The Hazlewood Act is a State of Texas benefit that provides qualified Veterans, spouses, and dependent children with an education benefit of up to 150 hours of tuition exemption, including most fee charges, at public institutions of higher education in Texas. This does NOT include living expenses, books, or supply fees. The Institution of Higher Education (IHE) is the final decision-making authority on student eligibility. For more information, contact hazlewood@tvc.texas.gov
*Check with your school on application deadline policies. If you qualify for state education benefits earned through military service and your verification paperwork to the school is delayed, you may apply for up to a 60-day deferment of tuition and fees to avoid late charges and/or being dropped from classes by submitting a Deferment Request Form.
Hazlewood Student Hours Database
Downloadable Forms
External Links
Statutes
A Veteran must meet all the eligibility requirements as drawn from the Hazlewood Act Statute and 40 Texas Administrative Code §461:
Eligible Veterans may assign or transfer unused hours of exemption eligibility to a child under certain conditions as drawn from the Hazlewood Act Statute and 40 Texas Administrative Code §461
A Child (Legacy Act) must:
Legacy recipients will receive an exemption for the number of degree certified hours reported by the institution for that term or semester. Maximum degree certified hours awarded to the Legacy recipient will be dependent upon the degree or certificate program in which the student is enrolled for that term or semester and shall be consistent with the program length as defined within the school catalog as approved by the regional accreditation commission. (40 TAC §461.30)
*If a child to whom hours have been delegated fails to use all of the assigned hours, a Veteran may re-assign the unused hours that are available to another child. Only one child will use Hazlewood Legacy benefits at a time.
Yes. However, you can only transfer unused hours to one eligible child at a time, you may not exceed 150 hours total, regardless of how you distribute the hours among multiple children.
No. Only one Legacy child may use the transferred hours at a time.
Yes, If the child was using the veterans’ benefit already as an IRS dependent and there is a tax transcript, the child may continue to use the hours. The veterans’ legal next of kin, entrusted with the veteran’s estate may sign on behalf of the deceased veteran.
A grandchild living with their grandparents may be eligible to receive the veterans’ unused hours, by proving they are a dependent via IRS transcripts or court records of adoption, legal guardianship, or full custody.
There must be a document to prove the veteran’s intention to transfer their Hazlewood exemption to the designated grandchild (i.e., a will, adoption court records, other legal documents).
The Hazlewood Act cannot be transferred to a child by the deceased veteran’s executor unless there are supporting documents to substantiate the veteran intended to transfer the benefit (i.e., a will, adoption, court records, or IRS tax transcripts showing the veteran regarded the child as a dependent, etc.). While a child recently moved into a relative’s home and is cohabitating with the grandparent, there is no established custodial relationship between the veteran and the child. The relationship must be proven through legal documentation. Without the supporting document(s), the child may not apply for the Hazlewood Act tuition exemption benefit of their deceased veteran grandparent. There must be a clear legal link established between the grandchild and the deceased veteran grandparent.
If the biological father wants to transfer his Hazlewood Act eligibility – and the child and veteran parent meet eligibility requirements – then, yes, the child may use the veteran parent’s benefit.
There are no existing provisions in either the State Education Code or the TVC’s Admin Rules, that preclude a biological child of a Hazlewood Act benefit-eligible veteran from receiving that benefit once the child is (legally) adopted by a stepparent.
[ EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 54. TUITION AND FEES (texas.gov)] [ Texas Administrative Code (state.tx.us) ]
No. There is no age minimum specified in the Texas Statutes or Administrative Rules governing the Hazlewood Act exemption benefit.
A Legacy child must stop using the Hazlewood Act exemption when they reach 26 years of age. After 26, the benefit is no longer available to them.
No. There is no age limit for a child, spouse, or dependent who has their own Hazlewood hours. Each veteran family member may receive their own 150 tuition hours if the veteran is 100%, total and permanent, service-connected by the VA.
A Spouse / Dependent must:
Be the spouse/dependent of an eligible veteran who is determined by the VA to be 100%, total and permanent, service-connected veteran or one who became totally disabled for purposes of employability as a result of a service-related injury or illness. The spouse/dependent(s) of an eligible veteran who meets the requirements below are entitled to receive a 150 credit hours exemption, each, under certain conditions as drawn from the Hazlewood Act Statute and Texas Administrative Code §461:
Be the spouse/dependent of a Hazlewood Act benefit-eligible veteran who is determined by the VA to be 100% total and permanent service-connected veteran or one who became disabled for purposes of employability because of a service-related injury or illness. The veteran must have been KIA, MIA, or died as a result of service-related injuries or illness.
To use the exemption, a veteran, Legacy, or Spouse/Dependent (Child with own hours) must be enrolled in a certificate program or degree program with a degree plan.
The child must be a biological, adopted, stepchild or dependent claimed in the current or previous tax year.
Yes. The veteran uses their Hazlewood exemption when they share it with a Legacy child. Each person who is eligible to use the Hazlewood Act must currently reside in Texas; (40 TAC §461.40) & (40 TAC §461.70). Each Legacy child, dependent, or spouse must be classified by the institution as a Texas resident; (40 TAC §461.70).
No. A veteran who is totally and permanently disabled and individually unemployable is not required to maintain Texas residency while their eligible child and/or spouse are using their Child/Spouse Hazlewood Act benefits.
This section contains resources and links dedicated for the use of Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), which include colleges and universities only. Veterans, Children, Spouses and Dependents should utilize the above resources.
