SGLI to VGLI: the deadlines and the steps

Your SGLI does not turn into VGLI on its own. You apply, you send the first premium, and the date you separated from service decides how easy that is.

Going from SGLI to VGLI means applying to OSGLI, the office that runs both programs under the VA. Your SGLI keeps covering you, free, for 120 days after you separate. Apply within 240 days and no health questions are asked. You have up to 1 year and 120 days to apply at all. This page is the how-to and the calendar. For the side-by-side comparison of the two products, see our SGLI vs. VGLI guide, and for the program itself, start with what VGLI is.

The SGLI to VGLI timeline, day by day

The clock starts on your separation date. Every deadline below is counted from it, and the VA publishes the same dates on its VGLI page. Here is what each stretch means in practice:

OSGLI usually contacts you within 45 to 60 days after you separate, by mail, at the last address the Department of Defense has for you. That mailing is a reminder, not the application. If it never arrives, you can apply online without it.

Here is how the dates play out. Say Marcus separates with $400,000 of SGLI. This is an illustration, not a quote or a prediction.

• He applies on day 90 and sends the first premium. VGLI of up to $400,000 starts on day 121, the day after SGLI ends, with no gap.
• He applies on day 200. No health questions, but VGLI starts the day OSGLI receives his acceptable application and premium. Under the VA’s rules, days 121 to 200 are covered by neither program.
• He applies on day 300. He sends proof of good health with the form, and approval depends on that review.

How to apply, step by step

The process is short. Most of the work is gathering two facts and one document before you start.

1. 1.Write down your separation date and your SGLI amount. The paper form also needs proof of separation and of your SGLI at separation, such as your DD Form 214.
2. 2.Pick your amount. You can take up to the SGLI you held, in $10,000 steps, to a maximum of $500,000. You can choose less.
3. 3.Apply online through OSGLI, or send form SGLV 8714. The online link is on the VA’s VGLI page. The paper form goes by mail or fax.
4. 4.Send the first premium with the application. This applies even if you plan to pay later by allotment from retirement pay or a deduction from VA disability compensation.
5. 5.Name your VGLI beneficiary. You can do it through OSGLI’s online portal or with form SGLV 8721. More on why below.
6. 6.Watch for your certificate of coverage. OSGLI sends one once the application is approved, and monthly premiums start the month after coverage begins.

The program rules are laid out in the VA’s Servicemembers’ and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance Handbook, chapter 12, if you want the exact wording.

What happens if you miss a window

Missing a date does not always close the door. It changes the terms, and each deadline changes them differently.

• You miss day 120. SGLI has ended, and VGLI starts on the date OSGLI gets your acceptable application and premium. Until then, neither program covers you.
• You miss day 240. You can still apply, but you must send proof of good health, and the VA reviews it before approving.
• You miss 1 year and 120 days. The standard VGLI application period has ended. The SGLI Disability Extension, covered below, has its own timeline.

If you are past the last date, or past the health-review line and worried about it, VGLI is not the only route. Private term or whole life from an independent carrier asks health questions and prices by age and health, so the cost varies from person to person. And if you have a VA service-connected disability rating of any percentage, including 0%, and are 80 or younger, VALife offers up to $40,000 of whole life with no health questions. Its full coverage starts 2 years after you apply. Our VALife guide covers who qualifies, and VALife vs VGLI sets it beside VGLI. Veterans who hold an older S-DVI policy have their own rules.

What changes once you have VGLI

VGLI is renewable group term insurance. It keeps the protection going, but several day-to-day things work differently from SGLI.

On beneficiaries: your SGLI designation counts as your VGLI designation for no more than 60 days after VGLI starts. After that, if no VGLI beneficiary was named, the proceeds are paid under the order of precedence set in law, which may not match who you would pick. Naming one yourself settles it. For the price side, our VGLI rates guide shows the monthly chart by age, and how the five-year age bands step up explains why the premium rises later. If you are deciding whether to keep it once you have it, see is VGLI worth it.

One timing note for anyone enrolling now. The VA has announced a VGLI premium holiday for November 1, 2026 through January 31, 2027. Your first premium is always required and is not part of the holiday, and because VGLI cannot start before SGLI ends, the earliest VGLI start date is day 121. The VA’s rules for each start month are on our VGLI rates page.

Special situations

• Totally disabled when you separate. You can apply for the SGLI Disability Extension (form SGLV 8715). It keeps SGLI going at no cost for up to 2 years or until the disability ends, whichever is earlier. You do not need a VA disability rating to apply. At the end, OSGLI bills you for VGLI.
• Still in the Ready Reserve or National Guard. You can keep SGLI while you remain a member, and you can also convert your active-duty SGLI to VGLI. Both together cannot exceed $500,000.
• Assigned to the IRR or Inactive National Guard. Your 1 year and 120 days is counted from the date you join that status, and you send orders showing your assignment.
• Returning to active duty with VGLI. You become covered by SGLI again. To avoid paying for double coverage, you can stop VGLI premiums, and you can reapply for VGLI after a period of duty of 31 days or longer.

When you do not need to call us

If you know you want VGLI, you are inside the 240 days, and you have your separation date, apply to the VA directly. The application is the VA’s, and it does not need a middleman. Going straight to the VA is a perfectly good outcome.

Call us when a question gets in the way. A date that does not add up, a beneficiary you are unsure how to name, a window that has closed, or a wish to see VGLI next to other coverage. The call is free, with no pressure, and a conversation that ends with “apply for VGLI” counts as a good one.