North Carolina veteran benefits
- Verified veteran benefits
- 21
- each with its statute
- Counties covered
- 100
- every one has its own page
- Veterans in this state
- 0.68M
- 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 NCDVA-9 certified
North Carolina routes the disability certification through its own Division of Veterans Affairs rather than accepting the VA letter alone.
File before the deadline
The deadline for the main property tax relief is: June 1. File with your county tax assessor.
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?
Ratings are a starting point rather than the whole answer in North Carolina. Read the record for the test that actually applies — several turn on the words on your VA letter rather than on the number.
30 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.
Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exclusion — $45,000, and It Reaches Surviving Spouses
The first $45,000 of appraised value comes off, with no income limit — but the figure is flat, unindexed, and small next to what neighbouring states exempt. A never-remarried surviving spouse qualifies too, on any of three routes: the veteran had a permanent and total service-connected disability, received specially adapted housing benefits under 38 U.S.C. 2101, or died as a result of a service-connected condition. The last of those requires no rating during the veteran's life.
VeteransApplies statewideThe first $45,000 of appraised value excluded
Read it and check if you qualifyVETERAN on Your Licence, Free
North Carolina prints VETERAN on a driver licence or ID at NO COST FOR THE DESIGNATION — you pay only whatever the ordinary renewal or duplicate would have cost. Proof is a DD-214 or equivalent discharge documentation. Its use is as everyday evidence of prior service at a counter, which in North Carolina is worth having: the camping discount, the lake day-entry rate and the trout waters exemption are all checked in person.
VeteransApplies statewideVETERAN printed on the licence or ID at no cost for the designation
Read it and check if you qualifyA High School Diploma Issued by the State Board — Apply Through a Service Officer
The North Carolina State Board of Education issues a special high school diploma to veterans of WWII, the Korean Conflict or the Vietnam era who never received one, under Policy GRAD-005. The route matters: YOU APPLY THROUGH A VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER, not to a school district and not to the State Board directly. That is unusual — most states in this corpus route the application through the school — and it means the person who can start it for you is the same person who handles your VA claims.
VeteransApplies statewideA special high school diploma issued by the State Board of Education
Read it and check if you qualifyA State Pension for the NC Guard — $105 to $210 a Month, From Age 60
North Carolina pays its own pension to National Guard members, on top of anything federal. It starts at $105.00 a month at 20 years of creditable military service and rises by $10.50 for each additional year to a maximum of $210.00 at 30 years. You must be 60, have 20 years of creditable military service counted under the federal non-regular retirement rules, and — the condition that decides most cases — AT LEAST 15 OF THOSE YEARS AS A MEMBER OF THE NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD.
VeteransApplies statewide$105 a month at 20 years, rising to $210 at 30
Read it and check if you qualifyTrout in the Mountains With No Licence — and Out-of-State Veterans Too
Anyone who served in the Armed Forces and separated under honorable conditions is exempt from the Mountain Heritage Trout Waters licence, which otherwise costs $8 for three days. NONRESIDENT VETERANS ARE EXPRESSLY INCLUDED — this is one of the few benefits in the whole corpus that does not care where you live. It applies in designated MHTW waters only, and you must CARRY VALID DOCUMENTATION OF SERVICE WHILE FISHING.
VeteransApplies statewideThe $8 three-day MHTW licence not required
Read it and check if you qualifyIn-State Tuition From Day One — the Twelve-Month Wait Waived
North Carolina charges the in-state rate, and applicable mandatory fees, to a covered individual under 38 U.S.C. 3679(c) — a veteran with at least 90 days of active duty discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, or a dependant, using Chapter 30 or Chapter 33 benefits. THE TWELVE-MONTH DOMICILE REQUIREMENT IS WAIVED. What you need instead is an ABODE IN NORTH CAROLINA AND A LETTER OF INTENT, both of which can be established the week you arrive. It applies at UNC System institutions and at community colleges.
StudentsApplies statewideIn-state tuition and mandatory fees without the twelve-month domicile wait
Read it and check if you qualifyThe $90 Annual Pass, Free — at Any Service-Connected Rating
North Carolina gives its $90 Annual Pass free to an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected disability, and NO RATING THRESHOLD IS STATED on the page — 10% is treated the same as 100%. The pass covers day-use entry at Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and Kerr Lake, the Hammocks Beach ferry, the Carolina Beach and Hammocks Beach boat launches, and selected paddle rentals. There is also a 4WD Beach Access version if that is more use to you. Proof is a VA Summary of Benefits Letter.
