Article 5, section 6 of the New York State Constitution was amended to entitle veterans who have used non-disabled veteran credits for a Civil Service appointment or promotion and who were/are subsequently certified as being a disabled veteran by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, to additional credits for a subsequent appointment or promotion.

This Constitutional amendment, which is effective January 1, 2014, provides additional veteran credits to veterans who:

1. Used non-disabled veterans credits to obtain a civil service appointment or promotion with New York State or a local government;
   AND
2. Subsequent to such appointment are determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to be a qualified disabled veteran, as defined in the New York State Civil Service Law.

Such candidate shall be entitled to 10 additional credits on civil service examinations, minus the number of credits already used for the prior appointment.

Eligible lists established after January 1, 2014 will include the additional disabled veteran credits in scores of candidates who meet the above two conditions and provide the necessary documentation to establish eligibility to the Department of Civil Service.

This Department has developed a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that provides detail and explanation about how this change in the Constitution will affect candidate eligibility for the use of disabled veteran credits. Constitutional Amendment & FAQ

If you believe that you may be eligible, you will need to complete the online Veteran Credit Use Questionnaire as instructed below.
Instruction to Eligible Candidates

The information requested in the online Veteran Credit Use Questionnaire must be submitted to the New York State Department of Civil Service to ensure that appropriate credits are added to examination results currently being processed. Eligible candidates who do not inform this department of eligibility and do not provide the requested information may not be eligible to have these additional veteran credits added after the eligible list is established. However, eligible candidates may be able to claim these credits on future examinations.

Eligible candidates will need to complete two forms that will be used by the Department of Civil Service to verify eligibility to receive the additional veteran credits at the time of appointment. A copy of these forms can be viewed by clicking on the below links as well as within the Veteran Credit Use Questionnaire itself.

Authorization for Disability Record

Authorization for Verification of Non-Disabled Veteran Credits Use

Instruction to Eligible Candidates:

• If you have recently taken a New York State Civil Service Examination and the Eligible List has not yet been established for your examination.
  AND
• If you believe that you may be eligible to receive additional veteran credits as a result of the change in the NY State Constitution you will need to complete the online Veteran Credit Use Questionnaire by clicking on the "Continue" button below.

NOTE:
Disabled veteran credits can only be used for a single, permanent appointment. However, they are not lost if they are not used, and can be claimed on applications submitted for future civil service examinations you may take.

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