A less-than-honorable discharge can block VA benefits, civilian job opportunities, and more - but discharge review boards regularly upgrade characterizations, especially when service-connected conditions like PTSD played a role. This screener checks whether your situation fits a common upgrade pattern.
Discharge upgrade cases often hinge on connecting your discharge to an undiagnosed condition at the time. A veterans attorney reviews your record at no cost.
2 different boards handle discharge upgrade requests depending on your situation. A Discharge Review Board can upgrade discharges within 15 years of separation and generally has more flexibility. A Board for Correction of Military Records handles older cases and can also correct other errors in your record, not just the characterization itself. Both boards look at whether your discharge was proper given the circumstances, including factors that may not have been fully considered at the time.
In recent years, both military and VA policy have placed increasing emphasis on how undiagnosed conditions like PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or military sexual trauma may have contributed to the behavior that led to a less-than-honorable discharge - even if that connection wasn't recognized during service. If your discharge upgrade succeeds, it can open the door to VA benefits that were previously unavailable, and if your discharge was connected to a service-related injury, revisiting a disability claim alongside your upgrade request often makes sense.
Cases involving documented mental health conditions, sexual trauma, or minor, isolated misconduct tend to see higher success rates, especially when there's evidence the underlying condition wasn't properly diagnosed or considered during the discharge process. Cases involving serious misconduct unrelated to any health condition, or discharges the veteran can't connect to a mitigating circumstance, generally have a harder path.
Post-service diagnoses connecting current symptoms back to service, statements from fellow service members about circumstances at the time, character references documenting your conduct since discharge, and any evidence the misconduct was isolated rather than a pattern. Boards specifically consider whether the discharge would likely have been characterized differently if all relevant facts, including undiagnosed conditions, had been known at the time.
Board for Correction of Military Records cases often take a year or more given caseload volume, while Discharge Review Board cases can sometimes move faster, particularly for more straightforward requests. Both processes are entirely separate from a VA disability claim, so you don't need to wait for one to finish before starting the other, and many veterans pursue both simultaneously.