Education & Employment

Indiana Veterans Preference in State and Local Government Jobs

State agencies must interview veterans in the qualified pool, give them a hiring preference and count military time toward layoff seniority. Counties, cities and other local governments add 10 percent to a veteran's exam score after 181 days of service. Since July 1, 2026 neither requires the service to have been on active duty.

Also called: IC 4-15-2.2-32, IC 5-9-3-2, IC 36-8-4-10, veterans preference, preference points, 10 percent, 181 days, state classified service, police and fire, House Enrolled Act 1343.

For: Veteran or service member.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

IndianaState

State government. IC 4-15-2.2-32: former members of the armed forces who "served in any branch" and were not discharged under the relief fund list of disqualifying conditions "shall receive a preference for appointment or reemployment in the state classified service". When external candidates are interviewed and the qualified pool includes veterans, "veterans must be included in the group offered interviews". Military time counts toward seniority in a reduction in force. The statute does not set points. Local government. IC 5-9-3-2: political subdivisions "shall allow preference points" worth "ten percent (10%) of the total number of points" on any examination for full time employment to a person who served at least 181 days and whose discharge is not on the list. Police and fire. IC 36-8-4-10 puts a war veteran with an acceptable discharge first in line for appointment to a city fire or police department, ahead of the children of officers killed in the line of duty, provided the veteran meets every legal and departmental requirement. IC 36-8-4.7 lets departments waive the maximum hiring age for veterans. What changed in 2026. Until July 1, 2026 both the state and local statutes required service "on active duty", and the state seniority credit counted only time "on active duty". House Enrolled Act 1343 of 2026 struck the words, so Guard and reserve service now counts. The 2025 act before it replaced "other than honorable" with the relief fund list. What the federal library says. The Army benefits library (re-read 2026-10-24) describes the state preference as adding 10 percent to scores after 181 days of active duty with an honorable discharge. That is the local government statute as it stood before 2026. The state statute has no points and no minimum service.

Thresholds

Thresholds for Indiana Veterans Preference in State and Local Government Jobs
Gate	Rule
181 days of service for local government points	IC 5-9-3-2(b)(1), no longer limited to active duty.
A discharge not on the relief fund list	IC 4-15-2.2-32(a)(2) and IC 5-9-3-2(b)(2), by reference to IC 10-17-12-8.1(2).

Sources

IC 4-15-2.2-32, classified service veteran preferenceOfficial
IC 5-9-3-2, preference pointsOfficial
IC 36-8-4-10, public safety officers, preference for employmentOfficial
House Enrolled Act 1343 (2026), enrolled actOfficial

Legislation

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House Enrolled Act 1343 (P.L.94-2026) Fixed the inverted definition of Hoosier veteran, dropped "on active duty" from the state and local hiring preferences, and wrote Military Family Relief Fund eligibility and income limits into the statute

Needs reviewEnactedScope changed

Signed 2026-03-04Takes effect 2026-07-01

Introduced Done, 2026-01-06, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2026-01-06, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2026-01-28, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2026-02-27, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2026-03-04, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2026-07-01, step 6 of 6

Expands and restricts Drops the active duty limit from the state and local hiring preferences, but writes an income limit of twice the poverty guideline into Military Family Relief Fund eligibility.

Struck "other than conditions" from IC 1-1-4-5 so the definition excludes only the listed discharges; moved that list from IC 10-17-12-7.5(2) to a new IC 10-17-12-8.1(2) and updated every cross-reference; struck "on active duty" from IC 4-15-2.2-32 (state classified service preference and layoff seniority) and IC 5-9-3-2 (local government preference points after 181 days); and added IC 10-17-12-8.1, 8.3, 8.5 and 8.8 setting relief fund eligibility, an income limit of twice the poverty guideline with a Commission waiver, a genuine hardship test and priority for first-time applicants. Approved March 4, 2026, effective July 1, 2026. Flagged because the Veterans' Home eligibility page still requires an honorable discharge and a year of residence, and because House Enrolled Act 1004, signed the same day, relocated the wartime diploma chapter with a reference to the repealed section 7.5.

Sponsor

Touches IC 1-1-4-5 · IC 4-15-2.2-32 · IC 5-9-3-2 · IC 10-17-12-8.1 · IC 10-17-12-8.3 · IC 10-17-9-7

Also touches

Official record

House Enrolled Act 1637 (P.L.238-2025) Replaced "other than honorable" across the veterans statutes with the Military Family Relief Fund list of disqualifying discharges, and added active service to the code-wide definition of Hoosier veteran

Catalog reconciledEnactedScope changed

Signed 2025-05-06Takes effect 2025-07-01

Introduced Done, 2025-01-21, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2025-01-21, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2025-02-18, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2025-04-24, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2025-05-06, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2025-07-01, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Narrows the discharge exclusion across the veterans statutes from 'other than honorable' to a list of disqualifying discharges, and opens the Veterans' Home to all eight uniformed services.

Amended IC 1-1-4-5 so a Hoosier veteran includes active as well as reserve and Guard service, and replaced exclusions of other than honorable discharges in the state and local hiring preferences, the Veterans' Home, the burial allowance, the peddler licence and many other sections with a reference to the list in IC 10-17-12-7.5(2): court-martial, discharge in lieu, security offenses, willful or persistent misconduct, sexual or violent offenses and disallowable separation codes. Opened the Veterans' Home to all eight uniformed services, created the Medal of Honor plate and added the Space Force throughout. Approved May 6, 2025, effective July 1, 2025. In IC 1-1-4-5 the act wrote "under conditions other than conditions set forth in" the list, which read literally inverted the test; House Enrolled Act 1343 of 2026 corrected it.

Sponsor

Touches IC 1-1-4-5 · IC 4-15-2.2-32 · IC 5-9-3-2 · IC 10-17-9-7 · IC 10-17-10-1 · IC 25-25-2-1

Also touches

Official record

Updated

Last updated 2026-10-24.

What changed then:

Description reworded (1 passage).

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.