Connecticut veteran benefits
- Verified veteran benefits
- 37
- each with its statute
- Counties covered
- 9
- every one has its own page
- Veterans in this state
- 0.14M
- Rating thresholds that matter
- 0
- each one opens something different
How to use this, in four steps
You are on step 1. Nothing is locked — browse everything first, then check the ones that look relevant.
See what you may be entitled to
Browse every verified benefit in your state. No questions, no account — everything is open.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one. We stop as soon as we know.
Get the letter that shows the finding
A VA Benefit Summary Letter configured to show service connection, the rating and permanence satisfies most offices without disclosing any diagnosis.
File before the deadline
File the D-2 form and the annual VA entitlement record with the town assessor by September 30.
Which of these sounds like you?
Pick one and we will narrow the list. You can change or clear it at any point.
Two things sharpen this a lot
Both optional. Your county decides where you file and what a property tax exemption is actually worth; your rating decides which thresholds you cross.
Where do you live?
We use this once to work out your county, because property tax is decided county by county. No benefit is ever matched on a ZIP code alone.
Your VA disability status
What does my rating actually unlock?
Read the record for the test that applies in Connecticut — PA 24-46 is brand new, and towns are still implementing it.
4 likely, 37 possible
What you appear to qualify for — worth checking.
One question checks 27 of them. You can skip it and keep browsing.
Did you serve in the U.S. armed forces?
2 more questions could resolve others. We ask them one at a time.
Public Colleges MUST Award Credit for Your MOS Training
CGS 10a-149d requires UConn and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities to award college credit for military occupational specialty training. It is mandatory rather than discretionary, and there is no wartime test — any discharge other than dishonorable qualifies.
VeteransApplies statewideMandatory college credit for military occupational specialty training
Read it and check if you qualifyA High School Diploma for Leaving School to Serve
CGS 10-221a(i) lets a local or regional board of education award a high school diploma to an honorably discharged veteran of the Second World War, Korea or the Vietnam era who withdrew from high school before graduating in order to serve, and did not get a diploma as a result. The award is at the board's discretion rather than mandatory.
VeteransApplies statewideA high school diploma, at the board's discretion
Read it and check if you qualifyPrimary Residence Exempt in Full — and From 2025 You Must Apply Every Year
CGS 12-81(83) fully exempts the primary residence — or one vehicle for a veteran without a home — at a 100% permanent and total service-connected rating. From assessment years beginning on or after 1 October 2025 the exemption must be claimed ANNUALLY: an application to your assessor by 1 January, on the form the Office of Policy and Management creates, attesting that you claim in one town only. Proof of qualifying service is due 30 September; proof of the rating is due 1 January.
VeteransApplies statewideThe primary residence (or one motor vehicle), exempt in full
Read it and check if you qualifyRetirement Service Credit for Military Service — State, Municipal and Teachers
Connecticut lets wartime veterans in the State Employees and Teachers Retirement Systems PURCHASE military service credit, and gives AUTOMATIC credit to municipal employees who left for wartime service and returned within six months — a window extendable for a service-related disability. The Teachers Retirement System allows up to 30 months, including peacetime service.
VeteransApplies statewidePurchased or automatic military service credit, up to 30 months in the Teachers system
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Preference in State-Funded Rental Housing
CGS 8-75 gives veterans an admission preference in certain state-funded low and moderate income rental projects, where housing needs are substantially equal to those of competing applicants. A related priority applies to Security Deposit Guarantee Program assistance under CGS 8-339.
VeteransApplies statewideAdmission preference in certain state-funded rental projects, and priority for deposit assistance
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Connecticut Wartime Service Medal — Awarded Posthumously Too
Connecticut awards a state Wartime Service Medal, free, to a veteran with 90 days of active wartime service — or less where the war or operation lasted under 90 days — discharged honorably or under honorable conditions, or discharged for a line-of-duty injury. It reaches a current Connecticut resident, and equally someone who was a Connecticut resident during the qualifying period. It can be awarded posthumously on form VM2, and members of the Hmong Laotian Special Guerrilla Unit are eligible on form VM3.
