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Military Injury Relief Fund — $500, Up to Three Times, and PTSD Counts
A tax-exempt $500 grant to a service member injured in a combat action after 7 October 2001, and to someone diagnosed with post-traumatic stress related to a combat action in the same period. Since a 2023 rule change it can be claimed up to three times, once per state fiscal year.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
A tax-exempt $500 grant to a service member injured in a combat action after 7 October 2001, and to someone diagnosed with post-traumatic stress related to a combat action in the same period. Since a 2023 rule change it can be claimed up to three times, once per state fiscal year.
What it's worth: $500 a grant, up to three grants, one per state fiscal year
- The department states the amount of the grant is $500.00.
- Per a change to the programme parameters in the Ohio Administrative Code approved 28 February 2023, an eligible veteran can apply up to three times, once per state fiscal year.
- The department states the grant is not taxable and is not reported on a state or federal income tax return.
- Grants are made as funds allow. The department states that where an application was approved but money was not available, you do not have to re-apply.
Who is entitled to it
- You served after 7 October 2001, which is the window the fund is built around.
- Your discharge is of a character the fund is built around.
- You live in Ohio, which is what the department tests at the time of application.
- Your home is in Ohio.
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
Deadline: Annual application period runs 1 July to 30 June- 1Work out which of the three proof-of-injury routes fits you. The Purple Heart is the first. A combat-related injury documented alongside a Combat Action Ribbon or Combat Action Badge or its equivalent is the second.
- 2Use the third route if neither medal applies. The brochure names it directly: a combat-related injury not covered by the first two, "primarily including, but not limited to, traumatic brain injury, or injury caused by detonation of an improvised explosive device, or Post-traumatic stress disorder". PTSD documentation must include a medical diagnosis.
- 3Attach the DD Form 214 or DD 215. If you are still serving, provide proof of service instead — a Leave and Earnings Statement or an official letter from your personnel office.
- 4If you are a Guard or reserve member, attach a copy of the orders activating you under Title 10.
- 5Prove Ohio residency at the time of application: an Ohio driver’s licence, a utility bill, a rental agreement, an officially filed state tax return or a military Leave and Earnings Statement.
- 6Sign in front of a notary. The department requires the application to be signed in the presence of a Notary Public with the seal or stamp affixed to the original — an unnotarised application comes back.
- 7Post the whole package. The department states that applications submitted without the required documents will be returned to the applicant.
- 8Apply again next state fiscal year if you are still inside the three-grant limit. The annual application period runs 1 July to 30 June.
- 9If you are refused, read the notice. The department sends a notice of appellate rights setting out the appeals procedure.
- Form
- Military Injury Relief Fund application
- File with
- Ohio Department of Veterans Services, Attn: MIRF, P.O. Box 373, Sandusky, OH 44871
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
CorrectionA veteran with no medal for it is not shut out. The brochure’s third documentation route exists precisely for traumatic brain injury, blast injury and PTSD, and asks for a medical diagnosis rather than a decoration.
CorrectionThis is not a once-in-a-lifetime payment any more. Since the February 2023 rule change it can be claimed up to three times, one grant per state fiscal year.
Worth knowingResidency is tested at the time of application, not at the time of injury. A veteran who was an Ohio resident when hurt but lives elsewhere now does not meet the department’s test as it states it.
Worth knowingThe notary requirement is the commonest reason an application is returned unprocessed. Arrange the notary before you post anything.
Known gapOhio Rev. Code § 5902.05 and Ohio Admin. Code rule 5902-8-02 are the authority for this fund and codes.ohio.gov refused retrieval again this session. Everything above is the administering department’s own wording, not the rule text.
Sources
- authority · published policyOhio Department of Veterans Services — Military Injury Relief Fund (grants a tax-exempt monetary payment to military service members injured in a combat action as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States serving after October 7, 2001, and to individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress related to a combat action while serving after October 7, 2001; "The amount of the grant is $500.00"; "Per a change to the parameters on the program outlined in the Ohio Administrative Code that was approved Feb. 28, 2023, eligible veterans can apply up to three times, once per state fiscal year"; a dishonorable discharge is not eligible; "You must be a resident of the State of Ohio at the time of application"; the grant is not reported on a state or federal income tax return; an approved applicant does not have to re-apply if funds were unavailable; a notice of appellate rights is sent on denial)
- operating · published policyOhio Department of Veterans Services — Military Injury Relief Fund brochure (required documents: DD 214 or DD 215, or proof of service if still on active duty; military activation or TDY orders under Title 10 for reserve and guard members; proof of Ohio residency; power of attorney if applying on behalf of a service member; proof of injury by Purple Heart, by a combat-related injury with a Combat Action Ribbon or Combat Action Badge or its equivalent, or by a combat-related injury not covered by those "primarily including, but not limited to, traumatic brain injury, or injury caused by detonation of an improvised explosive device, or Post-traumatic stress disorder", with PTSD documentation to include a medical diagnosis; application must be signed in the presence of a Notary Public; annual application period begins July 1st and ends June 30th each year; applications submitted without the required documents will be returned)
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.