Miscellaneous

Who Counts as a Veteran in New Hampshire

New Hampshire has one statewide definition in RSA 21:50 and it is wide: an honorable discharge, a general discharge under honorable conditions, an uncharacterized discharge based on a service-connected injury, or more than 4 years served and still serving. A 2026 act then pointed much of the code at it, and four provisions still use their own tests.

Also called: 21:50, definition of veteran, uncharacterized discharge, general discharge under honorable conditions, continues to serve, 24 documents, Space Force, 38 C.F.R. 3.7, 2026 chapter 252, military spouse.

For: Veteran or service member.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

New HampshireState

New Hampshire is the opposite of the states in this catalog where seven provisions carry seven tests. It has one statutory definition, in RSA 21:50, and since August 31, 2026 most of the veteran provisions in the code point at it. The definition, RSA 21:50, I(a). "Veteran" means any person who "served in the United States armed forces for more than 4 years and continues to serve", or who "has been discharged or released from duty in the United States armed forces with: (A) An honorable discharge; or (B) An uncharacterized discharge based on a service-connected injury, illness, or disability; or (C) A general discharge under honorable conditions." Three things make this wide. A currently serving member with more than 4 years is a veteran. No discharge is required. That is why RSA 72:28, IV(a) and RSA 72:28-b, IV both speak of a person who "continues to serve". A general discharge under honorable conditions qualifies. In many states that discharge is the line between inside and outside. An uncharacterized discharge based on a service-connected injury, illness or disability qualifies. That reaches the member separated during initial training for an injury before a characterisation was assigned, a group almost no state reaches. What it does not reach: an other than honorable discharge, a bad conduct discharge and a dishonorable discharge. For those, the one door in this file is the veterans' legal aid advocacy project under RSA 115-C:2, III, which takes a person discharged under other than dishonorable conditions where the discharge was caused in some way by traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual trauma or a combat-related injury. Use that to get a lawyer and work on the discharge itself. There is no minimum days of service in the definition. Length-of-service requirements live in the individual benefit sections: 90 days in RSA 72:28, IV(a), RSA 72:28-b, IV and RSA 283:4, I, and 90 days in RSA 115-A:3 for the Vietnam bonus. The proof, RSA 21:50, I(b), is a list of 24 documents and it is the most generous documentary provision in this catalog. DD Forms 214, 215 and 217. DD Form 2 (Retired). The older service forms: WD AGO 53-55, 53-98 and 755 from the Army; NAVPERS 553, 554, 660 and 661; NAVMC 70-PD and 78-PD; NAVCG 2510. NGB Form 22 from the National Guard. GSA Form 6954 and NA Forms 13038 and 13041 from the National Archives. A Verification of Service letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs. A Summary of Military Service Record from the New Hampshire Korean War Bonus application, which is a state record. A notarised statement of service letter signed by a commanding or administrative officer. A completed DD Form 4/2 from the National Guard. A completed DD Form 1300. And, as a catch-all, "other documents approved by the director, division of veterans services." A veteran whose DD214 is lost is not stuck. The archives forms, the VA verification letter and the commanding officer statement are all sufficient, and the director can approve something else. "Armed forces", RSA 21:50, II, means the Army, Army Reserve, Navy, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Space Force, Coast Guard, Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard and Air National Guard, and "also includes other components, but is limited to those components and active duty periods described in 38 C.F.R. 3.7." The Space Force is in the list. The cross-reference to 38 C.F.R. 3.7 is what brings in the Public Health Service commissioned corps, cadets and midshipmen, and the other groups federal law recognises. "Active duty", paragraph III, is full-time duty as an enlisted member or as a commissioned or warrant officer in any branch. "Service-connected injury or illness or disability", paragraph IV, is an injury, illness or disability incurred or aggravated while in the line of duty. "Military spouse", paragraph V, is a person legally married to an active duty member and a DEERS cardholder. The definition is live law that keeps moving: RSA 21:50 was amended in 2010, 2013, 2019, 2023, by 2025 chapter 107 effective August 22, 2025, and by 2026 chapter 35 effective June 21, 2026. 2026 chapter 252 is the reason this entry matters more than it would in most states. Effective August 31, 2026 it went through the code replacing older discharge language with cross-references to RSA 21:50, touching at least RSA 72:28-b (all veterans' tax credit), RSA 72:35 (service-connected total disability credit), RSA 72:36-a (adapted housing exemption), RSA 119:1 and 119:2 (veterans' home and its board), RSA 119:6 (employment preference at the home), RSA 283:4 (public employment preference) and RSA 261:86 (special plates). Every one of those is now open to a veteran with a general discharge under honorable conditions or a qualifying uncharacterized discharge. No published guide had caught up when this file was written, and a veteran refused before August 31, 2026 should apply again. Four provisions still set their own tests and they are the exceptions to check. RSA 72:28, IV(a), the standard and optional wartime credit, still requires that the veteran "continues to serve or was honorably discharged". It was not amended. So a veteran with a general discharge is inside RSA 72:28-b and outside RSA 72:28. RSA 214:13, the disabled veteran hunting and fishing license, requires "a discharge other than dishonorable" and cross-references RSA 21:50, II for the branch list only. That is wider than RSA 21:50, I: an other than honorable discharge satisfies it. RSA 115-A:3, the Vietnam bonus, requires discharge, release or a certificate of service "under honorable conditions, or who is missing in action". RSA 115-C:2, III, the legal aid project, requires a discharge under other than dishonorable conditions caused in some way by a listed traumatic injury or illness. And two definitions of wartime service run in parallel rather than one. RSA 72:28, V is the master list for the property tax credits and, through RSA 283:8, for the local employment preference. RSA 115-A:3 sets its own Vietnam dates of August 5, 1964 to August 15, 1973, which are narrower at both ends than the RSA 72:28, V Vietnam period of December 22, 1961 to May 7, 1975. One last point that changes where a benefit is available rather than to whom. RSA 110-B:71, VI deems a New Hampshire Guard member a resident and citizen of the state for entitlement to state-law benefits provided to New Hampshire Guard members. It does not make that member a resident for veteran benefits generally, and the property tax credits have their own one-year residency test in RSA 72:29, I.

