Fill Out SGLV 8286A Online
Spouse Coverage Election and Certificate (Family SGLI)
Department of Veterans Affairs (SGLI)
Elects, declines, or reduces Family SGLI life insurance coverage for the spouse of a service member.
Reviewed July 2026
How it works
- 1
Open the form. The official PDF loads straight into the editor, no download needed first.
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Fill it out in the editor. Click anywhere to type, add checkmarks and place your signature.
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Download your PDF. Save the completed form, ready to print or submit.
SGLV 8286A, the Spouse Coverage Election and Certificate, is the paper form for electing, reducing, or declining Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) coverage on the spouse of a service member. FSGLI is the family coverage attached to a member's own SGLI.
As with the member's own coverage, most services now handle spouse coverage changes online through the SGLI Online Enrollment System (SOES) in milConnect, so many members never touch the paper form. It remains in use where SOES does not apply, including for members of the Public Health Service. When the paper form is the right route, you can complete it in the Universal PDF editor and download the finished PDF to print and sign.
What is SGLV 8286A used for
The form documents a member's decisions about spouse coverage under FSGLI:
- Electing spouse coverage, up to the FSGLI spouse maximum shown on the VA website and never more than the member's own SGLI amount
- Reducing spouse coverage to a lower amount
- Declining spouse coverage entirely
Who uses SGLV 8286A
Members with full-time SGLI who have a spouse are the audience for FSGLI spouse coverage. In most uniformed services those members manage the coverage in SOES, and the paper form is unnecessary.
The paper SGLV 8286A is still used where SOES is not available, including by members of the Public Health Service. Dependent children are a separate matter: they are covered automatically under FSGLI at no premium charge, so no election form is involved for them.
How to fill out SGLV 8286A
If the paper form applies to your situation, complete each section:
- Member information: name, Social Security number, branch, and duty status
- Spouse information: name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Election: the coverage amount requested, a reduction, or the declination box
- Signature and date: the member signs, and the personnel office certifies the form
Where to send it
Submit the completed form to your unit personnel office, which certifies it and places it in your records. Premiums for spouse coverage are deducted from the member's pay, so check a later pay statement to confirm the change was applied.
Note that the insured under this election is the spouse, and the member is the beneficiary of spouse coverage by law, so the form has no separate beneficiary section like the member's own SGLV 8286.
Frequently asked questions
Usually not. In most uniformed services, spouse coverage elections and changes are made online in SOES through milConnect. The paper form remains for cases outside SOES, including Public Health Service members.
Yes. Dependent children of members with full-time SGLI are covered automatically at no premium charge, and no election form is required for them. SGLV 8286A only concerns spouse coverage.
Spouse coverage is available up to the FSGLI spouse maximum shown on the VA website, and it can never exceed the member's own SGLI coverage amount.
The service member is the beneficiary of FSGLI spouse coverage. That is set by the program's rules rather than by a designation on the form.
Yes. Open the form in the Universal PDF editor, type the member and spouse information, then download the completed PDF to print, sign, and submit through your personnel office.
Related forms
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