History and Mission of the Veterans Land Board

Supporting Texas Veterans since 1836 

In 1836, the General Land Office honored Veterans of the Texas Revolution with land grants. These early grants allowed our war heroes to settle the lands for which they fought. 

In 1946 — after more than a century of staunch support for Veterans — the Texas Legislature deepened its support with the passage of the Veterans Land Act. The legislation called for the creation of the Veterans Land Board, made up of the Governor, Attorney General, and Commissioner of the General Land Office. 

Shortly after, the Board was authorized to issue $25 million in bonds to fund the purchase of land. That land would then be resold to Texas Veterans who served in WWII.

Two years after the initial bonds were issued, the program expanded to include Veterans of the Korean War. Then, in 1956, the Board was restructured to include the Texas Land Commissioner and two gubernatorial appointees. One appointee must be well-versed in Veterans Affairs, the other in finance.

Today, the VLB offers qualified Veterans land loans for up to $150,000.  The loan terms are for 30 years and only 5% is required for a down payment.  These favorable loan terms allow Veterans to own a piece of Texas. 

Land, Home, and Home Improvement 

In the 1980s, the VLB established the Texas Veterans Housing Assistance Program (VHAP). Today, VHAP loans are available for up to $766,550.

Always in search of ways to increase its support for Texas Veterans, the VLB instituted the Veterans Home Improvement Program (VHIP) in 1986. Today, these loans help Veterans repair or improve their homes with up to $50,000 20-year loans or up to $10,000 10-year loans.

We also continue to prioritize land sales for Veterans through exclusive listings. We established these listings in 1946. Our listings of state land are an acre or more.

Learn more about our loans for Veterans 

Long-Term Care Homes

With the full cycle of property ownership now supported by the VLB — from exclusive listings to home loans to home improvement loans — we set our sights on long-term care for Veterans. In 1997, legislation was passed for the construction of Texas State Veterans Homes. Since then, the timeline of our  long-term care homes looks like this: <unordered list>

2000: First two homes open in Floresville and Temple

2001: Big Spring and Bonham homes

2005: McAllen and El Paso homes

2007: Amarillo home

2012: Tyler home

2019: Houston home

2025: Planned opening of the Fort Worth home that is currently under construction.
 

Learn more about our long-term homes.

Distinguished Resting Places

To advance our state’s support for those who answered the call, the Texas Legislature passed a law for the construction of Texas State Veterans Cemeteries in 2001. Between 2006 and 2011, we opened four distinguished resting places. Qualified Veterans, spouses, and dependent children are provided dignified burial services at no charge.

2006: Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery opens in Killeen; Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery opens in Mission 

2009: Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene opens

2011: Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery opens in Corpus Christi

2025-2026: Planned opening of the West Texas State Veterans Cemetery, currently under construction in Lubbock. 
 

Learn more about our Veterans cemeteries.
 

The VLB Mission

Image

The mission of the Veterans Land Board is to ensure the Veterans of Texas can access land loans, home loans, skilled nursing care, and the cemetery services they are eligible for in recognition of their honorable service to our country.