Five 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.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
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.
What it's worth: 5 points added to a passing examination score, or 10 where disability compensation is payable
- Points are added only after the candidate passes an open competitive examination — they cannot rescue a failing score.
- The bracket turns on eligibility for disability compensation or pension, not on the rating percentage: not eligible is 5 points, eligible is 10.
- Wartime service is defined by statute and the form lists the qualifying periods, including combat or combat-support roles in named operations outside the declared wars.
- Five points are also available on a separate route: an honorable discharge plus service in a military action for which a campaign badge or expeditionary medal was received or earned.
Who is entitled to it
- You are inside one of the categories the form lists.
- You were honorably discharged or released under honorable conditions.
- The form names the spouse and the unmarried surviving spouse as claimants in their own right.
- 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
Deadline: With the examination application- 1Tick the correct box in section 8 of the application. The form has three five-point categories and three ten-point categories, and each names its own document list.
- 2Send the Member-4 copy of the DD214 — the form asks for that copy specifically, showing the discharge, the dates of entry and separation, and any campaign badge or expeditionary medal earned.
- 3If you are the spouse of a disabled veteran, add the marriage certificate and a statement from the spouse’s physician certifying inability to pursue gainful employment.
- 4If you are an unmarried surviving spouse, add the death certificate or official notice of death in the line of duty, and the statements from two disinterested persons the form requires.
- 5If you have no compensable disability but hold a campaign badge or expeditionary medal, use the separate five-point route — it does not require the wartime-period test.
- Form
- CT-HR-12, section 8 — Veteran’s Preference
- File with
- The hiring agency, with the examination application
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
Why only one source type: The state’s own application form prints the categories, the point values, the document lists and the statutory wartime definition on its face. The legislature host has refused every connection attempted by this project, so the personnel statute itself was not read.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.