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An Other-Than-Honorable Discharge Can Be Set Aside For State Benefits — Three Grounds, and a Clock in Days

A veteran who received an other than honorable discharge may apply to the Qualifying Condition Review Board for eligibility for the rights, privileges and benefits Maine grants veterans, where the characterisation was based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression; on conduct associated with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or acquired brain injury; or on conduct or circumstances relating to being a victim of military sexual assault. The board reviews within 30 days, recommends within 30 more, and the director decides within 10.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

A veteran who received an other than honorable discharge may apply to the Qualifying Condition Review Board for eligibility for the rights, privileges and benefits Maine grants veterans, where the characterisation was based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression; on conduct associated with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or acquired brain injury; or on conduct or circumstances relating to being a victim of military sexual assault. The board reviews within 30 days, recommends within 30 more, and the director decides within 10.

What it's worth: Eligibility for the rights, privileges and benefits Maine grants veterans, despite the discharge

  • No sum is claimed, because what is unlocked is the rest of the state corpus rather than a payment. For a veteran currently excluded by discharge, that is the largest single thing on this list.
  • The effect is on STATE law only. A favourable decision does not change the federal characterisation, and does not by itself open federal VA benefits.
  • The statutory clock is 30 days to review, 30 days to render a written recommendation, and 10 days for the director’s written decision — with 15 days to ask for reconsideration and 10 more for that answer.

Who is entitled to it

  • The application is the veteran’s own.
  • You are 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. 1The gate is the characterisation, not the conduct. Subsection (4) opens the application to a veteran who received an other than honorable discharge and BELIEVES the characterisation was based on one of the three listed reasons.
  2. 2Know which of the three you are arguing, because the board decides on that question: sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression; conduct associated with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or acquired brain injury; or conduct or circumstances relating to being a victim of military sexual assault.
  3. 3The standard is civil, not criminal. The board recommends on whether the reason cited was MORE LIKELY THAN NOT the primary reason for the discharge.
  4. 4Put evidence in with the application — the section expressly allows a veteran to include evidence supporting the claim, and the board is composed of members with clinical experience working with veterans discharged or at risk of discharge on these grounds.
  5. 5The definition of veteran here is broader than most: a person who served in the United States Armed Forces, the reserve components, the Maine National Guard OR the Active Guard Reserve.
  6. 6Diarise the clock. The board reviews not later than the 30th day after receipt, renders a written recommendation not later than 30 days after the review, and the director issues a written decision within 10 days of receiving it.
  7. 7If refused, you have 15 days to file a request for reconsideration with the director and may add supplemental documentation; the director answers within 10 days and that answer is the bureau’s final decision.
  8. 8Beyond that the route is judicial: the final decision may be appealed by filing a complaint in the Superior Court.
Form
The application form prescribed by the bureau, published on the bureau’s website with filing instructions
File with
Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services — Qualifying Condition Review Board
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingBoard members serve without compensation and there are only three of them, meeting at least monthly. The statutory clock starts on receipt of the application, so a complete first filing is worth more here than a fast one.
CorrectionThis is not a discharge upgrade. The federal characterisation is untouched — what changes is whether Maine treats you as a veteran for the rights, privileges and benefits granted under STATE law.

Sources

Why only one source type: Read from the Revisor’s own chapter 7 PDF of Title 37-B in full. The section states the board, the grounds, the standard, the timetable and the appeal route in terms; the bureau’s application page adds only the form.

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