Find instructions for a military discharge upgrade or correction
Resources, agencies and counties · resources
What this source covers
Use the VA guided tool to identify the appropriate military review process and supporting materials.
How to use it
Who this route is for: Former service members who believe a discharge characterization or discharge paperwork is incorrect; the appropriate military board depends on the history and request.
Prepare: DD214 and any DD215 correction; Service and discharge records; Relevant medical or other supporting evidence; Prior upgrade applications and decisions; Explanation of the requested change
How to proceed:
1. Open the VA discharge-upgrade instructions tool and answer the service, discharge and previous-application questions.
2. Read the resulting instructions to identify the appropriate military review board, form and submission route.
3. Prepare the explanation and supporting records, preferably with an accredited representative or qualified legal adviser.
4. Submit to the board identified by the instructions and keep confirmation; separately ask VA about a Character of Discharge review if benefits are the immediate issue.
Timing and notices: Board filing limits and possible exceptions depend on the review route and discharge date. Check the generated current instructions promptly.
Start VA discharge-upgrade instructions: https://www.va.gov/discharge-upgrade-instructions/request-dd214
Limits and questions to verify
The tool supplies instructions and does not start an application. VA Character of Discharge review can affect benefit eligibility but does not change the DD214; a military upgrade or correction is separate.
Procedure-navigation guidance reviewed 2026-10-11 against retained primary publisher evidence. Captured HTML/PDF and labeled web-tool extracts retain their own evidence types and hashes. Source review does not validate le
Source: VA discharge upgrade instructions - exact indexed web tool extraction; interactive HTML omits instruction text · https://www.va.gov/discharge-upgrade-instructions/request-dd214
Stored review status: source_profile_reviewed. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
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Authority boundary: publisher navigation profile not verified legal applicability or program eligibility.
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Record provenance
Stable record: resource_directory:resources:1717
Source file: data/source-evidence/2026-10-11/all-categories/a04dc77c97d62f797d8462be26b3868bf39b30a31cf78adcb32d400d7e5306c1.json
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: 6652673880c642aacfd18567f20df25fc461e8472fbf7d2be0a335d4b3d9327b
Retained source evidence SHA-256: a04dc77c97d62f797d8462be26b3868bf39b30a31cf78adcb32d400d7e5306c1
Source location: Procedure applicability, preparation, next steps, timing and limitations; statewide source; discovered from https://www.va.gov/discharge-upgrade-instructions/request-dd214
Source checked: 2026-10-11 (access date, not legal effective date)
Stored source content
What this source covers
Use the VA guided tool to identify the appropriate military review process and supporting materials.
How to use it
Who this route is for: Former service members who believe a discharge characterization or discharge paperwork is incorrect; the appropriate military board depends on the history and request.
Prepare: DD214 and any DD215 correction; Service and discharge records; Relevant medical or other supporting evidence; Prior upgrade applications and decisions; Explanation of the requested change
How to proceed:
1. Open the VA discharge-upgrade instructions tool and answer the service, discharge and previous-application questions.
2. Read the resulting instructions to identify the appropriate military review board, form and submission route.
3. Prepare the explanation and supporting records, preferably with an accredited representative or qualified legal adviser.
4. Submit to the board identified by the instructions and keep confirmation; separately ask VA about a Character of Discharge review if benefits are the immediate issue.
Timing and notices: Board filing limits and possible exceptions depend on the review route and discharge date. Check the generated current instructions promptly.
Start VA discharge-upgrade instructions: https://www.va.gov/discharge-upgrade-instructions/request-dd214
Limits and questions to verify
The tool supplies instructions and does not start an application. VA Character of Discharge review can affect benefit eligibility but does not change the DD214; a military upgrade or correction is separate.
Procedure-navigation guidance reviewed 2026-10-11 against retained primary publisher evidence. Captured HTML/PDF and labeled web-tool extracts retain their own evidence types and hashes. Source review does not validate legal currentness, personal deadlines, eligibility, service availability or a complete filing packet.
Cross-references
Connections may be documented source relationships, shared citations or nearby passages. Each explains its basis; a connection alone does not establish applicability to your situation.
No explicit source connection was found. This does not mean there are no relevant authorities.