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An Interview the Agency Must Offer, and the Tie-Break
No points — something better. A veteran on the list of eligibles must be invited to the first-round interview, and wins a tie on equal qualifications.
Verified August 19, 2026
What this benefit is
No points — something better. A veteran on the list of eligibles must be invited to the first-round interview, and wins a tie on equal qualifications.
What it's worth: A first-round interview the agency must offer, and the tie-break on equal qualifications
- There is no points figure to publish. Tennessee grants an interview and a tie-break rather than adding to a score.
Who is entitled to it
- You were honorably discharged.
- You are the veteran.
- You are the spouse or surviving spouse of a veteran.
- The veteran suffered a 100% service-connected disability, or is permanently and totally disabled.
- The preference applies to State of Tennessee employment.
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
- 1Provide documentation verifying veteran status with the application. The policy conditions the preference on documenting it, so an undocumented claim gets nothing.
- 2Meet the minimum qualifications for the post — the preference operates only once you are on the list of eligibles.
- 3If you are a spouse or surviving spouse, check the two conditions before relying on it: you must be a qualified Tennessee voter or a two-year resident, AND the veteran must be 100% service-connected or permanently and totally disabled.
- File with
- The hiring agency, with your application
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionTennessee no longer runs the points system older guidance describes. The preference is now a first-round interview the agency must offer, plus a tie-break on equal qualifications. A veteran looking for "five points" will not find them and may conclude there is no preference at all.
Worth knowingAn interview the agency must offer is arguably worth more than points. Points raise your rank on a list you may still never be called from; this one obliges the agency to put you in the first round for appointment AND for promotion.
Worth knowingThe preference reaches the reserve components as defined in 10 U.S.C. §10101, provided the person performed active federal service — not only those who served on full-time active duty from the outset.
Known gapThe tie-break applies when qualifications, skills, abilities, competencies and knowledge are equal. Nothing published says how an agency decides that they are equal, so we publish the entitlement and not a prediction of when it bites.
Sources
- authority · published policyTennessee Department of Human Resources — Veterans Preference Policy 12-007, implementing Tenn. Code Ann. §8-30-307
- operating · published policyTennessee Department of Veterans Services — State Jobs
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.