payments still leave you waiting for day 210.
VA’s older Circular 26-19-05 says a cash-out is “not eligible for guaranty” when the VA loan being refinanced is unseasoned at closing. The test is measured at closing, meaning the note date of the new loan. A closing even a few weeks short fails.
How Do You Find Your Own Date?
Start with the first payment due date on your current VA loan. It is on your Closing Disclosure and on your first billing statement. It is not your closing date, and it usually falls a month or two after it.
Then add 210 days to that due date. Count the payments you have made since. Your earliest eligible closing date is the later of the day-210 mark and the date your sixth payment is made.
Here are three contrasting pictures, with no dollar figures needed:
| Situation | Which clock controls | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid every month on time | The 210-day mark | Wait for day 210 |
| Skipped one early payment, then paid | Payment count may push later | Date moves out |
| Paid several months ahead | The 210-day mark | No time saved |
If your first payment came due well after your closing, your 210 days start later. Borrowers with a long gap between closing and first payment feel this the most. Count from the due date, and give yourself a buffer. Do not count on the closing date.
Does Seasoning Apply to Your Situation?
It depends on what you are paying off. This is the question that decides most files.
| Loan you are paying off | VA seasoning test applies? | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| VA loan | Yes | First payment date and payment count |
| Conventional loan | No | Lender’s own history requirements |
| FHA loan | No | Lender’s own history requirements |
| USDA loan | No | Lender’s own history requirements |
A non-VA payoff avoids the VA test. That does not mean there is no waiting at all. A lender or investor may have its own ownership or payment-history requirements. Those are not VA rules, and they vary. Across the wholesale programs Lendmire works with, this is a place where files differ, so ask early.
A VA cash-out is for the home you live in, and occupancy decides how the loan is structured.
This is also where other websites disagree. Some pages blur the VA-to-VA rule with the non-VA case, and some merge it with the streamlined refinance. The Handbook language above settles it: seasoning follows the loan being paid off, and only when that loan is a VA loan.
Type I and Type II: Does Timing Differ?
VA sorts cash-out refinances into two types. A Type I is one where the new loan, including the funding fee, does not exceed the payoff of the old loan. A Type II is one where the new loan is larger than the payoff, so you can take equity as cash. The Handbook’s Chapter 6 defines both.
Both types face seasoning on a VA-to-VA refinance. The source of the standard differs. Per Circular 26-20-16, Type I follows the seasoning standard in Public Law 116-33, and Type II follows VA’s regulation at 38 CFR 36.4306. The Handbook’s certification language refers to six or more consecutive payments.
In practice, the two types may count payments a little differently, especially after a missed payment. Do not guess. Treat six on-time, back-to-back payments as the safe target, and ask your loan officer how the file will be counted. The Handbook carries the details.
Type I has extra tests. For a fixed-to-fixed Type I, the Handbook requires the new rate to be at least 0.5 percentage points lower than the old one. VA conference materials also show fees and costs being recouped within 36 months. A Type II has no such drop requirement, though it still needs a net tangible benefit.
What Happens If a Lender Offers to Close Early?
Be careful. An offer to close before seasoning is met is a red flag, not a favor.
The lender must certify seasoning when it requests the VA guaranty. If the old loan was not seasoned, the loan is not eligible for the guaranty. VA Circular 26-19-22 says remedial action is not possible when the refinanced loan was not properly seasoned. That means a mistake cannot simply be fixed later.
Mailers and “you qualify now” calls sometimes arrive before your seasoning date. A premature application can fail at the guaranty stage, after you have already spent time and money on it. Count your own date first, then compare it against what any lender tells you.
What Counts, and What Does Not
- Paying ahead: does not shorten the 210-day clock.
- Extra principal payments: do not count as additional monthly payments.
- A missed or skipped payment: can leave you short on the count even when the calendar is satisfied.
- A new refinance meant to “cure” the problem: does not bypass anything. Circular 26-20-16 says any new refinance must meet seasoning requirements.
- Loan modifications or assumptions: VA has proposed counting payments made after a modification or assumption toward seasoning for streamlined refinances. That is a proposal for the IRRRL, not a cash-out rule, so do not rely on it.
VA Rule or Lender Overlay?
Keep these two categories apart. They feel the same when you hear “no,” but they work differently.
| Item | VA requirement | Lender overlay |
|---|---|---|
| 210 days and six payments (VA-to-VA) | Yes | No |
| Net tangible benefit | Yes | No |
| Recent late payments | Not as a seasoning test | Often |
| Ownership history on a non-VA payoff | No | Sometimes |
| Credit score floor | VA sets none | Yes |
The wholesale programs Lendmire places VA loans with start at a 580 decision score, and each lender reviews the full file. That floor is a program guideline, not a VA mandate. A lender may also look at recent payment history more closely than VA does.
Beyond the Calendar: Other Tests You Still Have to Pass
Meeting seasoning gets you to the starting line. It does not finish the job.
A cash-out is a full-underwriting loan. Credit, income, a VA appraisal, and a first lien are all part of it, per VA’s Chapter 6. It is not a no-appraisal streamline like the IRRRL. The IRRRL is the interest rate reduction refinance, which refinances an existing VA loan to a lower rate, or from adjustable to fixed, with no VA appraisal. It carries the same seasoning concept.