VeteransApplies statewideA state medal, at no cost
Read it and check if you qualifyTemporary Financial Assistance From the Veterans Affairs Commissioner
CGS 27-125 authorises the state veterans commissioner to give temporary financial assistance to a wartime veteran in need because of disability or another service-related cause — in an amount and for a period the commissioner decides. It also reaches the spouse, parents, children or siblings of a veteran who died from service-related causes, where they cannot support themselves. No amount is published.
VeteransApplies statewideTemporary assistance in an amount and for a period the commissioner decides
Read it and check if you qualify$1,800 Toward the Funeral When the Estate Cannot Pay
CGS 27-118 pays $1,800 toward funeral services and merchandise, burial, cremation or disposition, and an obituary, for any veteran who dies leaving insufficient funds — as determined by the state veterans commissioner in consultation with the probate court. Members of the Hmong Laotian Special Guerrilla Unit are included. The claim must be made within one year of death, or of the return of the remains.
VeteransApplies statewide$1,800 toward the funeral, burial or cremation, and an obituary
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Training Counts Toward State Professional Licences
CGS 27-102b requires Connecticut licensing agencies to credit or exempt equivalent military training, schooling and experience — and forbids them from making you repeat training that is substantively similar. Named mandates run across police certification, apprenticeship waivers toward trade licensing exams, security guard training and EMT certification. Any discharge other than dishonorable qualifies.
VeteransApplies statewideCredit or exemption for equivalent military training, across state licensing
Read it and check if you qualifyA Year Free of State Licence, Registration and Occupational Fees
For ONE YEAR after an honorable discharge or release under honorable conditions, CGS 27-102a exempts a veteran from annual and biennial state licence and registration fees, and from occupational taxes. It is not tied to any particular profession, which is why almost nobody thinks to ask about it — and why it is worth asking about whatever you do.
VeteransApplies statewideAnnual and biennial state licence and registration fees, and occupational taxes, waived for one year
Read it and check if you qualifyA Free Lifetime State Park Pass for Any Service-Connected Disability
A Connecticut resident veteran with a service-connected disability — any disability, no percentage stated — receives a free pass to state parks and forests, including entry at Gillette Castle, Dinosaur State Park and Fort Trumbull. It is issued at no cost, in person at eight DEEP locations or by post. Camping and separately charged special events are outside it, and accompanying visitors pay the standard fees.
VeteransApplies statewideFree lifetime access to state parks and forests, including the paid-entry attractions
Read it and check if you qualifyLicence and Registration Fees Waived for One Period After Discharge
A veteran applying within TWO YEARS of leaving service pays no motor vehicle operator's licence fee and no registration fee, for one licensing period. There is no disability test and no wartime test — the only condition is the two-year window, and it does not reopen.
VeteransApplies statewideNo operator's licence fee and no registration fee, for one licensing period
Read it and check if you qualifyDMV Exam Waivers on Military Driving Experience — Two-Year Window
A veteran who held a military operator's licence for the same class of vehicle can have the Connecticut licence examination waived, applying within two years of separation. For a CDL the driving skills test is waived, and the knowledge test may be waived too where military experience meets the federal substitution criteria.
VeteransApplies statewideThe licence examination waived; for a CDL, the skills test and possibly the knowledge test
Read it and check if you qualifyAn Accessible-Parking Placard on a VA Psychiatrist's Certification for PTSD
CGS 14-253a(b) lets a veteran with service-connected PTSD obtain a windshield accessible-parking placard on the certification of a U.S. VA psychiatrist, where the condition meets the federal walking-disability definition. It is a veteran-specific certification route into an ordinary placard — a different instrument and a different disability basis from the disabled veteran plate.
