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A Discharge Filed With the County Clerk Is Not Public

Military discharge papers filed with a county clerk in this state are available only to the veteran who filed them, the veteran’s next of kin, or a person holding the veteran’s general power of attorney.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Military discharge papers filed with a county clerk in this state are available only to the veteran who filed them, the veteran’s next of kin, or a person holding the veteran’s general power of attorney.

What it's worth: Filed discharge papers restricted to three categories of person

  • The department states that military discharge papers filed with county clerks in the state are available only to the veteran who filed them, the veteran’s next of kin, or a person holding the veteran’s general power of attorney.
  • No fee, and no filing procedure, is published alongside the restriction.
  • Nothing published says whether a court order can open the record.
  • The restriction as published attaches to papers filed with the county clerk, not to copies held elsewhere.

Who is entitled to it

  • The veteran filed it; next of kin are named as able to obtain it.
  • Your home is in New Mexico.

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. 1File the discharge with the county clerk so there is a local copy you can obtain again after a fire, a flood or a move.
  2. 2Know before you file who may see it afterwards: you, your next of kin, or someone holding your general power of attorney.
  3. 3Give a trusted family member a general power of attorney if you want them able to obtain the record without you — that is the mechanism the restriction names.
  4. 4Bring identification when you request a copy, and expect the clerk to check which category you fall into.
  5. 5If a company offers to retrieve your filed discharge for a fee, ring the clerk yourself instead. The record is restricted precisely so that intermediaries are unnecessary.
  6. 6Ask the clerk what the filing costs. Nothing read this session publishes a fee either way.
Form
File the discharge with the county clerk; request copies as one of the named persons
File with
The county clerk
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingRead this before filing rather than after. Filing a discharge at the courthouse is common advice and it is good advice here precisely because the filed copy is restricted — that would be a different calculation if the record were open.
Known gapWhether a county veterans service officer, an attorney or an executor may obtain the record was not established. Some states name those categories expressly; this description does not.

Sources

Why only one source type: The department publishes the restriction on its own page. The statute host refused connection this session, so the section behind it was not read.

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