Cal Vet College Fee Waiver

 

Ready to apply your Cal Vet Fee Waiver for the 2025-26 academic year? This page will guide you through gathering your documents, connecting with your County VSO, and submitting your approval code to Cal Poly.

The Cal Vet College Fee Waiver (CVCFW) is a California state benefit that waives mandatory system-wide tuition for eligible dependents of service-connected disabled or deceased veterans. Remember, the CVCFW is a state-specific benefit and is managed separately from federal VA programs like the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Use the steps below to ensure your waiver is processed before tuition deadlines.This waiver applies only to State Tuition. It does not cover campus-based fees, housing, dining, or books. Students must be classified as California residents for tuition purposes and must reapply through their County VSO every academic year.

Key Facts to Know:

• Only California residents are eligible.

• Waives state tuition ONLY

• Students remain responsible for campus-based fees and living expenses.

• Students using Ch 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill at 100% eligibility will not benefit from using a CVCFW. 

• Students using Ch 35 Dependents Education Assistance can use a CVCFW if they fall under the California Poverty Level and are awarded a Plan B CVCFW. For Academic Year 2026-27, the income limit is $22,941. Financial eligibility is determined by adding the student's Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from their tax documentation to the Annual Value of Parental Support for the previous calendar/tax year. If the student does not meet this threshold, they will be awarded a Plan A waiver that cannot be used at the same time as CH 35. 

• If the student has a Cal Grant FEES (not all Cal Grants) or a State University Grant in their financial aid package, the CVCFW cannot be applied. 

• There is no requirement that a veteran must claim a student on their taxes to apply for the Cal Vet College Fee Waiver. "Dependent" just refers to the student being a legal child, stepchild or spouse of the veteran. 

WHEN	TASK	LINK
Now	Student - review this page. Interested parents/supporters are also invited to review the information, but it is important that the student is completing these steps to understand their responsibilities in using military education benefits.
Now	Student - review our cost of attending information.	CLICK HERE
After May 1st	Student - gather the documents needed to apply for the CVCFW. See table below for needed documentation. Plan ahead. It can take several weeks to get tax documentation form the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) or Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Once all documentation is available	Student - apply for a CVCFW with your local County Veterans Service Office (CVSO). For students from highly impacted counties - apply with the SLO County VSO.	Find your county VSO - CLICK HERE   Schedule an appt with SLO County VSO - CLICK HERE
After application is submitted	The CVSO will process your application.
After approval of application	VetPro will email the student an approval letter with a 16-digit approval code.
After approval email is received	Student will submit the 16-digit code to Cal Poly here.	Use links above
After submission to Cal Poly	The CMCS will retrieve the students waiver, process it and forward it to Student Accounts at each campus for further processing
After students register for classes each term	The Student Accounts office will write off any state tuition costs for that term. This is a manual process and sometimes takes a couple of weeks for the university to complete the 600+ waivers that must be applied each term. Each quarter, Cal Poly will write off only the state tuition fee, not other registration fees
After the CVCFW is applied	Students are able to view their Account Activity in their Money Matters tab to verify that their waiver has been applied. Please allow several days for this credit to be applied to your account each term after registration charges appear. It will show as a credit labeled "UG Tuition Fee Wvr".
Before the due date for payment of tuition and fees	Students will see the waiver applied and must make arrangements to pay the remaining balance for their class costs if they do not have financial aid (grants, scholarships and loans) in place to pay the remainder. Due dates can be found on the CMCS cost of Attending page.	CLICK HERE
Each year, after May 1st	Repeat application steps

 

 

 

 

  *While parents/supporters are encouraged to participate in the benefits process, the student is the responsible party and must complete the above steps. 

documents needed to aPply for a cal vet college fee waiver
Cal Vet College Fee Waiver Application	CLICK HERE
Students birth certificate (If the veteran is a step-parent or adoptive parent, also provide documentation substantiating the relationship)
Students tax information for the preceding calendar year: Students tax return or, if the student did not file taxes themselves: Individual Status Letter from the California Franchise Tax Board (preferred) or Statement of Non-Filing from the IRS	FTB Individual Status Letter -CLICK HERE   IRS Statement of Non-Filing - CLICK HERE
Veteran's DD214
Veterans VA disability rating letter	CLICK HERE

Find your county VSO - CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with SLO County VSO - CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with Orange County VSO CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with Los Angeles County VSO CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with San Francisco County VSO CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with Ventura County VSO CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with Riverside County VSO CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with Nevada County VSO CLICK HERE

Virtual drop in with Santa Clara County VSO (Tuesdays Only) CLICK HERE

Schedule an appt with Solano County VSO CLICK HERE

Contact Kern County VSO CLICK HERE

Schedule an appointment with the Contra Costa County VSO CLICK HERE

Cal Vet College Fee Waivers (CVCFW) are accepted at Cal Poly for all classes that charge state tuition. The CVCFW will waive the state tuition portion of academic costs. It does not cover university campus-based fees. Be prepared, when using the CVCFW, to pay a portion of the academic costs out of pocket. Cal Poly SLO students: review the Cost of Attending Cal Poly. 

• This program does not cover the expense of any Extended Education or Self-Supported courses at Cal Poly. This includes  many Study Abroad programs. Explore qualified Study Abroad opportunities. Graduate Students - Cal Poly's Business Analytics, Fire Protection Engineering, Packaging Value Chain, Quantitative Economics, and Taxation programs are all self-supported.
• The fee waiver approval received from a county veteran service office must be submitted here every academic year.
• Waivers cannot be credited retroactively for previous academic years.
• Waivers should be submitted prior to the tuition due dates and can take several business days to process and be applied. If the waiver is not turned in at least 2 weeks before tuition and fees are due, students may be required to pay those costs and request reimbursement.
• This is not a VA program - it is a State of California benefit wherein Cal Poly writes off the student's state tuition costs each quarter. No money is provided to Cal Poly on the student's behalf. 
• Waivers sent by email or mail will not be applied.
• Each waiver can be accessed and used once. If a student intends on attending multiple colleges, request multiple approval codes from the VSO. 
• Unlike VA programs, students using the CVCFW do not have a minimum course load requirement. The waiver will be applied regardless of the number of units a student is taking. We do not report course load, classes taken or grades.
• Financial Aid: We encourage all students to complete a FAFSA every year.
• The Cal Vet College Fee Waiver will only be affected by other grants meant to cover state tuition (State University Grant, Cal Grant FEES, some athletic awards). There are many grants and scholarships that will not conflict with the Cal Vet College Fee Waiver and pay other parts of the students total cost. Students can use grants, scholarships and loans with the Cal Vet College Fee Waiver to pay the fees that are associated with registering for classes each quarter. If awarded a State University Grant, Cal Grant FEES or other grant only meant to cover state tuition each quarter students will not need a Cal Vet College Fee Waiver. These are all meant for the state tuition portion of the cost of registering for classes and cannot be shifted towards payment of any other costs. 
• Unlike with VA programs, the CVCFW does not have any course applicability or course load requirements. The university writes off the cost of state tuition regardless of the courses or units a student takes.