VeteransApplies statewideA windshield accessible-parking placard, certified by a VA psychiatrist
Read it and check if you qualifyFree Registration on Two Vehicles for Former POWs and Medal of Honor Recipients
CGS 14-49(o) and 14-21d exempt former prisoners of war and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from the registration fee on TWO vehicles. A surviving spouse may retain the registration for life, or until remarriage. There is no disability requirement.
VeteransApplies statewideRegistration fee exempt on two vehicles
Read it and check if you qualifyExtra Exemptions Your Town MAY Have Adopted — Ask Which
Connecticut authorises a set of additional property tax exemptions that each municipality decides whether to adopt. They are not entitlements: what you get depends entirely on your town. The options include up to $20,000 or 10% of assessed value for an income-qualified wartime veteran, at least $3,000 more for a disabled veteran, a tripled income-based amount for a 100%-rated veteran under the income limits, an exemption for one specially equipped vehicle, a full exemption of a specially adapted house, and — from 2025 — a full-exemption equivalent for TDIU-rated residents and a full exemption for surviving spouses of members killed in the line of duty.
VeteransApplies statewideWhatever your town has adopted — nothing at all in a town that has adopted none
Read it and check if you qualifyProperty Tax Exemption Tiers From a 10% Rating Up
CGS 12-81(20) sets an exemption by rating band: $2,000 at 10-25%, $2,500 at 26-50%, $3,000 at 51-75%, $3,500 at 76-100% — and $3,500 at any rating from age 65. A severe service-related disability adds $5,000 for the loss of one arm or leg, or $10,000 for both or other listed disabilities. An income-based addition of 200% or 50% of the base applies on top, and towns multiply by their increase factor. It cannot be combined with the 100% permanent and total exemption.
VeteransApplies statewide$2,000 to $3,500 of assessment by rating band, plus $5,000 or $10,000 for a severe disability
Read it and check if you qualifyA Property Tax Exemption for Every Wartime Veteran — No Disability Needed
Connecticut gives a $1,000 base assessment exemption to any veteran with 90 days or more of cumulative wartime service and an honorable discharge, and to veterans retired after 30 years of service. No disability is required. A mandatory income-based addition doubles it — 200% of the base where income is at or below the state threshold ($45,200 single, $55,100 married for 2025), 50% above. Most towns then multiply the amount by a revaluation increase factor.
VeteransApplies statewide$1,000 of assessment, doubled or halved by income, then multiplied by your town's revaluation factor
Read it and check if you qualifyEducation Aid for the Children of Veterans Killed, Totally Disabled or Missing
CGS 10a-166 provides need-based education aid to children aged 16 to 23 whose wartime veteran parent was killed in action, died from an active-duty illness or accident, is permanently and totally disabled, or is missing in action in Vietnam. The statute states $400 a year. THAT FIGURE MAY BE OUT OF DATE — it is the statutory amount, not a verified current one, and it should be confirmed before anyone plans around it.
VeteransApplies statewideNeed-based aid — the statute says $400 a year, which may be out of date
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Retirement Pay — Fully Subtracted, Survivors Included
Military retirement pay is subtracted in full from state income — retired armed forces and National Guard members qualify, and so do survivors paid under an election the retiree made. Payments to a former spouse under a divorce decree do not.
VeteransApplies statewide100% of military retirement pay subtracted on the state return
Read it and check if you qualify100% Tuition Waived for Every Wartime Veteran — 90 Days Is the Gate
An honorably discharged veteran with at least 90 cumulative days of wartime active duty, domiciled in the state at acceptance, attends the state universities and community colleges tuition-free — no disability rating, no income test. Fees, books and housing are not waived.
VeteransApplies statewide100% tuition waived at the state universities and community colleges; 50% at Charter Oak
Read it and check if you qualifyDisabled Veteran Plates — Three Registrations a Year, No Fee
A wartime veteran whose qualifying disability is certified service-connected — blindness, hemiplegia, paraplegia, loss or loss of use of an arm or leg, or traumatic brain injury — registers up to three vehicles a year with disabled veteran plates for NO registration fee, on new registrations, transfers and renewals alike. An overtime-parking identification card comes with each renewal.
