How long does a VA loan take to close?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage ·
Short answer
About the same as any other purchase — typically a few weeks from contract to closing, depending on the market and the lender. The VA-specific steps are the Certificate of Eligibility and the VA appraisal, and neither adds meaningful time if the COE is pulled at pre-approval and the appraisal is ordered the day the contract is signed. The reputation for slow VA closings comes from lenders who do not do many of them.
There is nothing structurally slow about a VA loan. The underwriting is ordinary; the two VA-specific items are documents that can be handled early.
Certificate of Eligibility. The lender pulls it through VA's system at pre-approval, usually in seconds. If VA's records are incomplete it can take weeks by mail — which is why it belongs at the start, not at contract. The COE page covers what to send.
The VA appraisal. Ordered through VA's portal and assigned to a VA fee appraiser, who has a set number of days to deliver. In markets with plenty of appraisers that is fast; in thin markets it can add a few days. The lender should order it the day the contract is ratified. If the value comes in low, the Tidewater process adds two business days; repair conditions add whatever the repair takes.
Everything else — income, credit, title, insurance — runs on the same clock as any loan. Military-specific documents (LES, orders, statement of service) are quick if you have MyPay access.
What actually slows VA closings is a lender that does not do them often and learns the process on your file. Ask any lender how many VA loans they closed last year. If you are buying on orders, the PCS Home Buying Guide puts the sequence together, and the house-hunting leave page covers what to finish before the trip.
Questions people also ask
- Does the VA appraisal take longer than a conventional one?
- It can add a few days in markets with few VA fee appraisers, because VA assigns the appraiser rather than the lender choosing one. Order it on contract ratification and build the turn time into the closing date.
- What slows a VA closing down?
- A COE that comes back with a problem discovered late, a Tidewater notice or repair conditions from the appraisal, a missing statement of service, or a power of attorney arranged at the last minute. All are avoidable with sequencing.
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