VeteransApplies statewideThe $90 Annual Pass at no charge
Read it and check if you qualifyTwo CDL Routes — and Even Exchange Skips the Written Test as Well
North Carolina runs two military CDL routes. EVEN EXCHANGE waives BOTH the knowledge and the skills tests, for holders of a military driver licence with an approved MOS on the FMCSA list. The MILITARY CDL SKILLS WAIVER waives the skills test only, for a North Carolina-licensed service member employed in a post operating a commercial-motor-vehicle equivalent. Which one you are on is decided by your military occupational specialty, not by how many miles you drove — so check the FMCSA list before booking a written test.
VeteransApplies statewideSkills test waived, or both knowledge and skills on the Even Exchange route
Read it and check if you qualify$6 a Night Off Camping and Half-Price Lake Entry — Every Veteran
North Carolina takes $6 a night off tent, trailer, RV and camper cabin sites for all veterans and active-duty military, and charges $5 instead of $10 per vehicle for day entry at Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and Kerr Lake. No rating, no wartime service, no residency test is stated. Read the exclusions before booking: PRIMITIVE AND GROUP CAMPSITES, VACATION CABINS AND FACILITY RENTALS ARE NOT DISCOUNTED. Proof of service or veteran status is shown at check-in or purchase.
VeteransApplies statewide$6 a night off camping; $5 instead of $10 for lake day entry
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Bailey Settlement — Everything Untaxed, If You Were Five Years In by August 1989
North Carolina's existing military retirement deduction is capped. The Bailey settlement is not: it EXCLUDES QUALIFYING RETIREMENT BENEFITS IN FULL from North Carolina income tax for anyone with FIVE OR MORE YEARS OF CREDITABLE SERVICE AS OF 12 AUGUST 1989. It came out of litigation, not a benefits programme, which is why it is filed under a court decision rather than under veterans benefits and why so few people find it. It also reaches BENEFICIARIES, and 401(k) and 457 plans qualify where contributions began before that date.
VeteransApplies statewideQualifying retirement benefits excluded from North Carolina income tax in full
Read it and check if you qualifyAn Adapted Vehicle Comes Off the Property Tax Roll Entirely
North Carolina taxes motor vehicles as property. A vehicle ALTERED WITH SPECIAL EQUIPMENT to accommodate a service-connected disability is excluded from the tax base altogether, where the veteran is entitled to special automotive equipment under 38 U.S.C. 3901. This is a STATEWIDE ENTITLEMENT under N.C.G.S. §105-275, not something a county chooses to offer — but it is CLAIMED WITH THE COUNTY ASSESSOR, and a vehicle tax bill arrives every year whether or not you claimed it.
VeteransApplies statewideThe vehicle excluded from the property tax base
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Retirement Pay Deducted in Full — After Twenty Years
North Carolina deducts the whole of your military retirement, uncapped. But you need twenty years of service, a chapter 61 medical retirement, or to be a Survivor Benefit Plan beneficiary.
VeteransApplies statewideThe whole of your military retirement deducted, at North Carolina’s flat rate
Read it and check if you qualifyScholarships for Children of Wartime Veterans
Eight academic semesters at a North Carolina school for the child of a deceased, disabled, combat or POW/MIA veteran — with a residency test that turns on where the parent enlisted.
VeteransApplies statewideEight academic semesters at a North Carolina school
Read it and check if you qualifyLifetime Hunting and Fishing Licence for $15, at 50%
Not a discount on the annual licence — a combination hunting and inland fishing licence valid for the rest of your life, from a 50% rating, for $15 plus a $5 transaction fee.
VeteransApplies statewideA combination hunting and inland fishing licence for life, for $15 plus a $5 transaction fee
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans Employment Preference
A preference in state employment that keeps applying after you are hired — to promotions, reassignments, transfers and reduction in force, not just to the first job.