Register a new account using a new email and password. Your information will be immediately available after registering a new account and logging in. Use your first name (not a nickname or initials), date of birth, and social security number.
Register and log in to your Hazlewood account. You will see your “hours used” and subtract that number from 150 (the total any one student may receive). If you do not see hours used, the school did not post your hours against the Hazlewood Act. Call 877-898-3833 for assistance.
To revoke a Legacy Child’s hours in the current semester, use the Revocation of Previously Assigned Hours form. After revoking the hours from one child, the veteran will continue the application process for the second child to share the benefit.
Perhaps. If you have never used Hazlewood, a “0” indicates no hours have been charged. If you have used Hazlewood, and you see “0” hours, please contact us at 877-898-3833.
No action is required or necessary.
Yes. A student must meet the GPA requirement of the institution’s satisfactory academic progress policy in a degree or certificate program as determined by the institution’s financial aid policy and, as an undergraduate student, not be considered to have attempted an excessive amount of credit hours. This requirement does not apply to the spouse/child of an MIA, KIA, or service-connected deceased Veteran. (40 TAC §461.50) & (40 TAC §461.60).
It is the veteran’s responsibility to provide the appropriate proof of eligibility as specified in:
The Hazlewood Act is available only for use at a Texas public college or university. To access listings of Texas public colleges and universities, go to the Texas Institutions of Higher Education page and select any of the schools listed under the Texas Public Institutions. The schools listed under Independent (Private) Institutions do NOT qualify for this exemption.
Hazlewood Act Benefit Student Usage Reports and DD-214 Reporting Reminders:
Submission Dates
Fall Semester – January 31 st
Spring Semester – June 30 th
Summer Semesters – September 30 th
Background of the DD214 Report portion of Hazlewood Act reporting: Beginning October 2018, public institutions of higher education were notified of the requirement to submit additional demographic data as it relates to the veteran’s DD214 and the use of the Hazlewood Act by Texas veterans and their families. This additional information may be provided through a standalone DD214 Report submission, or integrated via the .csv file report which combines both the DD214 Report and the Student Usage Report into a single completed file. We appreciate your continued support providing the additional information with your submitted files.
Hazlewood Database for Institutions
Documents
Statutes
We welcome all Hazlewood Act certifying officials who have questions or concerns, please contact us at Veterans Education Services via e-mail at hazlewood@tvc.texas.gov or phone at 512-463-3168.
Thank you for your continued support of veterans and their families as they pursue their educational goals!
Perhaps. It is possible to use the Hazlewood Act or Child Legacy Act while on active duty, if the servicemember has been released or discharged from previous military service and received a DD-214 that qualifies the veteran to receive the Hazlewood Act.
The requirement amount is “more than 180 days” of active-duty service, excluding initial entry training for the veteran.
Yes. The law requires more than 180 days of Hazlewood Act exemption qualifying federal military service, excluding initial entry training. The law does not specify nor require the full 181 active-duty days to fall under one continuous period.
No. You must have a discharge type of “honorable” or “under honorable conditions, general,” or equivalent language.
Yes. In September 1996, the Texas Attorney General issued an opinion that military personnel honorably separated after being on active duty may qualify for the Hazlewood Act exemption if they meet other program requirements.
An active-duty service member assigned in Texas with their family, receives in-state tuition – Public Law 110-315, section 114 amends section 135 [ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-110publ315/pdf/PLAW-110publ315.pdf ]: ‘‘SEC. 135. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES ON ACTIVE DUTY, SPOUSES, AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN. ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT—In the case of a member of the armed forces who is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days and whose domicile or permanent duty station is in a State that receives assistance under this Act, such State shall not charge such member (or the spouse or dependent child of such member)” tuition for attendance at a public institution of higher education.”
in the State at a rate that is greater than the rate charged for residents in the state.
(a) Military personnel are classified as provided by this section.
(b) A person who is an officer, enlisted person, selectee, or draftee of the Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Navy, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast Guard, or Coast Guard Reserve of the United States, who is assigned to duty in Texas, and the spouse and children of such an officer, enlisted person, selectee, or draftee, are entitled to register in a state institution of higher education by paying the tuition fee and other fees or charges required of Texas residents, without regard to the length of time the officer, enlisted person, selectee, or draftee has been assigned to duty or resided in the state. However, out-of-state Army National Guard or Air National Guard members attending training with Texas Army or Air National Guard units under National Guard Bureau regulations may not be exempted from nonresident tuition by virtue of that training status nor may out-of-state Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard Reserves training with units in Texas under similar regulations be exempted from nonresident tuition by virtue of that training status. It is the intent of the legislature that only those members of the Army or Air National Guard or other reserve forces mentioned above be exempted from the nonresident tuition fee and other fees and charges only when they become members of Texas units of the military organizations mentioned above.
(c) The spouse or child of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who has been assigned to duty elsewhere immediately following assignment to duty in Texas is entitled to pay the tuition fees and other fees or charges provided for Texas residents if the spouse or child resides continuously in Texas.
(d) A spouse or dependent child of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, who is not assigned to duty in Texas but who has previously resided in Texas for a six-month period, is entitled to pay the tuition fees and other fees or charges provided for Texas residents for a term or semester at an institution of higher education if the member:
1. at least one year preceding the first day of the term or semester executed a document with the applicable military service that is in effect on the first day of the term or semester and that:
(A) indicates that the member’s permanent residence address is in Texas; and
(B) designates Texas as the member’s place of legal residence for income tax purposes;
