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Restoration of Honor Act — a Discharge Recognised Under State Law

A veteran separated because of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression can be recognised as a discharged LGBT veteran by the state board, which opens state benefits their federal discharge character would otherwise close: in-state tuition, hiring preference points, purchasable service credit, burial at the veterans home cemetery and appointment as a county service officer.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

A veteran separated because of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression can be recognised as a discharged LGBT veteran by the state board, which opens state benefits their federal discharge character would otherwise close: in-state tuition, hiring preference points, purchasable service credit, burial at the veterans home cemetery and appointment as a county service officer.

What it's worth: A state-law status that opens listed state benefits closed by the discharge character

  • The qualifying grounds are separation because of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression; because of statements, consensual sexual conduct or consensual acts relating to them; or because such statements, conduct or acts were disclosed and were prohibited by the armed services at the time.
  • Conduct prohibited by the uniform code of military justice on grounds other than the person's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression is outside the definition.
  • A dishonorable discharge, a bad conduct discharge, or — for an officer — a dismissal, bars the status.
  • The board of veterans affairs makes the determination under a process the division sets.
  • The determination does not change the character of discharge on the discharge paperwork, and does not affect federal veterans programmes or benefits either way.
  • The division's own page lists what the status opens: in-state tuition, veterans preference points for state employment, eligibility to purchase or roll over service credit, burial eligibility at the veterans home cemetery, appointment as a county veterans service officer, and further benefits authorised under state law.

This record exists to correct a myth. A less-than-honorable discharge is not automatically the end of state benefits here. Where the separation was for sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, the board can recognise the veteran under state law and the discharge stops being a bar to the listed state programmes. Guidance that reads the discharge character straight off the paperwork misses this route entirely.

Who is entitled to it

  • The determination is made about a veteran of the armed services.
  • Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Assemble the discharge document, a personal affidavit, a cover letter and any records that bear on the reason for the separation.
  2. 2Email the request to the division. Applications received by the 15th of a month are reviewed the following month, and the division notifies the applicant within 30 days of the board's determination.
  3. 3Do not expect a federal change. The determination is a state-law status; it leaves the discharge character on your paperwork untouched and leaves federal entitlement exactly where it was. If you also want the federal character corrected, that is a separate discharge review, made in a different place.
  4. 4Once the determination is made, go back to the specific programmes and re-apply. Nothing is granted automatically by the status itself — it removes the discharge bar, and each office still runs its own process.
  5. 5A county veterans service officer can help with the file, and the division publishes the directory.
Form
Written request with a personal affidavit and supporting records
File with
The Division of Veterans Affairs, by email to the division mailbox
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionA less-than-honorable discharge is not automatically the end of state benefits here. Where the separation was for sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, the board can recognise the veteran under state law and the discharge stops being a bar to the listed state programmes. Guidance that reads the discharge character straight off the paperwork misses this route entirely.
CorrectionThe status is state-only. It does not correct the federal record and does not create or remove federal entitlement, so a veteran seeking a federal discharge upgrade still has to pursue that separately. Reading the determination as a federal upgrade is the most likely misunderstanding.
Worth knowingThe exclusions are precise. A dishonorable discharge, a bad conduct discharge, or an officer's dismissal bars the status, and so does conduct the military justice code prohibited on grounds unrelated to orientation or identity. Everything between those poles is where the act does its work.
Known gapThe codified section was not read. The division's page and the enacted bill summary both state the definition and the exclusions, but the statute host refused both automated fetching and the browser this session, so the precise wording of the section and the full list of amended programmes were not verified line by line.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.