VeteransApplies statewideA preference at hiring, and again at promotion, transfer and reduction in force
Read it and check if you qualifyDisabled Veteran Plate — One Free Plate Every Year
A veteran rated 100%, or paid at the 100% rate on individual unemployability, gets one disabled veteran plate free of charge every year — car or motorcycle. The ex-prisoner of war plate sits in the same free list; the Purple Heart plate does not. The exemption does not apply to a plate issued for a vehicle with a registered weight over 6,000 pounds.
VeteransApplies statewideOne free plate per person per year — car or motorcycle
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Initial Application Fee for Military-Trained Applicants and Military Spouses
Every occupational licensing board in the state is barred from charging a military-trained applicant or a military spouse an initial application fee — including for a temporary practice permit, which must be issued within 15 days and runs at least a year.
VeteransApplies statewideNo initial application fee at any state licensing board, plus a temporary permit inside 15 days
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Cemeteries — Free for the Veteran, a Fee for the Family
Four state veterans cemeteries provide the burial plot, grave opening and closing, a government headstone with installation and perpetual maintenance at no cost to a qualified veteran. A spouse or eligible family member may be buried there, but a burial fee applies to them.
VeteransApplies statewidePlot, opening and closing, government headstone and installation, and perpetual maintenance — no charge to the veteran
Read it and check if you qualifyNorth Carolina Tuition Assistance Program — Up to $3,240 a Semester, Reimbursed
A reimbursement programme for actively drilling Army and Air Guard members: up to $3,240 a semester for undergraduates and $3,360 for graduates, not exceeding the cost of tuition. Full tuition and fees are approved at community colleges and NC Promise schools; everywhere else it is tuition only.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to $3,240 a semester undergraduate, $3,360 graduate — not exceeding the cost of tuition
Read it and check if you qualifyFree Recording of a Military Discharge — and It Is Not a Public Record
There is no charge to record a military discharge with a register of deeds, and no charge to obtain a copy. The recorded discharge is not a public record and access is restricted by statute — but it has to be filed in person, not posted.
VeteransApplies statewideNo charge to record, and no charge to obtain a copy
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Leave for State Employees — 120 Paid Hours, Then 30 Days’ Pay, Then Differential
A state employee in the Guard or reserves gets up to 120 hours of leave with pay each federal fiscal year for training and drills. For involuntary active service the state pays up to 30 calendar days at your annual state salary, then differential pay for the rest of the period.
VeteransApplies statewide120 paid hours a federal fiscal year, plus 30 calendar days of pay and then differential pay
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Homes — Four Skilled Nursing Facilities Run by the State
The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs runs four skilled nursing homes for veterans, with 449 beds and over 750 staff, licensed by the state and approved for Medicare, Medicaid and third party insurance. A fifth site closed for structural reasons and its residents were relocated.
VeteransApplies statewideSkilled nursing care in a state-run home — cost set case by case against your cover
Read it and check if you qualifyBurying a Spouse or Child at a State Veterans Cemetery — the Fee You Cannot Pre-Pay
This record covers interring a dependent. A spouse, minor child or disabled adult child of a qualified veteran may be interred at any of the four state veterans cemeteries. There is a burial fee for them, it is subject to change at any time, and the cemetery will not let you pre-pay it. The concrete vault or liner is yours to buy as well. For the cemeteries and the veteran's own entitlement, see nc-state-veterans-cemeteries.
VeteransApplies statewideInterment for an eligible family member — at a burial fee the department does not publish
Read it and check if you qualifyCancel Your Phone, Internet, TV and Gym Contracts on Relocation Orders — No Early Termination Charge
North Carolina’s own Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets you end a telecommunication, internet, television, satellite radio or prepaid entertainment contract when orders relocate you for 90 days or more to a place the contract does not reach. The provider may not charge an early termination fee, and must refund prepaid service within 60 days. Dependants have the same right.
Serving membersApplies statewideNo early termination charge, plus a refund of prepaid service within 60 days
Read it and check if you qualifyA Stay of Civil Proceedings, a Lease Extension for State Active Duty, and a $5,000 Penalty Behind Them
Under North Carolina’s own Servicemembers Civil Relief Act a court must stay a civil action on your application unless it finds your ability to litigate is not materially affected by service. A Guard member whose lease expires during state active duty may extend it to ten days after that duty ends. A knowing breach is an unfair or deceptive trade practice carrying up to $5,000 per violation.
