Bad discharge? You are not automatically locked out

What this is

Your discharge paperwork has a "character of service": honorable, general, other than honorable (OTH), bad conduct, or dishonorable. VA says most of its benefits require service "under other than dishonorable conditions." If you have an OTH or a bad conduct discharge you are not automatically locked out. VA looks at your case and decides for itself, and separately you can ask the military to upgrade the discharge.

Two different roads. You can use both.

• VA character of discharge determination. VA decides whether your service counts for VA benefits. VA says this "does not change the Armed Forces' characterization of service." It only decides your VA eligibility. VA encourages people with OTH and bad conduct discharges to apply and says it will consider the circumstances of your discharge.
• Discharge upgrade or correction. You ask a military review board to change the discharge itself. The board is run by your branch of service, not by VA.

The June 2024 VA rule change

VA published a final rule that took effect 25 June 2024. It removed the bar for "homosexual acts involving aggravating circumstances," and it created a "compelling circumstances" exception. Under it, VA can still provide benefits where the discharge was for willful and persistent misconduct or an offense involving moral turpitude, if circumstances such as a mental or cognitive impairment, combat-related hardship, surviving sexual abuse or assault, or discrimination explain the conduct. If VA denied you before, the rule lets you reapply. VA reports that historically about 75 percent of OTH and bad conduct applicants have been found eligible.

Which discharges are a bar to benefits

Some discharges stop VA benefits unless an exception applies. They come from two places, and the difference matters.

Bars written into law (38 U.S.C. 5303(a)). Only Congress can change these. VA cannot waive them:

• Dismissal or discharge by the sentence of a general court-martial
• Discharge as a conscientious objector who refused military duty, refused to wear the uniform, or refused lawful orders
• Discharge as a deserter
• An officer's resignation accepted for the good of the service
• Discharge of an alien during a period of hostilities, on the alien's own request (a limited exception exists in 5303(c))
• An other than honorable discharge after 180 or more continuous days of unauthorized absence (AWOL), unless "compelling circumstances" explain it

Bars written by VA (38 CFR 3.12(d)). VA wrote these in its own regulation:

• Accepting an other than honorable discharge to avoid a general court-martial
• Mutiny or spying
• An offense involving moral turpitude, which generally includes a felony conviction (compelling circumstances can apply)
• Willful and persistent misconduct (compelling circumstances can apply)

Insanity. A bar does not apply if VA finds you were insane when you committed the offense (38 U.S.C. 5303(b); 38 CFR 3.354).

Compelling circumstances (38 CFR 3.12(e)) is where the 2024 rule helps most. VA looks at your length and character of service, and at why the AWOL or misconduct happened: mental or cognitive impairment (including PTSD), physical health, combat or overseas hardship, sexual abuse or assault, duress, family obligations, and your age, education and maturity.

Drug and alcohol use is not on either list. It is not a discharge bar. A separate rule, 38 U.S.C. 1110, says compensation is not paid for a disability that results from your own willful misconduct or abuse of alcohol or drugs. Ask a VSO how that applies to your situation, especially if the use is tied to a service-connected condition.

An upgrade does not always erase a bar. Under 38 CFR 3.12(f) through (h), a Board for Correction upgrade to honorable or general generally sets aside these bars. A Discharge Review Board upgrade sets aside the VA-written bars but not the bars in law. Whether it works for you depends on the facts, so have a VSO review it.

Narrower rules that can help you.

• Entry-level separation. If you were separated in an entry-level status, VA treats the service as under conditions other than dishonorable (38 CFR 3.12(l)). A void enlistment or being dropped from the rolls is decided on its own facts.
• Alien discharged during hostilities. The bar does not apply if your service was honest and faithful and you did not ask for the discharge (38 U.S.C. 5303(c)).
• Upgraded discharges. A discharge changed by a military board under 10 U.S.C. 1553 gets a case-by-case VA review under published standards, and you get at least one year to apply (38 U.S.C. 5303(e)).
• Before October 8, 1977. Different rules apply to some discharges before that date (38 CFR 3.12(c) and (g)). Ask a VSO to check your dates.

