A dishonorable discharge is the harshest separation the U.S. military can impose, and the consequences of a dishonorable discharge reach far beyond the end of your service: you lose every VA benefit, forfeit military retirement pay, become a federally prohibited person for firearms, lose Social Security wage credits earned in uniform, and carry that characterization on your DD-214 for the rest of your life. Only a general court-martial can impose this discharge, and it is reserved for conduct the military treats as felony-level, such as murder, desertion, treason, or sexual assault.
You Lose All VA Benefits
Federal law defines a “veteran” as someone discharged “under conditions other than dishonorable.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 101 – Definitions A dishonorable discharge fails that test. A separate statute bars all VA rights for anyone discharged by sentence of a general court-martial.2GovInfo. 38 USC 5303 – Certain Bars to Benefits The VA’s Character of Discharge review, which can restore eligibility for some other-than-honorable or bad conduct discharges, does not override this statutory bar.3Veterans Benefits Administration. Applying for Benefits and Your Character of Discharge
In practical terms, that means:
No VA Healthcare
You lose access to VA hospitals, community clinics, and specialized treatment. The bar in 38 USC 5303 makes no exception for injuries incurred during service.2GovInfo. 38 USC 5303 – Certain Bars to Benefits For anyone leaving the military with chronic physical or mental health conditions, this is often the single most costly consequence.
No GI Bill or Education Benefits
The Post-9/11 GI Bill requires an honorable discharge.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 3311 – Educational Assistance for Service in the Armed Forces Commencing on or After September 11, 2001 Tuition coverage, monthly housing allowance, and book stipends are gone. So is any transition plan built around them.
No VA Home Loan
The VA’s zero-down home loan program requires discharge under conditions other than dishonorable.5GovInfo. 38 USC 3702 – Basic Entitlement Conventional and FHA financing remain available, but the VA-specific advantages do not.
No Disability Compensation, No Retirement Pay
VA disability compensation for service-connected injuries is off the table. Military retirement pay is too: federal law makes anyone separated with a dishonorable discharge ineligible for retired pay, even after decades of service.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 12740 – Eligibility: Denial Upon Certain Punitive Discharges or Dismissals For someone 15 or 20 years in when the conviction hits, that lost retirement can total hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.
You Cannot Legally Own a Gun
Under 18 USC 922(g)(6), anyone “discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions” is prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing any firearm or ammunition.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts It is the same category of prohibition that applies to convicted felons, and ATF guidance lists the two side by side.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
The ban is automatic. No separate civilian felony is needed. Violating it is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties ATF Form 4473, filled out for every purchase from a licensed dealer, asks directly whether the buyer has ever received a dishonorable discharge. A false answer is itself a federal crime.
Social Security Credits and Unemployment Also Go
Military service normally earns noncontributory wage credits that boost your eventual Social Security benefit. A dishonorable discharge wipes out those credits for the period of service the discharge covers.10Social Security Administration. Social Security Handbook 956 – Effect of Discharge Under Dishonorable Conditions Payroll taxes you actually paid still count. If you had an earlier, separate enlistment that ended honorably, wage credits from that period survive.
Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX), the program that helps transitioning troops bridge to civilian work, requires separation under honorable conditions.11Employment and Training Administration. Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers A dishonorable discharge disqualifies you.
Employment Doors Close, Especially Federal Ones
Your DD Form 214 records the character of your service permanently.12National Archives. DD Form 214 Discharge Papers and Separation Documents Any employer who asks about military service or requests that document sees the characterization.
Federal hiring is where the effect is sharpest. Veterans’ preference requires a discharge under honorable conditions.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 2108 – Veteran; Disabled Veteran; Preference Eligible Positions requiring a security clearance are also out of reach. Law enforcement and public safety roles at the state and local level generally treat a dishonorable discharge as disqualifying.
You also lose the reemployment protections of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA excludes people separated with a dishonorable discharge, so if you had a civilian job before your service, you have no statutory right to return to it.14U.S. Department of Labor. VETS USERRA Fact Sheet 3 – Separations from Uniformed Service
Private employers aren’t required by law to ask about discharge status, and many don’t. But licensed industries, defense contractors, and security-sensitive employers routinely do. Private work isn’t impossible; the field narrows.
What About Voting?
A dishonorable discharge does not, by itself, revoke your right to vote under federal law. The complication is indirect. The underlying general court-martial conviction is for conduct the military treats as felony-level, and most states restrict voting rights for people convicted of felonies. State rules vary widely: some never revoke, most restore rights automatically after release or the end of parole and probation, and a few require a pardon. Whether a court-martial conviction triggers a given state’s disenfranchisement law depends on how that state defines a qualifying conviction, and there is no uniform answer.
Burial in a National Cemetery Is No Longer Available
Burial in a VA national cemetery is limited to “veterans” as defined by federal law, which requires discharge under conditions other than dishonorable.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 2402 – Persons Eligible for Interment1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 101 – Definitions Along with the burial itself, you lose the government-provided headstone, burial flag, and military funeral honors.
You Cannot Reenlist
A dishonorable discharge permanently bars reenlistment in any branch, including reserve components.16MCAS Iwakuni. Enlisted Administrative Separations – Eligibility for Benefits Chart The only way back into uniform is to get the discharge itself changed.
Can a Dishonorable Discharge Be Upgraded?
It is difficult but not impossible, and only one review body has authority.
The service Discharge Review Boards are unavailable. Federal law explicitly excludes discharges imposed by a general court-martial from DRB review.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1553 – Review of Discharge or Dismissal Because a dishonorable discharge can only come from a general court-martial, the DRB route is closed.
The Board for Correction of Military Records in each service branch is the only realistic option. A BCMR can correct any military record when the Secretary of the branch finds it necessary to fix an error or remove an injustice, including discharges imposed by general courts-martial.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1552 – Correction of Military Records You apply on DD Form 149, generally within three years of discovering the error or injustice, though the board can waive that deadline in the interest of justice.
Federal law also requires boards to give liberal consideration when the case involves post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury connected to combat or military sexual trauma. Boards must review the medical evidence and weigh whether those conditions contributed to the conduct that led to the discharge. The evidentiary bar remains high because the discharge came out of a full general court-martial, but that liberal-consideration standard is the strongest foothold available for a service member whose offense was linked to untreated PTSD, TBI, or MST.