How to apply for a discharge upgrade — Discharge Review Boards (DD Form 293), Boards for Correction of Military Records (DD Form 149) and VA's character-of-discharge review
A discharge that is not honorable can be reviewed two ways. The Discharge Review Board of your branch (10 U.S.C. 1553) can change the characterization or reason for a discharge on request within 15 years, except for a general court-martial discharge; the Board for Correction of Military Records (or Naval Records, for the Navy and Marine Corps) (10 U.S.C. 1552) can correct any military record to fix an error or injustice, normally within three years of discovering it, a limit the board may waive in the interest of justice. Cases connected to mental health conditions including PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, or sexual orientation under Don't Ask, Don't Tell have the strongest footing under Defense Department guidance. Separately, VA can decide that your service was honorable for VA purposes through a character-of-discharge review, which opens VA benefits without changing the discharge itself.
What you'll need
- DD Form 293 (Application for the Review of Discharge) for a Discharge Review Board, or DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) for a correction board
- Your DD-214 and any separation paperwork
- Service and medical records, including records of PTSD, TBI, MST or other conditions
- A personal statement and supporting statements; evidence of your life since service
- Free help: VA's discharge-upgrade tool, a county veterans service officer, or a veterans legal clinic
Step-by-step
Step 1: Use VA's tool to find the right path
VA's discharge-upgrade tool asks about your branch, discharge date, the reason for the discharge and whether it related to mental health, TBI, MST or sexual orientation, then tells you which board and form to use and how to apply. It does not start the application. If the discharge was by sentence of a general court-martial, the boards can change it only as a matter of clemency.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/discharge-upgrade-instructions/
Step 2: Discharge Review Board — within 15 years
Each branch's Discharge Review Board reviews discharges and dismissals (other than general court-martial) on request from the former member or, after death, the surviving spouse, next of kin or legal representative, if the request is made within 15 years of the discharge. File DD Form 293 with the records and statements that support the change; you may ask for a personal appearance hearing. If the board declines an upgrade, the decision can then be considered by the correction board.
Step 3: Board for Correction of Military or Naval Records
The correction boards can correct any military record to fix an error or remove an injustice, including discharges older than 15 years and matters the Discharge Review Board cannot reach. The request (DD Form 149) must be filed within three years after you discover the error or injustice, but the board may excuse a late filing in the interest of justice. Address the form to the board for your branch (Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, or Coast Guard) as the form instructs.
Step 4: Build the case
Explain what happened and why the characterization is wrong or unjust, and attach evidence: service treatment and mental health records; a current diagnosis of PTSD, TBI or another condition and a clinician's opinion that it existed in service and contributed to the misconduct; records or statements about military sexual trauma; evidence of a discharge based on sexual orientation; and evidence of your conduct since service. Defense Department guidance directs the boards to give liberal consideration to claims that a mental health condition, TBI or MST contributed to the discharge, and to upgrade discharges based solely on sexual orientation. A veterans legal clinic or county veterans service officer can help assemble the application for free.
Reference: https://www.va.gov/discharge-upgrade-instructions/
Step 5: VA benefits with or without an upgrade
If VA has never ruled on your discharge, apply for the benefit you want and VA makes a character-of-discharge determination under 38 CFR 3.12; VA can find your service "honorable for VA purposes" even if the Defense Department does not upgrade it. Veterans with other than honorable discharges can also receive VA mental health care for conditions related to service, and Vet Centers see veterans regardless of discharge. If a board upgrades your discharge, apply (or reapply) for VA health care, compensation, education and home loan benefits with the new characterization.
Critical tips
- You can apply to the correction board after a Discharge Review Board denial, and you can reapply to either with new evidence.
- Keep a copy of everything you send; the boards decide on the written record unless you request and receive a hearing.
- Free representation: the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, the National Veterans Legal Services Program, law school veterans clinics and legal aid organizations handle discharge upgrades.
- A county veterans service officer can request your records and help file the VA character-of-discharge claim: warriorsfund.org/find-cvso.
- In crisis: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255 — the Veterans Crisis Line serves veterans regardless of discharge.