Serving membersApplies statewideA mandatory stay on application, a lease extended to ten days past state active duty, and enforcement worth up to $5,000 a violation
Read it and check if you qualifyThe State Early Lease Termination Right — Narrowed in 2019, and Probably Not Yours
North Carolina had its own early lease termination statute at N.C.G.S. §42-45, with liquidated damages capped by length of tenancy. The North Carolina State Bar’s military legal assistance programme states the 2019 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act took that right away from active duty servicemembers and left it to a narrow class of military technician. Read this before you rely on a summary that still describes the old rule.
Serving membersApplies statewideNo state termination right for most serving members — the federal Act is the route
Read it and check if you qualifyCalled Up by the Governor — Unpaid Leave, and Nobody Can Make You Burn Your Holiday
A North Carolina National Guard member called into service of the State by the Governor has the right to take leave without pay from civilian employment, and no Guard member can be forced to use vacation leave for a period of active service. Which leave you use is your choice, not your employer’s.
VeteransApplies statewideLeave without pay as of right, and vacation leave protected from forced use
Read it and check if you qualifyNo Veteran Utility Discount in North Carolina — Apply on Income Instead
The Utilities Commission publishes no veteran or military rate, and neither of the state’s two energy assistance programmes carries a veteran preference, priority or exemption. The help that exists is income-tested: heating assistance in a winter window, and crisis assistance when the power is about to go off.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitNo veteran rate — the route in is the income test, not the DD-214
Read it and check if you qualifyState Contracting — the HUB Office Was Abolished in July 2026 and Nothing Veteran-Specific Replaced It
The 2026 state budget eliminated North Carolina’s Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses. Since 7 July 2026 state government contracts no longer recognise HUB certifications. The NC Small Business Enterprise programme that carries on has four eligibility standards, none of which mentions veterans.
VeteransApplies statewideNo veteran-specific state certification or preference — NCSBE certifies on size and location alone
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Service Officers — an Accredited Representative at No Charge
The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs staffs veterans service centres across North Carolina with State Veterans Service Officers — trained, accredited professionals who help a veteran and their family file a claim and apply for federal and state benefits. Most counties run their own service alongside the state one.
VeteransApplies statewideAn accredited representative to prepare and file your claim, at no charge
Read it and check if you qualify
Does my county change the answer?
For the statewide records, no — the same law applies in all 100 counties. What changes is the office you file with and the rate your bill is calculated at, and we do not yet hold North Carolina rates.
- Alamance County
- Alexander County
- Alleghany County
- Anson County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Beaufort County
- Bertie County
- Bladen County
- Brunswick County
- Buncombe County
- Burke County
- Cabarrus County
- Caldwell County
- Camden County
- Carteret County
- Caswell County
- Catawba County
- Chatham County
- Cherokee County
- Chowan County
- Clay County
- Cleveland County
- Columbus County
- Craven County
- Cumberland County
- Currituck County
- Dare County
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Duplin County
- Durham County
- Edgecombe County
- Forsyth County
- Franklin County
- Gaston County
- Gates County
- Graham County
- Granville County
- Greene County
- Guilford County
- Halifax County
- Harnett County
- Haywood County
- Henderson County
- Hertford County
- Hoke County
- Hyde County
- Iredell County
- Jackson County
- Johnston County
- Jones County
- Lee County
- Lenoir County
- Lincoln County
- McDowell County
- Macon County
- Madison County
- Martin County
- Mecklenburg County
- Mitchell County
- Montgomery County
- Moore County
- Nash County
- New Hanover County
- Northampton County
- Onslow County
- Orange County
- Pamlico County
- Pasquotank County
- Pender County
- Perquimans County
- Person County
- Pitt County
- Polk County
- Randolph County
- Richmond County
- Robeson County
- Rockingham County
- Rowan County
- Rutherford County
- Sampson County
- Scotland County
- Stanly County
- Stokes County
- Surry County
- Swain County
- Transylvania County
- Tyrrell County
- Union County
- Vance County
- Wake County
- Warren County
- Washington County
- Watauga County
- Wayne County
- Wilkes County
- Wilson County
- Yadkin County
- Yancey County
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.