Maryland veteran benefits
- Verified veteran benefits
- 19
- plus 1 general-law and correction records
- Counties covered
- 24
- every one has its own page
- Veterans in this state
- 0.34M
- 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 and permanence satisfies most offices without disclosing any diagnosis.
File before the deadline
The deadline for the main property tax relief is: No fixed deadline. File with your SDAT assessment office.
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 actually applies in Maryland — several reliefs across this corpus turn on the words on your VA letter rather than on the number.
28 benefits worth checking
What you appear to qualify for — worth checking.
One question checks 22 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.
The 3% Procurement Goal — Tripled in 2024, and Certification Is Free
Designated Maryland agencies must direct at least 3% of procurement contract dollars to certified Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprises. The goal was RAISED FROM 1% TO 3% in September 2024, so anything written before then understates it threefold. Certification is FREE and renewed every three years. The business must be at least 51% owned and controlled by veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, and meet the federal small business size standards.
VeteransApplies statewide3% of designated agencies' contract dollars directed to certified veteran-owned firms
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Out-of-State Surcharge for Veterans, Serving Members and Their Families
Md. Code, Education §15-106.4 exempts honorably discharged veterans residing or domiciled in Maryland, active service members stationed, residing or domiciled in Maryland, and certain Maryland National Guard members — and their FAMILIES — from the nonresident tuition surcharge at Maryland public institutions.
VeteransApplies statewideThe nonresident tuition surcharge waived at Maryland public institutions
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Veteran Designation on Your Licence — Free, and It Gets You Into the Parks
Maryland adds a veteran designation to a driving licence at NO CHARGE, for a veteran with an honorable or other-than-dishonorable discharge. Proof is a DD-214, an Honorable Discharge Certificate, or a verification letter from the Department of Veterans and Military Families. The natural resources department names the marked licence as accepted proof at state park gates, so it does a second job.
VeteransApplies statewideThe veteran designation added at no charge
Read it and check if you qualifyFree Day-Use Admission at State Parks — Out-of-State Veterans Too
Maryland waives the day-use entrance service charge at state park day-use areas for ALL veterans of the United States Armed Forces — resident AND out-of-state. Active duty and Maryland National Guard members are waived on display of a military ID. Other facility service charges are not waived. Proof at the gate is a driving licence veteran designation or military documentation.
VeteransApplies statewideDay-use entrance charge waived at state park day-use areas
Read it and check if you qualifyFull Property Tax Exemption — 100%, Permanent Unemployability, Surviving Spouses and Active Duty
The dwelling comes off the roll entirely — including the garage and shed, which the statute names. It is not only for the 100%-rated living veteran: SDAT states that ratings below 100% may qualify where the VA determines permanent unemployability, and the exemption reaches surviving spouses, the surviving spouse of a member who died in active service from a line-of-duty injury or disease, and a disabled active-duty service member whose disability is reasonably certain to continue for life. Refunds are retroactive and mandatory, claimable within three years.
VeteransApplies statewide100% of your property tax bill
Read it and check if you qualifyRestoration of Honor — State Benefits Back After an Other-Than-Honorable Discharge
Maryland restores eligibility for STATE veteran benefits, notwithstanding the discharge characterisation, where an other-than-honorable, general-under-honorable-conditions or uncharacterised discharge is attributable to PTSD or TBI, military sexual trauma, sexual orientation or gender identity, or other criteria in 38 C.F.R. §3.12. The Department of Veterans and Military Families runs a Discharge Review Board for it. Free legal help for a FEDERAL upgrade is available separately from the University of Baltimore Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic.
VeteransApplies statewideEligibility for Maryland state veteran benefits restored, whatever the discharge says
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary and Veteran Recognition Plates — $25
Maryland issues military-service recognition plates for a $25 application fee, to veterans and service members with qualifying service or medals. Proof is a DD-214, medal certification, or National Personnel Records Center documentation. These are recognition plates — the FREE disabled veteran plates are a separate benefit tied to the registration fee exemption.
VeteransApplies statewideMilitary recognition plates for a $25 application fee
Read it and check if you qualifyA Local Property Tax Credit at 50% — Where Your County Has Enacted It
Maryland ENABLES counties, municipal corporations and Baltimore City to grant a property tax credit to an honorably discharged veteran with a permanent service-connected rating of at least 50% — 25% of the local tax at a 50 to 74% rating, and 50% at 75% or higher. It is a LOCAL OPTION: nothing is available unless your jurisdiction has enacted it, and the amount is the local tax, not the state one.
