Lake County Veterans Service Office and DD-214 Recording

Indiana requires every county to employ a veterans service officer (IC 10-17-1-9; see the Indiana entry). Lake County's office has two service officers and is at Building A, Room 100, 2293 N. Main Street, Crown Point, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., by appointment only (219-755-3285). What it does. It tells veterans, dependents and survivors what VA benefits they may be eligible for, completes the forms for disability compensation and pension, gathers supporting documents, explains survivors' procedures, helps with State and federal burial benefit forms, and helps find the Social Security and other agencies to apply to. Indiana service officers also complete the Department of Veterans Affairs certificate on the property tax deduction form (see the Indiana entry). What it cannot do. The office says it is a county agency with no access to VA's computer systems, that applicants must send supporting documents with every application, and that it cannot look up records or DD-214s for a veteran. Recording a DD-214. The office records original discharges with the County Recorder, who lists military discharges among the records it keeps. Under IC 10-17-2 recording is free, the recorder gives the veteran a certified copy free, and a recorded discharge is not a public record. The Recorder's page also links Honor Rewards, a discount card for veterans with participating local businesses.