Who Counts as a Veteran in Indiana

Read this entry first. Indiana writes a test of discharge into nearly every veteran statute, and in 2025 and 2026 the General Assembly rewrote most of them. The code-wide definition. Indiana Code 1-1-4-5, subsection (b) defines "Hoosier veteran" for every statute unless the statute excludes it, the context makes it repugnant, or federal law conflicts. A Hoosier veteran is an Indiana resident who "served in an active or reserve component of the armed forces of the United States or the Indiana National Guard", "completed any required military occupational specialty training" and "was not discharged or separated from the armed forces or the Indiana National Guard under conditions set forth in IC 10-17-12-8.1(2)". The definition does not displace a program's own requirement of a disability or of wartime service. The list that now decides most cases. IC 10-17-12-8.1, subdivision (2), written for the Military Family Relief Fund, excludes a discharge by court-martial, a discharge accepted to avoid a court-martial, and a discharge for an offense against the security of the United States, "willful or persistent misconduct, including desertion", a sexual or violent offense against another person, or an act on the list of disallowable separation codes that the Veterans' Affairs Commission keeps under IC 10-17-12-10.5. Everything else passes. An other than honorable discharge given administratively for a reason that is not on the list, and every general discharge, now satisfies the state hiring preference, the local government hiring points, the police and fire preference, the county burial allowance, the Veterans' Home, the free peddler licence, the county service officer qualification and the workforce priority of service, each of which cites the list. How it got here. Until 2025 the definition in IC 1-1-4-5 covered only service "in a reserve component" and excluded anyone discharged "under dishonorable or other than honorable conditions". House Enrolled Act 1637 of 2025, which is Public Law 238-2025, added active service and swapped "other than honorable" for a reference to the relief fund list across the code. In IC 1-1-4-5 it did so by writing that the veteran "was not discharged ... under conditions other than conditions set forth in IC 10-17-12-7.5(2)", which read literally excludes everyone except the people the list was meant to exclude. House Enrolled Act 1343 of 2026, Public Law 94-2026, approved March 4, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, struck "other than conditions", moved the list from section 7.5 to section 8.1, and dropped the words "on active duty" from the state and local hiring preferences, so Guard and reserve service now counts there too. A reference the 2026 session broke. House Enrolled Act 1004 of 2026 moved the wartime high school diploma from IC 20-20-7 to IC 20-20.5-5, and the relocated section 20-20.5-5-3 still points to "IC 10-17-12-7.5(2)", a section House Enrolled Act 1343 repealed the same week. See the diploma entry. What still says honorable. The property tax deduction and credits in IC 6-1.1-12-14 and IC 6-1.1-51.3 require "an honorable discharge", and the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs certificate on State Form 12662 has one box, "Honorable or Under Honorable Conditions". The resident tuition statute for veterans, IC 21-14-12.2-2, requires an honorable discharge. So a general discharge is accepted for property tax on the Department's form and is not honorable on the statute's words; ask the county auditor in writing if it is refused. What says other than dishonorable. The driver licence designation borrows IC 9-13-2-196.5, which covers anyone serving or "under conditions other than dishonorable" discharged from the armed forces or their reserve components. The private employer preference in IC 10-17-15-3 uses the same words. The children's tuition exemption in IC 21-14-4-1 requires a discharge "other than a dishonorable discharge". The state veterans cemetery follows the federal national cemetery rules plus other than dishonorable service in the Guard or reserves. What says nothing. The ban on refusing to hire a veteran, IC 22-9-10, protects any veteran, any member of the Indiana National Guard and any reservist, with no discharge test. Which services. The Veterans' Home, since 2025, admits members of all eight uniformed services, including the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and NOAA (IC 10-17-9-0.9). The income tax deductions name both corps and the Merchant Marine. Most other chapters name the six armed forces, including the Space Force, which the 2025 act added throughout.