VeteransApplies statewideNo registration fee on up to three vehicles a year — passenger, camper or combination class — with the disabled veteran plate
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Home at Rocky Hill — First Month Free, Then 30% of Income
The Residential Facility charges nothing for the first month, then bills 30% of the resident’s monthly income. Eligibility runs on the §27-103 definition, which counts residence at enlistment as well as residence now.
VeteransApplies statewideNo fee for the first month, then 30% of monthly income
Read it and check if you qualify15% Price Preference — for Veteran-Owned Micro Businesses Only
Public Act 16-184 amended §4a-59 to give a 15% price preference to veteran-owned micro businesses. Two tests, not one: at least 51% veteran ownership, and gross revenues not over three million dollars in the most recently completed fiscal year. The state veterans department runs a Veteran Owned Micro-Business Certification process, and the preference runs through that certification.
Veteran business ownersApplies statewideA 15% price preference in state purchasing, for a certified business at least 51% veteran-owned and under $3 million in revenue
Read it and check if you qualifySoldiers, Sailors and Marines Fund — Rent, Utilities, Medical, Funeral
A state fund established in 1919, held by the State Treasurer and administered by the American Legion, paying temporary aid for rent, mortgage interest, utilities, medical, dental, vision, hearing and funeral costs. The gate is ninety days of wartime active duty.
VeteransApplies statewideTemporary aid toward rent, mortgage interest, utilities, medical, dental, vision, hearing, funeral costs
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Cemetery — No Charge, Marker Included
The department operates the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown and the Colonel Raymond F. Gates Cemetery in Rocky Hill. There is no charge to an eligible veteran and the government grave marker is provided free.
VeteransApplies statewideNo charge for burial of an eligible veteran; government grave marker at no charge
Read it and check if you qualifyServing Guard Members Get the Same Tuition Waiver as Wartime Veterans
An active member of the state Army or Air National Guard receives the same tuition waiver at the state universities and community colleges that a wartime veteran receives — no 90-day wartime test, no discharge, because the member has not left.
VeteransApplies statewideTuition waived at the state universities and community colleges for an active Guard member
Read it and check if you qualifyKilled in Action Since 9/11, or Missing Since 1960 — Tuition Waived for the Family
A dependent child or surviving spouse of a member killed in action on or after 11 September 2001, or declared missing in action or a prisoner of war after 1 January 1960, receives the same tuition waiver at the state universities and community colleges. The member must have been a resident of this state.
VeteransApplies statewideTuition waived at the state universities and community colleges for the family of a member killed or missing
Read it and check if you qualifyFive Points, Ten if Compensated — and the Spouse Route Most People Miss
Five points are added to a passing examination score for a wartime veteran not eligible for disability compensation, and ten for one who is. The same five and ten reach the spouse who cannot work because of the veteran’s disability and the unmarried surviving spouse.
VeteransApplies statewide5 points added to a passing examination score, or 10 where disability compensation is payable
Read it and check if you qualifyA Free 31-Day Bus Pass, Renewable, From the Veterans Department
The veterans department mails eligible veterans a bus pass at no cost, valid for 31 days from first use and renewable on request. Eligibility is proved by the veteran indicator on a state driver licence or non-driver identification card.
VeteransApplies statewideA 31-day transit pass at no cost, renewable
Read it and check if you qualifyActive Duty Buys Hunting, Fishing and Trapping at the Resident Rate
Any active full-time member of the armed forces may buy a hunting, fishing or trapping licence here at resident fees, whatever their home state — but only over the counter, at the environment department or a town clerk, never online.
VeteransApplies statewideResident fees on hunting, fishing and trapping licences for an active full-time member
Read it and check if you qualifySetting a Federal Marker in a Private Cemetery — Partial Reimbursement, Two Clocks
The state partially reimburses the cost of installing a Veterans Affairs-provided marker in a private cemetery. The vendor — usually the cemetery or funeral director — claims it on form CMS-3 within two years of the death, and payment must be requested within one year of certification.
