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Constitutional Hiring Preference — but Never on a Promotion

A constitutional preference in the state personnel system for veterans who served in a qualifying period or campaign, and for those receiving compensation for a line-of-duty disability — with an express bar on using it for any promotional opportunity.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

A constitutional preference in the state personnel system for veterans who served in a qualifying period or campaign, and for those receiving compensation for a line-of-duty disability — with an express bar on using it for any promotional opportunity.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served in the armed forces.
  • You are applying 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. 1Attach a DD-214 Member 4 showing the character of service. That is the document the state names, and Member 4 specifically — the short-form copies do not show it.
  2. 2Claiming as a disabled veteran takes a second document: a letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs showing a service-connected disability, filed alongside the DD-214.
  3. 3Check whether the posting is a promotional opportunity before counting on the preference. Under art. XII, §15(5) no person receives preference with respect to one — and an opening that is also open to people outside the department, for whom the appointment would be a promotion, counts as a promotional opportunity too.
  4. 4Three service routes qualify: active duty during a period authorized for preference by Congress; active duty during an authorized period with a campaign badge or service medal; or active duty followed by monetary compensation or disability retired benefits for a line-of-duty disability.
Form
State job application, with documentation attached
File with
The hiring state department, through the state careers system
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingThe promotional exclusion is wider than it first reads. A vacancy advertised to the public still counts as a promotional opportunity as to any applicant for whom the appointment would be a promotion, so two people can apply to the same posting and only one of them can use the preference.
Worth knowingEligibility is tied to a period, a campaign badge, or a compensated line-of-duty disability. Service alone, outside those routes, is not the test.
Known gapThe department’s page is headed "Veterans’ Preference Points" but does not state how many points each route carries; the numbers sit in the constitution, which was not readable this session. Ask the hiring department how the points are weighted in its comparative analysis before relying on a margin.

Sources

Why only one source type: The administering department states the constitutional basis, the three eligibility routes, the promotional bar and the documents. The constitutional text itself was not readable this session — leg.colorado.gov returned 403 and the Secretary of State rule PDF service returned a 500 — so the numeric point values are deliberately not asserted here.

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