New Mexico State Employment Veterans Preference

Section 10-9-13.2 tells the State Personnel Board to "provide preference points for veterans honorably discharged from the armed forces". A veteran with a service-connected disability gets ten points over the regular score and any other veteran five. The veteran must prove status at the time of application, and a disability through a VA certification. Names go on the list in numerical order with everyone else, so preference is points, not absolute. Guard members. Section 20-4-9: "While serving in the national guard, applicants for state employment shall be awarded veterans' preference status and points to the same extent as discharged veterans". A serving Guard member with no discharge gets five points. How the rule applies it. 1.7.5.11 NMAC, subsection D, replaced effective January 14, 2025, adds the points to the "final passing numerical scores on applications" for honourably discharged veterans and serving Guard members, and ten for a service-connected disability. The same subsection gives every applicant who meets minimum qualifications two points for each year of New Mexico residency, up to ten. A resident of five years therefore gets as many points for residency as a disabled veteran gets for disability, and the two stack. What it does not cover. Only the classified service under the Personnel Act. There is no statutory preference for promotion or in a reduction in force, and none for county or city jobs. A disabled veteran does not need a particular percentage. Bring the DD-214 long form and, for ten points, the VA disability letter with the application; the State Personnel Office applies the points after checking them.