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500 State Jobs Set Aside — No Competitive Examination

The civil service law authorises up to 500 positions in the non-competitive class to be filled by veterans with disabilities. No written examination, no competitive list. An approved candidate receives an eligibility letter good for three years and goes into a database that hiring agencies search.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The civil service law authorises up to 500 positions in the non-competitive class to be filled by veterans with disabilities. No written examination, no competitive list. An approved candidate receives an eligibility letter good for three years and goes into a database that hiring agencies search.

What it's worth: Up to 500 non-competitive class positions reserved for veterans with disabilities; approval lasts three years and is renewable

  • The department states section 55-c authorises up to 500 positions in the non-competitive class for qualified veterans with disabilities, alongside a separate section 55-b programme of up to 1,700 positions for persons with disabilities generally.
  • Applicants must have a physical or mental disability and be otherwise qualified to perform the duties satisfactorily.
  • The state employee health service evaluates functional limitations and accommodation needs.
  • The application requires a completed form, a résumé, a DD-214 and a rating decision letter.
  • Approval produces an eligibility letter valid for three years, renewable on request.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge is within the range these programmes run on.
  • Your home is in New York.

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 for the eligibility letter BEFORE you find a job you want. Approval takes time, agencies hire from the approved database, and a candidate who applies after seeing a posting is usually too late for it.
  2. 2Send the résumé the state asks for, not the one you use elsewhere. Agencies search the database on what is in the file, so a thin résumé makes an approved candidate invisible.
  3. 3Attach both documents: the discharge certificate and the rating decision letter. The rating letter is what establishes the disability, and the application stalls without it.
  4. 4Expect a health service review of functional limitations and accommodations. That is a normal part of the process, not a challenge to your claim.
  5. 5Once approved, put your contact details and employment preferences into the recruitment portal. The letter alone does not put you in front of anyone.
  6. 6Diary the three-year expiry and ask for renewal before it lapses, not after.
  7. 7If you also fit the general disability programme, ask whether both apply — the two run alongside each other with different position counts.
Form
The 55-b/55-c application, with résumé, DD-214 and rating decision letter
File with
The state Department of Civil Service
Documents you will need
dd214 ny · va rating letter ny
Periodic re-certification
Worth knowingThe non-competitive class is the point. State hiring normally runs through examinations and ranked lists that can take a year to move; this route bypasses that entirely for 500 positions.
CorrectionThis is separate from the civil service credit already recorded for this state. That credit adds points to an examination score. This programme removes the examination.
Known gapThe department does not publish the rating level that qualifies as a disability for these purposes, or how many of the 500 positions are currently filled. Both are worth asking before treating the programme as a plan.

Sources

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