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A 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.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

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.

What it's worth: A special high school diploma issued by the State Board of Education

  • Covers veterans of WWII, the KOREAN CONFLICT and the VIETNAM ERA who have not received a high school diploma.
  • Issued by the STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION under Policy GRAD-005.
  • APPLY THROUGH A VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER — not to a school district and not to the Board directly.
  • Additional criteria are stipulated in the policy; the service officer will apply them.
  • THE RESIDENCY TEST IS NOT ESTABLISHED from the sources reviewed.
  • No fee and no deadline are published.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are in one of the groups who can pursue this.
  • You did not receive a high school diploma.
  • You served in a recognised wartime period.
  • North Carolina issues it.

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. 1Go to a North Carolina Veterans Service Officer. They start this; a school district cannot.
  2. 2Take the discharge papers. The service officer can help recover a lost DD-214.
  3. 3Ask them to check Policy GRAD-005's stipulated criteria against your circumstances.
  4. 4If the veteran has died, ask anyway — awards of this kind are commonly posthumous.
  5. 5Allow time if the family wants it for an occasion.
Form
Application through an NCDMVA Veterans Service Officer
File with
Your NC Veterans Service Officer
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingNorth Carolina already has a record for its Veterans Service Officers. This is one of the things to ask them about while you are there for something else.

Sources

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