Delaware Free Records, Certificates and Notary Services for Veterans

Small fees, but they come when a family is dealing with a death or a claim. Death certificate. Title 16, section 3132, subsection (d): the State Registrar "shall furnish free of charge to the relative of a veteran, 1 time, a certified copy of the veteran's certificate of death providing that said certified copy is essential to the settlement of a claim involving the settlement of the veteran's affairs". The ordinary fee is up to $25 per copy. Ask for the veteran copy first and pay for the rest. Marriage certificate. Subsection (b): active members of the military and their spouses who show a valid military ID pay nothing for a certified copy of a marriage licence or certificate, which is otherwise $25. VA and DEERS both ask for it. Notary. Title 29, section 4312: no notary or other officer may charge a service member, "a veteran of any war", a widow or child of a soldier, a soldier's parents, a widower or other relative for an acknowledgment, oath or affirmation taken on papers required by VA or supporting any claim connected with military service. A notary who charges can be fined $10 to $25 in a Justice of the Peace court. The wording says "veteran of any war", which on its face leaves out a peacetime veteran, but the section also covers any claim "connected with or referring to the service of any" person who has served, so ask. The DD-214 you recorded with the county. Delaware veterans used to record discharge papers with the county recorder of deeds for safekeeping. Title 9, section 9605, subsection (j) now forbids recorders from recording them and requires every recorded discharge document to be transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs as the state repository. Title 29, section 10002 keeps them confidential for 70 years from separation, open to the veteran, a spouse or child with the veteran's consent, a survivor who may claim a benefit, anyone with the veteran's notarized authorization, and officers helping with a claim. The Office of Veterans Services handles requests and says it keeps service records for veterans who were Delaware residents when they entered service or had a Delaware address at discharge.