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Components

Summary Box

Also known as: Featured content

use: deployed Web
The Summary Box component helps Veterans quickly identify must-read information on a page. Use this component to highlight a small chunk of the most important information on a page, like eligibility criteria or coverage under a particular VA benefit.

Examples

Default

View va-summary-box in Storybook

Usage

Additional guidance for VA

When to use Summary Box

  • Highlight the most important information. The Summary box component is for calling out key details that readers shouldn’t miss. It was originally intended to hold eligibility data exclusively. The content should be “evergreen”, not time sensitive.

When to consider something else

  • Basic overview information. This component is not intended for basic overview information.
  • Related content. Don’t use this component to highlight related information on, and drive Veterans to, other pages. Use related or major links, media cards, or stories (depending on template options) instead for this purpose.
  • Table of contents. Do not use a Summary box component for a table of contents. Use the On this page component instead for in-page navigation.
  • Dynamic highlight. If you’re highlighting something that was dynamically added to the page in response to a user action, use a variation of an Alert component.
  • Time sensitive. If you have a message that will appear only for a defined period of time, use an Alert component instead.
  • Sibling content. Use accordions to hold chunks of sibling content. For example, accordions are used in forms on the review screen.
  • Additional context. To reveal helpful background information in a form, use the Details component. Details is especially useful when the content is closely tied to a particular message or input on the screen. The lighter design prevents breaking up the visual progression as the user navigates the form. These can also serve as an alternative when accordions feel too heavy.

Placement

Summary box is found towards the top of the page after the h1 title of the page and intro text.

How to use the Summary box component

  • Features must use a h2, h3 or h4 heading depending on what the appropriate heading level is for your page based on the content of your page.
  • Also supports open text, such as <p>, <ul>, and <ol>, <strong>, <em>, and <a>.

Variations

Instances of this component in production

Eligibility

Am I eligible for VA health care benefits?

You may be eligible for VA health care benefits if you served in the active military, naval, or air service and didn't receive a dishonorable discharge.

  • If you enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, you must have served 24 continuous months or the full period for which you were called to active duty, unless any of the descriptions below are true for you.

    This minimum duty requirement may not apply if any of these are true:

    • You were discharged for a disability that was caused—or made worse—by your active-duty service, or
    • You were discharged for a hardship or "early out," or
    • You served prior to September 7, 1980
  • If you're a current or former member of the Reserves or National Guard, you must have been called to active duty by a federal order and completed the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty. If you had or have active-duty status for training purposes only, you don't qualify for VA health care.

The Summary Box block is mainly intended for use in highlighting eligibility on VA.gov.

Like this

Example of the Link, Collection, Related links component to show a list of links.
Use the Major links variation of the Link - Collection component for a collection of links.

Not this

An example of a Summary box triptych.
Use of this component is not recommended to replace a Card component.

Like this

Example of the Related link component to show a list of links.
Use the Related links variation of the Link - Collection component for a collection of links.

Not this

An example of a spotlight content block in the VA Pittsburgh health care page.
Use of this component is not recommended for linking to related content.

Code usage

Content considerations

  • Keep content brief. If there are more than 5 bullet points, the bullet points are longer than 20 words, or the bullet points require a header, image or button consider using simple body text, headings, and lists instead.

Accessibility considerations

Provide feedback

Share your feedback, report issues, or suggest improvements for the Summary Box component. Your input helps us make the design system better for everyone.

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Last updated: Sep 09, 2026