Thresholds

Thresholds for Who Counts as a Veteran in New Hampshire
Gate	Rule
One definition: honorable, general under honorable conditions, or uncharacterized for a service-connected injury	RSA 21:50, I(a)(2). A person who served more than 4 years and continues to serve is also a veteran, with no discharge required.
Twenty-four documents establish status, plus anything the director approves	RSA 21:50, I(b) lists the DD Forms 214, 215, 217 and 2 (Retired), the older service-specific forms, NGB Form 22, National Archives forms, a VA Verification of Service letter, a notarised commanding officer statement, and other documents approved by the director of the division of veterans services.
Space Force is included, and 38 C.F.R. 3.7 brings in other components	RSA 21:50, II lists the branches and their reserves, the Space Force, and the Army and Air National Guard, and includes other components limited to those components and active duty periods described in 38 C.F.R. § 3.7.
Four provisions still use their own discharge tests	RSA 72:28, IV(a) requires an honorable discharge; RSA 214:13 requires a discharge other than dishonorable; RSA 115-A:3 requires discharge under honorable conditions or missing in action; RSA 115-C:2, III requires other than dishonorable caused by a listed traumatic injury.
No minimum days in the definition; the benefit sections set their own	RSA 21:50 states no length of service. RSA 72:28, IV(a), RSA 72:28-b, IV, RSA 283:4, I and RSA 115-A:3 each require 90 days.

Sources

Legislation

Law the tracker is watching for this entry. See the legislation tracker for every jurisdiction.

Laws of New Hampshire 2026, chapter 252 Pointed the veteran benefit statutes at the RSA 21:50 discharge standard, widening several at once

Needs reviewEnactedScope changed

Signed 2026-07-02Takes effect 2026-08-31

Introduced Done, 2026-01-07, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2026-01-07, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2026-03-26, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2026-05-07, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2026-07-02, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2026-08-31, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Points several veteran tax credits, the Veterans Home and the employment preference at the RSA 21:50 definition, which reaches a general discharge.

A conforming act with substantive effect. Effective August 31, 2026 it replaced older discharge language with a cross-reference to the definition in RSA 21:50 across the code, touching at least RSA 72:28-b (all veterans’ tax credit), RSA 72:35 (tax credit for service-connected total disability), RSA 72:36-a (exemption for a specially adapted homestead), RSA 119:1 and 119:2 (the New Hampshire Veterans’ Home and the qualifications of its board of managers), RSA 119:6 (veteran employment preference at the home), RSA 283:4 (preference in public employment) and RSA 261:86 (special number plates for former prisoners of war, Purple Heart recipients and Pearl Harbor survivors). Because RSA 21:50, I(a)(2) reaches an honorable discharge, a general discharge under honorable conditions and an uncharacterized discharge based on a service-connected injury, illness or disability, every one of those provisions is now open to a veteran with a general discharge who was previously outside it. RSA 72:28, the standard and optional wartime credit, was not amended and still requires an honorable discharge, so the two neighbouring property tax credits now carry different discharge tests. Tracked because no published New Hampshire benefit guidance reflects the change, a veteran refused before August 31, 2026 should apply again, and because RSA 72:27-a, IV arguably requires a town that previously adopted RSA 72:28-b, 72:35 or 72:36-a to vote again before the wider eligibility applies locally, which is unresolved.

Sponsor

Touches N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 72:28-b · N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 72:35 · N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 72:36-a · N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 119:1, 119:2 and 119:6 · N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 283:4 · N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 261:86

Also touches

Official record

Updated

Last updated 2026-09-29.

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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.