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Protected Veteran Status Checker

Two service questions, then four category checks — straight from 38 U.S.C. § 4211 and the OFCCP definitions.

Answer two service questions, then check four categories. If you served on active duty, were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, and match any one category under 38 U.S.C. § 4211, you are a protected veteran. There is no minimum disability percentage.

  1. Step 1

    Did you serve on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces?

    Active duty as defined in 38 U.S.C. § 101(21). Reserve and National Guard service counts where it included a qualifying active-duty period, such as a Title 10 mobilisation — drill weekends and annual training on their own do not.

  2. Step 2

    Was your discharge or release under conditions other than dishonorable?

    Honorable, general (under honorable conditions), and other-than-honorable discharges all clear this gate. Only a dishonorable discharge removes coverage.

Answers stay in your browser. Nothing is submitted, stored, or tied to an account, and there is no sign-up.

This is an unofficial tool built from published DOL and OPM sources. It is not an eligibility determination. Only an employer, the VA, or the hiring agency can make one.

The four categories, as the statute defines them

The checker above asks each of these as a plain question. The operative text is quoted here rather than paraphrased, because the paraphrases in circulation are where the errors come from.

Disabled veteran

38 U.S.C. § 4211(3) — “The term 'disabled veteran' means (A) a veteran who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary, or (B) a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.”

  • Entitled to VA disability compensation, OR
  • Would be entitled but for the receipt of military retired pay, OR
  • Discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability

Recently separated veteran

38 U.S.C. § 4211(6) — “The term 'recently separated veteran' means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty.”

  • Within three years of discharge or release from active duty

Active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran

38 U.S.C. § 4212(a) — “Veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized.”

  • Active duty during a period of war as defined by 38 U.S.C. § 101, OR
  • Active duty in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized

Armed Forces service medal veteran

38 U.S.C. § 4212(a) — “Veterans who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded.”

  • Participated in a U.S. military operation for which the Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded under E.O. 12985

Why there is no percentage in the checker

The most common reason people believe they fail is a rating threshold that is not in the definition. § 4211(3) has no percentage. The thresholds in circulation come from § 4211(1), which defines a different term:

“The term 'special disabled veteran' means (A) a veteran who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary for a disability (i) rated at 30 percent or more, or (ii) rated at 10 or 20 percent in the case of a veteran who has been determined under section 3106 of this title to have a serious employment handicap; or (B) a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of service-connected disability.”

38 U.S.C. § 4211(1)

This is where the 30 percent and 10-20 percent figures actually come from. It is a distinct term from 'disabled veteran' in § 4211(3), and it is NOT one of the four protected veteran categories a self-identification form asks about. Every top-ranking page that states a percentage threshold for 'protected veteran' status has imported the threshold from this paragraph.

Protected status is not veterans’ preference

A § 4211(3) disabled veteran and a § 4211(6) recently separated veteran are in most cases also preference eligible under 5 U.S.C. § 2108 — which is what actually affects a USAJOBS application. This is the honest bridge from EEO self-identification traffic to federal hiring intent: the two regimes are distinct, and the same facts usually satisfy both.

Sources

4 of 4 references are official U.S. government publications. Pay tables and hiring rules change — each link shows when we last verified it.

  1. [1]38 U.S.C. § 4211 — Definitions — eCFR / U.S. Code, National Archives and GPO. Verified .
  2. [2]38 U.S.C. § 4212 — Veterans’ employment emphasis under Federal contracts — eCFR / U.S. Code, National Archives and GPO. Verified .
  3. [3]41 CFR § 60-300.2 — Definitions — Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labor. Verified .
  4. [4]5 U.S.C. § 2108 — Veterans’ preference definitions — eCFR / U.S. Code, National Archives and GPO. Verified .

Common questions

Do I need a 10% disability rating to be a protected veteran?
No. 38 U.S.C. § 4211(3) contains no percentage at all. The figures cited elsewhere belong to § 4211(1), which defines the separate term “special disabled veteran”, and to 5 U.S.C. § 2108, which governs veterans’ preference rather than VEVRAA.
Does a 0% VA rating count?
It can. The test is entitlement to compensation, or discharge because of a service-connected disability — not a rating threshold. Someone discharged for a service-connected condition satisfies the definition irrespective of the percentage.
Am I still a protected veteran four years after separation?
Not on the recently separated basis — that category runs for three years from discharge. You may still be protected under the disabled veteran, campaign badge, or service medal categories, none of which expire.
Does a general discharge count?
Yes. Coverage follows service under conditions other than dishonorable, so honorable, general, and other-than-honorable discharges all clear that gate. Only a dishonorable discharge removes coverage.
Is a campaign badge the same as an Armed Forces Service Medal?
No, and they are separate categories. The Armed Forces Service Medal was established by Executive Order 12985 for significant non-combat operations. Campaign and expeditionary badges cover wars, campaigns, and expeditions, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal falls under that category instead.
Do I have to self-identify as a protected veteran?
No. Self-identification is voluntary, declining is not held against you, and the form is normally kept separate from the hiring decision. Contractors invite it so they can measure their own hiring outcomes.