There is no official VA interest rate. What exists is a VA regulation that decides who sets the rate and then puts guardrails around it. Knowing those guardrails tells you what a lender can and cannot do with the rate on your VA loan.
38 CFR 36.4312 lets VA either require a rate agreed upon by the Veteran and the lender, or cap rates at a level VA sets by notice in the Federal Register. VA loans today carry the agreed-upon rate, so the rate is a negotiation between you and the lender, priced from that lender's rate sheet. That is why shopping lenders changes the result.
An interest rate reduction refinance must carry a rate lower than the VA loan it replaces. The one exception is refinancing an adjustable rate VA loan into a fixed rate.
Interest above the rate reported to VA is not payable on a delinquency or default. The only allowed extra is a late charge of up to 4 percent of a payment more than 15 days late.
A VA adjustable rate loan must move with the weekly average yield on one-year Treasury bills adjusted to a constant maturity.
You may prepay at any time without premium or fee, so a lower rate later is always an option.
Within the negotiated system, the price a lender offers turns on the things on its rate sheet: your credit score band, the loan amount, the loan purpose, and whether you pay points or take a credit. Our live table on the VA rates page lets you change each of those and watch the price move. The trade-off between points and rate is explained on VA discount points.
Rule text: 38 CFR 36.4312(a), (c) and (d)(1), Interest rates; 38 CFR 36.4311, Prepayment. Rates shown on this site are indicative, not a commitment to lend.
Rates change with every lender rate sheet. A short call turns the option you picked into a real Loan Estimate on your own file.