Free Discharge Recording, Court Fee Waivers and Unclaimed Medals in the District

Three small protections, each in a different title of the Code. Recording a discharge. D.C. Code 42-1215(a) tells the Recorder of Deeds to record "all certificates of service and certificates of discharge of persons released from active duty in or discharge from the armed forces of the United States, for which no fee shall be charged or collected". Certified copies cost the usual fee. The record is not constructive notice of anything, and a recorded DD-214 is a public land record, so weigh the privacy cost; the Office of Veterans Affairs statute also tells that Office to keep an archive of DD-214s. Court fees. D.C. Code 15-712(a)(1) requires any District court, in any non-criminal case, to "grant a full waiver of payment of fees and costs or security" to a litigant who declares receipt of any of a list of programs. The federal list includes "Veterans' Pensions or Pensions to Surviving Spouses and Children under Chapter 15 of Title 38", Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans, Health Care for Homeless Veterans, the Homeless Veteran Community Employment Services Program, Supportive Services for Veteran Families and HUD-VASH. The court must rule within five calendar days or the waiver is granted automatically, and a denial gets a hearing within 14 days. VA disability compensation is not on the list; a veteran receiving it can still qualify on income below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines or through free legal representation. Medals in unclaimed property. D.C. Code 41-157.05, added in 2021: the unclaimed property administrator "may not sell a medal or decoration awarded for military service" and may give it, for safekeeping for the owner, to a veterans organization under section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code, the awarding agency or a government body. A family looking for a relative's medals should ask the Office of Unclaimed Property where they went.