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Public Records, Free, When the Claim Needs Them

Copies of public records are provided free when the federal veterans department needs them to determine eligibility for benefits. It is one line in the statute and it covers the paper trail a claim actually runs on — the certificates, the filings, the records a claimant would otherwise be quietly paying for one at a time.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Copies of public records are provided free when the federal veterans department needs them to determine eligibility for benefits. It is one line in the statute and it covers the paper trail a claim actually runs on — the certificates, the filings, the records a claimant would otherwise be quietly paying for one at a time.

What it's worth: No charge for copies of public records needed by the federal veterans department to determine eligibility for benefits

  • The department states the provision reaches veterans and dependants, and cites RSA 110-B:86.
  • The same section obliges the state veterans council and its service officers to assist veterans and dependants in obtaining benefits under state or federal law.
  • The department does not enumerate which record types are covered — the wording it publishes is "public records".

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge characterisation is within the range these programmes run on.
  • 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. 1State the purpose at the counter, plainly: the record is needed by the federal veterans department to determine eligibility for benefits. That sentence is what triggers the provision.
  2. 2Have the citation ready — RSA 110-B:86 — because this is used rarely enough that a clerk may not know it exists.
  3. 3Go through a state veterans service officer where you can. The same section obliges the council and its officers to help you obtain benefits, and a request that arrives from them is not queried.
  4. 4Ask for everything the claim needs at once rather than a document at a time. Each separate trip is another chance for the purpose to go unstated and the fee to be charged.
  5. 5A dependant making the request is inside the provision as the department describes it. Do not assume the veteran has to attend.
  6. 6This does not bind a commercial records reseller. If a private service is offering the same document for a fee, go to the office that holds it instead.
Form
A request to the office holding the record, stating the purpose
File with
The state, county or municipal office holding the record
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingA claim can need a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, a death certificate and a birth certificate before it is complete. Individually each is a small fee; together, for a household already short of money, they are a reason a claim sits unfiled.
Known gapThe department publishes the rule but not its edges: which offices are bound, whether "public records" reaches vital records held by the state registrar, and whether a state benefit claim counts as well as a federal one. Those are the three questions to put to a state service officer.

Sources

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