The Montana Veterans' Public Employment Preference Act and Persons with Disabilities Public Employment Preference Act allow eligible applicants to request a hiring preference when applying for a state government position. Applying for a preference is voluntary, and all information related to a preference will be kept confidential. State agencies only use this information during the hiring process and maintain the information in a separate, confidential file. 

To claim a Veterans’ Employment Preference, you must be a U.S. Citizen and one of the following:

1. A Veteran, if: 

• You separated under honorable conditions AND you served more than 180 consecutive days of active federal military duty other than for training in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard or were a member of the reserves who served on federal military duty during a period of war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized.
• You are or were a member of the Montana Army or Air National Guard who satisfactorily completed a minimum of 6 years of service in armed forces, the last 3 of which have been served in the Montana Army or Air National Guard.

2. A Disabled Veteran, if:

• You were separated under honorable conditions from military duty, AND
• You have an established Armed Forces service-connected disability OR are receiving compensation, disability retirement benefits, or pension from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or military department, OR you have received a Purple Heart.

3. The Spouse of a Disabled Veteran, if the veteran’s disability prevents him or her from working.

4. The un-remarried Surviving Spouse of a Veteran or Disabled Veteran.

5. The Mother of a Veteran, if

• The veteran died under honorable conditions while serving in the Armed Forces, or the veteran has a service-connected, permanent, and total disability, AND
• Your spouse is totally and permanently disabled, OR you are the un-remarried widow of the father of the veteran.

To claim Montana Persons with Disabilities Employment Preference, you must be a U.S. Citizen and have resided in Montana continuously for at least 1 year immediately before applying for employment and be one of the following:

1. A person with a disability certified through the State of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Vocational Rehabilitation Programs, OR

2. The spouse of a totally (100%) disabled person certified through the State of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Vocational Rehabilitation Programs.

Applicants requesting veterans' or disability hiring preference must provide appropriate documentation to verify eligibility.

Appropriate documentation includes the following:

• DD-214 showing the character of discharge or a document issued by the Office of the Adjutant General of the Montana National Guard certifying service (a veteran or eligible relative)
• Service-connected disability letter issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (a disabled veteran or eligible relative)
• Montana DPHHS Disability Certification through the Vocational Rehabilitation Programs (a person with a disability or spouse of a person with a 100% disability)

Other suitable documentation, if deemed sufficient by the hiring agency, may be accepted. Eligible relatives may also need to provide additional documentation in order to demonstrate that all eligibility criteria and requirements are met.

You are required to submit the necessary documentation for your requested preference by the closing date for the position, unless an alternate date is provided by the agency. Please send the appropriate documentation through the state's file transfer service to the contact person listed on the job listing for which you are applying. Please reference the job title and listing number when submitting your documentation. Contact information is provided on the bottom of each job listing and additional file transfer service instructions are available below:

• Montana Secure File Transfer Service Instructions

We encourage you to block out personally identifiable information that is unnecessary to verify employment preference eligibility, such as your social security number. For questions regarding documentation requirements, please contact the contact person listed on the job listing. You may also mail the appropriate documentation to the contact name and address listed on the job listing.