VeteransApplies statewide25% of local property tax at 50-74%, 50% at 75% or higher — where the jurisdiction has enacted it
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts Scholarship — Up to Half of Tuition, Fees and Board
Maryland pays up to 50% of annual tuition, mandatory fees and room and board — measured against the highest-cost University System institution — for a veteran or serving member who served in Afghanistan or its contiguous air space on or after 24 October 2001, or in Iraq or its contiguous waters or air space on or after March 2003. Reserve and Maryland National Guard members activated for those conflicts are included. The 2025-26 maximums were $8,699 on campus, $5,637 off campus and $5,067 living with parents.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to 50% of tuition, mandatory fees AND room and board
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Retirement Subtraction — $12,500 Under 55, $20,000 at 55 and Over
A capped subtraction of military retirement income, and the cap depends on your age on the last day of the tax year: up to $12,500 if you are under 55, and up to $20,000 if you are 55 or older. The record previously published only the lower figure, which understates what most military retirees can subtract. A separate general pension exclusion may also be available to filers aged 65 or over, and to those who are totally disabled.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to $12,500 of military retirement subtracted under 55, or $20,000 at 55 and over
Read it and check if you qualifyEdward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship
An award capped at the tuition and mandatory fees of the most expensive University System of Maryland campus — one of the more generous ceilings in this corpus, with a stated 2025-26 maximum of $13,689. It reaches a veteran in their own right at a 25% service-connected disability who has exhausted federal VA education benefits, as well as children, stepchildren and unmarried surviving spouses of members who died or are 100% permanently disabled from service, and several non-military categories. Apply to your institution's financial aid office by 15 July, not to MHEC.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to the annual tuition and mandatory fees of the costliest USM four-year campus
Read it and check if you qualifyComplimentary Lifetime Hunting and Fishing Licence
A free licence for life — not an annual discount — for a former prisoner of war, a veteran the VA finds unemployable, or a 100% service-connected disabled veteran.
VeteransApplies statewideA hunting and a nontidal fishing licence, free, for life
Read it and check if you qualifyTen Points on State Selection Tests
Ten points on any State selection test for an eligible veteran — and, unusually, the same ten for certain spouses. The extra two points are for former prisoners of war, not for disability.
VeteransApplies statewideTen points on any selection test; two more for a former prisoner of war
Read it and check if you qualifyRegistration Fees Waived for Disabled Veterans
No vehicle registration fee for a veteran who lost the use of a hand, arm or leg, is totally disabled, or meets the statutory blindness test — and for the surviving spouse.
VeteransApplies statewideNo vehicle registration fee
Read it and check if you qualifyExpedited Licensing, and Credit for What You Already Did in Uniform
A 60-day expedited licence if you hold one in another state — and, separately, statutory credit for military experience toward years of practice and for military training toward the education requirement.
VeteransApplies statewideA 60-day decision, plus credit for military experience and training
Read it and check if you qualifyCharlotte Hall Veterans Home
Maryland’s state veterans home: 126 assisted living beds, 318 skilled nursing beds and secure memory care. Assisted living costs 90% of your monthly net income, capped at the full cost, before the federal per diem comes off.
VeteransApplies statewideAssisted living at 90% of net income, and a federal per diem of $148.71 a day against nursing care
Read it and check if you qualifyMaryland Veterans Trust Fund Emergency Grants
A one-time grant paid straight to your creditors for overdue rent, mortgage, utilities, car and insurance payments — or to reimburse an emergency car or home repair.
VeteransApplies statewideA one-time award against the overdue bills you bring, paid direct to the vendor
Read it and check if you qualifyBurial in a State Veterans Cemetery — Five Sites, No Charge for the Veteran
A plot, a grave liner, a headstone and interment at no expense for an eligible veteran and their eligible dependants. Guard and reserve members and their dependants pay $1,002.