Residual income is the controlling underwriting test. Residual income is what is left of your monthly income after your debts and living costs. The 41% debt-to-income figure is a guideline, not a cap. A ratio above it needs residual income well above the table.
Your certificate of eligibility, or COE, comes from VA and decides eligibility. A refinance also uses entitlement, which is the amount VA guarantees on your behalf. With full entitlement, there is no VA loan limit, and a VA cash-out can reach 100% of the appraised value, including the financed funding fee. The appraisal sets the reasonable value that caps the loan.
Net tangible benefit, or NTB, is the other gate. The lender must give you a test showing how you benefit, and each cash-out must meet at least one listed benefit. A VA conference presentation says a cash-out must meet one of the eight tests in 38 CFR § 36.4306(a)(3)(i). You can pass seasoning and still fail here.
The Funding Fee and What It Does to Your Cash
The VA funding fee is a one-time charge on most VA loans. VA News lists the cash-out refinance fee at 2.15% for first use and 3.3% after first use. The IRRRL fee is 0.5%. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, and certain other groups, are exempt.
The fee can usually be financed. That means it is added to the loan balance rather than paid at the table. Financing it reduces the cash you receive, because the fee counts toward the same 100% ceiling on appraised value. It also feeds into the Type I test, since the new loan, fee included, cannot exceed the payoff.
If you are exempt, make sure the file reflects it. A missed exemption is an expensive oversight.
What to Do While You Wait
Waiting is not wasted time if you use it.
1. Pull your first payment due date. It is on your Closing Disclosure. Add 210 days.
2. Log every payment. Confirm six have posted, and none were missed.
3. Pay on time. A late payment can draw lender scrutiny even when VA does not count it against seasoning.
4. Confirm your COE. Check that your entitlement information is current.
5. Decide what the cash is for. A clear goal helps you judge whether the added balance is worth it.
6. Ask for a loan officer’s read before applying. A premature application can fail at the guaranty stage.
What If You Cannot Wait?
If the loan you are paying off is a VA loan, there is no way around seasoning. A cash-out from that same loan simply is not available until it is met.
If you hold a non-VA loan, the VA seasoning test does not stand in the way. If you are within weeks of your date, the practical move is to wait. Starting too early risks a failed guaranty, and VA says the problem cannot be cured afterward.
Some borrowers weigh keeping the loan they have against a refinance. That is reasonable. A cash-out raises your balance. It is worth comparing what the extra equity buys against what it adds to the loan.
Key Terms Defined
Seasoning: the age of the VA loan you are paying off, measured by days since the first payment due date and payments made.
Type I cash-out: a VA cash-out where the new loan, fee included, does not exceed the payoff of the old loan.
Type II cash-out: a VA cash-out where the new loan exceeds the payoff, so you can take equity as cash.
Net tangible benefit (NTB): a required test showing how the refinance helps you.
Entitlement: the amount VA guarantees on your behalf, which a refinance uses.
Certificate of eligibility (COE): the VA document that confirms you are eligible.
Residual income: monthly income left after debts and living costs, and the controlling VA underwriting test.
Where This Fits
Lendmire arranges these loans through wholesale lenders, and the VA cash-out refinance program page lays out how the product works. For fee, cap, and seasoning detail, see Lendmire’s piece VA Cash-Out Refinance Requirements for Cap, Seasoning and Fees.
If you are weighing a cash-out refinance against keeping the loan you have, Lendmire can help you compare the programs and the equity each one reaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does paying extra each month shorten the VA seasoning wait?
No. The 210 days run from the first payment due date, so extra or early payments do not move the date. Six payments are also required, and paying ahead does not turn one month into two.
Does seasoning apply if I am refinancing a conventional or FHA loan into a VA cash-out?
No. VA’s seasoning test applies only when the loan being paid off is a VA-guaranteed loan. A lender or investor may still apply its own payment-history or ownership requirements, and those vary by program.
Is the 210 days counted from my closing date?
No. It is counted from the first payment due date on the old loan. That date is usually a month or two after closing, so counting from closing makes you think you are eligible too soon.
What if I missed a payment on my VA loan?
It can leave you short on the payment count even when 210 days have passed. The Handbook’s certification refers to six or more consecutive payments, so a miss may reset your count. Ask your loan officer how your file will be counted.
Is seasoning the only test I have to pass?
No. A VA cash-out is a full-underwriting loan with a credit review, income and residual income review, a VA appraisal, and a net tangible benefit test. Passing the calendar only gets you to the review. Approval is subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) licensed for consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, arranging FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans through a wholesale lending network. Eligibility is determined by the lender on each file. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
2. VA Lenders Handbook (VAP26-7), Chapter 6, Refinancing Loans
3. VA Circular 26-20-16, Exhibit A
5. VA News, funding fee: who pays, who is exempt
This article is part of Lendmire’s VA cash-out refinance program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Refinance an Existing VA Loan After a Divorce or Inheritance · How Much a VA Loan Refinance Costs to Close and Roll In · How to Buy With a VA Loan During the Transition Out of Service
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.