Health care. Health care for a service-connected condition is not available if you were discharged by bad conduct discharge or if one of the bars in 38 CFR 3.12(c) applies (38 CFR 3.360). If you do not have one of those, the OTH health care options above can still apply.

Liberal consideration at the discharge boards

In 2014 and 2017, DoD told its discharge review boards and correction boards to give “liberal consideration” to requests tied to a mental health condition such as PTSD, or to sexual harassment or sexual assault during service. A 2025 GAO report found the boards applied that guidance in more than 21,000 cases from January 2018 through March 2024, with upgrade rates between 18 and 49 percent depending on the board.

GAO also found the boards applied it inconsistently, including how they treated VA records linking a condition to service. So the guidance helps. It does not guarantee an upgrade. A board decision and VA’s own character-of-discharge decision above are separate.

What you may get even with an OTH

VA says that with an OTH discharge you may get certain care without being enrolled in VA health care:

• Care for conditions VA has rated service-connected
• Care for military sexual trauma
• Mental health care, if you served at least 100 days and either served in a combat theater or piloted drones in combat zones
• Crisis mental health care
• Vet Center counseling

VA also says to apply for VA health care even with an OTH, because you may be eligible. VA's eligibility page says you can be treated for PTSD, depression, substance use and MST-related problems even if you do not qualify for other benefits.

How to do it, step by step

1. Get your paperwork. Find your DD-214 and any discharge papers. The National Archives phone for military records is 1-866-272-6272.
2. Ask VA to decide your character of discharge. Start a claim or health care application. VA will review your discharge as part of it. Use How to file a VA disability claim or How to apply for VA health care.
3. Ask the military for an upgrade (optional, and you can do it at the same time). VA has a question tool that gives you step-by-step instructions, the forms, and the board's mailing address for your situation: How to apply for a discharge upgrade. You apply by mail or with a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) helping.
4. Use the right form and board. The National Archives explains that a Discharge Review Board uses DD Form 293. A Board for Correction of Military Records uses DD Form 149. Each branch has its own board (Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, Coast Guard).
5. Get free help. An accredited representative can help at no charge (link below).

Deadlines and traps

• 15 years. Per the National Archives, a Discharge Review Board application must be filed within 15 years of your separation date. If it has been more than 15 years, use the Board for Correction process (DD Form 149) instead.
• Boards differ. The National Archives says Discharge Review Boards cannot address medical discharges, and do not handle discharges issued by a general court-martial. Boards for Correction have broader authority to correct an error or remove an injustice, and are generally used within three years of discovering the error.
• An upgrade is something you apply for. Both official pages describe applying to a board. I found nothing on VA or National Archives pages that upgrades a discharge on its own after a number of years.
• Send the application to your branch's board, not to the National Archives.
• Denied before? The 2024 rule lets earlier VA denials be reapplied.

Where to call and where to go

Phone

• VA benefits, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET: 1-800-827-1000. Source: Request a discharge upgrade or correction
• VA main line: 1-800-698-2411 (TTY: 711). Source: VA: PACT Act
• VA health care application help, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET: 1-877-222-8387. Source: How to apply for VA health care
• National Archives, military records: 1-866-272-6272. Source: National Archives: correcting service records
• Veterans Crisis Line, 24/7: 988, then press 1 (text 838255). Source: veteranscrisisline.net

Official pages

• How to apply for a discharge upgrade (VA's personalized instructions tool; the page loads with JavaScript)
• Request a discharge upgrade or correction
• Applying for benefits and your character of discharge
• What benefits can I get with an other than honorable discharge?
• Find a VA location or Vet Center (the page loads with JavaScript)
• Ask VA

Free accredited help

• Find an accredited representative (attorney, claims agent or Veterans Service Organization representative)