VeteransApplies statewideA plot, liner, headstone and interment at no expense — or $1,002 for a Guard or reserve interment
Read it and check if you qualifyMaryland National Guard Tuition Assistance — a 50% Waiver and an $8,500 Reimbursement
Two programmes sit under the statute's authorisation. The State Tuition Waiver covers up to 50% of tuition at Maryland partner schools for actively drilling Guard members. The State Tuition Assistance Reimbursement programme reimburses tuition and fees, capped at $8,500 per fiscal year, and requires at least two years remaining on contract from course completion, grades of C or better, and submissions within 45 days of both the start and the end of the semester.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to 50% of tuition waived at partner schools, or up to $8,500 a year reimbursed
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Fee for a Vital Record Copy — Birth, Death, Marriage or Divorce
The Department may not collect its $10 or $12 certificate fee from a current or former member of the uniformed services, or from a surviving spouse or child where the copy supports a claim for a dependent or beneficiary.
VeteransApplies statewide$10 to $12 a certificate, and $12 for each extra death certificate in the same order
Read it and check if you qualifyMaryland's Commitment to Veterans — Care Coordination With No Discharge Test
Regional care coordination, peer support and referral into behavioural health care for service members, veterans and their families — with no discharge condition and a line answered 24 hours a day.
VeteransApplies statewideCare coordination, peer support and referral — no cost figure is published
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Service Animal Program — Funded Through Organisations, Not the State
A state fund pays organisations that train service dogs and run equine-assisted therapy for Maryland veterans. Since 2025 spouses and dependants count as participants too. The department itself places no animals.
VeteransApplies statewideTrained service dogs and equine-assisted therapy through a funded organisation
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Maryland-Funded Dental or Medical Care for Veterans
Maryland runs no state-funded dental or general medical benefit for veterans. The department’s healthcare index points to federal VA care, the Crisis Line, Vet Centers and Charlotte Hall — and stops there.
VeteransApplies statewideNothing to claim — Maryland funds coordination and long-term care, not dental or medical treatment
Read it and check if you qualifyEnd a Lease on a Change of Assignment — Liability Capped at 30 Days’ Rent
An active service member or the member’s spouse may terminate a residential lease on written notice and proof of a change of assignment. Liability stops at rent then due plus 30 days’ rent, and damages the tenant caused.
VeteransApplies statewideLiability capped at rent then due plus 30 days’ rent — no early-termination penalty beyond it
Read it and check if you qualifyDeployment and Custody — An Order That Says So, and a Fast Hearing on Return
A custody or visitation order made during a parent’s deployment must reference the deployment, must require the other parent to accommodate leave and facilitate contact, and a petition filed within 30 days of the end of deployment gets an expedited hearing.
VeteransApplies statewideAn expedited hearing on return, and a duty on the other parent to keep contact going
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Maryland Burial Allowance — the State Gives Ground, Not Money
Maryland pays nothing towards preparation of the remains, transportation or the funeral — the department says those fall on the next of kin or the estate. What the state does provide is ground rather than money: see md-state-veterans-cemeteries for the plot, liner, headstone and interment, which are provided at no charge for the veteran.
VeteransApplies statewideNothing to claim from the State towards funeral costs — the cemetery benefit is the benefit
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Treatment Courts — Regional Now, So Your County May Be Covered Anyway
Maryland runs veterans treatment courts inside a system of problem-solving courts, and has moved to multi-county regional dockets — the Central Maryland Regional Veterans Treatment Court alone covers Baltimore City and four surrounding counties.
VeteransApplies statewideA voluntary, court-supervised treatment programme with VA benefit and housing connections
Read it and check if you qualifyWomen Veterans and Inclusion Program — Navigation, Not a Separate Entitlement
The renamed Department of Veterans and Military Families runs a Women Veterans and Inclusion Program covering women, minority, LGBTQIA+ and rural veterans — its work is outreach, education and service navigation, and it publishes no woman-specific payment, health programme or childcare provision.
VeteransApplies statewideOutreach, education and service navigation — no separate entitlement
Read it and check if you qualify
Does my county change the answer?
For the statewide records, no — the same law applies in all 24 counties. What changes is the office you file with and the rate your bill is calculated at, and we do not yet hold Maryland rates.
- Allegany County
- Anne Arundel County
- Baltimore County
- Calvert County
- Caroline County
- Carroll County
- Cecil County
- Charles County
- Dorchester County
- Frederick County
- Garrett County
- Harford County
- Howard County
- Kent County
- Montgomery County
- Prince George's County
- Queen Anne's County
- St. Mary's County
- Somerset County
- Talbot County
- Washington County
- Wicomico County
- Worcester County
- Baltimore city
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.