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War Orphans Waiver — Tuition Only, Age 25 and Under, Combat-Related Death

The statute promises a tuition and fee waiver to the children of residents killed in service. The Board of Regents policy that actually runs it is narrower: children aged 25 and under, five named conflicts, a combat-related death, undergraduate tuition only — and no fees at all. A separate waiver covers the surviving spouse or child of a Guard member killed on state active duty.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The statute promises a tuition and fee waiver to the children of residents killed in service. The Board of Regents policy that actually runs it is narrower: children aged 25 and under, five named conflicts, a combat-related death, undergraduate tuition only — and no fees at all. A separate waiver covers the surviving spouse or child of a Guard member killed on state active duty.

What it's worth: Undergraduate tuition waived at a campus of the state university system — fees are not waived

  • Section 20-25-421(2)(c)(iv) authorises a waiver of tuition and fees for children of residents who served with the armed forces in any of its wars and who were killed in action or died as a result of injury, disease or other disability incurred in the service.
  • Section 20-25-421(2)(c)(v) authorises a waiver for the spouses or children of residents declared to be prisoners of war or missing in action.
  • Section 20-25-421(2)(c)(vi) authorises a waiver for the spouse or children of a national guard member killed or who died as a result of injury, disease or other disability incurred in the line of duty while serving on state military duty.
  • The statute is permissive: it says the regents "may" waive. The operative rules are in Board of Regents policy 940.13.
  • Policy 940.13 item 7, the War Orphans Waiver, is available with the approval of the Commissioner of Higher Education for children aged 25 and under of members of the United States armed forces who served on active duty during World War II, the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts.
  • Item 7 requires those members to have been state residents at the time of entry into service and to have been killed in action or died as a result of combat related injury, disease or other disability while in the service.
  • Policy 940.13 item 8, the Surviving Dependents of Montana National Guard Member Waiver, reaches the surviving spouse or child of any Guard member killed as a result of injury, disease or other disability incurred in the line of duty while serving on state active duty.
  • Item 8 does not apply to the extent the person is eligible for educational benefits from any governmental or private benefit program that provides comparable benefits.
  • Policy 940.13 section I.C states that under this policy only tuition will be waived, and that no fees, mandatory or miscellaneous, and no program fees or other charges are waived.
  • Policy 940.13 section I.D states that waivers cannot be applied to self-supporting courses, and that a student with a waiver pays full tuition and fees for such a course.
  • Policy 940.13 section I.B.4 requires other sources of financial assistance to be explored and used before tuition is waived, which is why the university system describes these as last-dollar awards.
  • The Board of Regents designated waivers are directed at undergraduate tuition for resident students.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are a child of a servicemember, or a surviving spouse.
  • 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

  1. 1Apply to the campus financial aid office, not to the veterans department. These are university system waivers, administered campus by campus under Board of Regents policy.
  2. 2Check the age gate first if you are the child. Policy 940.13 sets the War Orphans waiver at age 25 and under — the statute does not say that, and the policy is what the campus applies.
  3. 3Check the conflict list next. The policy names World War II and the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. A death in another period is outside the policy as written even though the statute speaks of "any of its wars".
  4. 4Read the word "combat related" carefully. The statute reaches a death from injury, disease or other disability incurred in the service; the policy narrows it to a combat-related cause. If your parent died of a service-incurred illness away from combat, raise the statutory language with the Commissioner’s office rather than accepting a counter refusal.
  5. 5Budget for fees regardless. Only tuition is waived. Mandatory fees, miscellaneous fees, program fees and other charges are expressly outside the policy, and at some campuses those are a large share of the bill.
  6. 6If your parent was a Guard member killed on state active duty, use item 8 instead — it covers a surviving spouse as well as a child, and has no age limit written into it.
  7. 7Expect the offset question on the Guard survivor waiver: it does not apply to the extent you are eligible for comparable educational benefits from another governmental or private programme, so bring what you know about your federal entitlements.
  8. 8Do not enrol in a self-supporting course expecting the waiver to reach it. Those are excluded by policy and you pay full tuition and fees.
Form
Campus tuition waiver application, routed to the Commissioner of Higher Education for the War Orphans waiver
File with
The financial aid office of the campus you attend
Documents you will need
dd214
Annual recertification
The office asks you to confirm each year.
CorrectionThe statute says "tuition and fees". The policy that runs the waiver says the opposite in section I.C: only tuition is waived, and no fees of any kind are. A family reading only the code will budget for the wrong number.
CorrectionThe statute reaches the spouses or children of residents declared prisoners of war or missing in action. That category has no matching item in the Board of Regents designated waiver list read this session. Anyone in it should press the Commissioner’s office on the statutory authority rather than accepting a campus-level no.
Worth knowingThese are last-dollar awards. Policy 940.13 requires other financial assistance to be explored and used first, so the waiver fills what is left of tuition rather than arriving as a cheque.

Sources

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