VeteransApplies statewidePartial reimbursement of the cost of installing a federal marker in a private cemetery
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Relief Fund — up to $5,000 When Service Caused the Hardship
Monetary grants of up to $5,000 to serving members of any branch or component, and their immediate families, where military service caused or significantly contributed to financial hardship — or where there has been a serious injury, illness or death.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to $5,000
Read it and check if you qualifyThe State Burial Allowance Is $1,800 and Is Not a Veterans Programme
Social services pays funeral and burial expenses for certain assistance recipients and for indigent persons with no legally liable relative able to pay. The maximum is $1,800 and the page names no veteran, no service and no preference.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefit$1,800 maximum, general-population, effective 1 July 2024
Read it and check if you qualifyTreatment Instead of Trial — and the Charges Dismissed at the End
A veteran with a mental health condition amenable to treatment can be diverted out of prosecution on charges that are not serious. There is no fee. Finish it and the court dismisses the charges. The programme’s own definition of veteran reaches anyone not dishonorably discharged.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitDismissal of the charges on successful completion, at no fee
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Certificate the Court Programme Runs On — and Who Actually Issues It
The veterans department, not the court, certifies that a defendant meets the statutory definition of veteran for court programmes. It says in terms that it takes no part in whether the programme then admits you.
VeteransApplies statewideA state certification of veteran status, requested through an officer of the court
Read it and check if you qualifyA Label, a Map and Free Marketing Help for Farmer Veterans
The agriculture department lets veteran farmers add the Homegrown by Heroes mark to their state-grown products, and points at a marketing programme giving farmer veterans free one-to-one help. The money behind the marketing programme is federal, not state.
VeteransApplies statewideA veteran-produced label on state-grown goods, plus free marketing assistance
Read it and check if you qualifyGold Star Family Plate — $0, and Eight Relationships Qualify
The plate for the immediate family of a resident killed in action while on active duty sits in the motor vehicle office's free price group. Spouse, mother, father, brother, sister, child, grandmother and grandfather are all named.
VeteransApplies statewide$0 where you keep your current plate configuration and take the new background
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Flag on the Licence — Two Agencies, 30 Days, and $30 If You Cannot Wait
A veteran can have an American flag symbol placed on a driver licence or non-driver identification card. The veterans department verifies status on Form VL1 first, at least 30 days before the motor vehicle visit. Free at renewal; $30 to add it beforehand.
VeteransApplies statewideNo extra cost at renewal; a $30 charge to add the flag before the renewal notice arrives
Read it and check if you qualifyWinter Shutoff Protection — There Is a Veteran Category, in the Statute
Approved hardship or medically protected customers cannot be cut off for non-payment during the winter protection period. The regulator's published criteria are receiving public assistance, or income at or below 60% of state median income — and they do not mention veterans. The statute does: CGS 16-262c(b)(3) lists a veteran whose sole source of financial support is their veterans' benefit as a hardship case in its own right.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitNo shutoff for non-payment through the winter protection period, once hardship is approved
Read it and check if you qualifyUp to $7,500 a Year of Respite for a Dementia Carer
The state respite programme pays up to $7,500 a year towards breaks for someone caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease or a related condition. The carer may use an agency or hire someone they trust, and a care manager sets the amount.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitUp to $7,500 a year of respite, with the amount set by a care manager
Read it and check if you qualify
Does my county change the answer?
For the statewide records, no — the same law applies in all 8 counties. What changes is the office you file with and the local tax arithmetic, which we do not yet hold for Connecticut.
- Capitol Planning Region
- Greater Bridgeport Planning Region
- Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
- Naugatuck Valley Planning Region
- Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region
- Northwest Hills Planning Region
- South Central Connecticut Planning Region
- Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region
- Western Connecticut Planning Region
Every benefit here was checked against the statute or rule behind it, and each page shows the date. This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination — the responsible agency decides your application.