Iowa Code 331.608 – Military personnel records
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1. The recorder shall maintain a record in which, upon request, the discharge of a veteran shall be recorded without charge.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 331.608
- Cost: means cost as defined in section 384. See Iowa Code 331.485
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, firm, partnership, domestic or foreign corporation, company, association or joint stock association, trust, or other legal entity, and includes a trustee, receiver, assignee, or similar representative thereof, but does not include a governmental body. See Iowa Code 362.2
- Recorder: means the county recorder or a deputy recorder or employee designated by the county recorder. See Iowa Code 331.101
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
- United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
- veteran: means a veteran as defined in section 35. See Iowa Code 331.608
2. If an official discharge was not issued or if the veteran was killed in action or died in service, the recorder shall record an official certificate, general or special order, letter, or telegram from a competent authority, including letters from the United States department of defense, the United States department of veterans affairs, or other governmental office, which shows the termination of the veteran’s service.
3. The recorder shall record without charge the commissions and warrants of veteran officers and noncommissioned officers; orders citing a veteran for bravery and meritorious action; citations and bestowals of medals from the state, federal, or foreign governments; and any other documents needed to perfect a claim.
4. The recorder shall record without charge the discharge or other records of a deceased veteran which are presented on behalf of the deceased veteran by a veterans organization.
5. The recorder shall keep an alphabetical index referring to the name of the veteran whose discharge paper is recorded.
6. Unless otherwise provided by the person who requested the recording of a record under this section, notwithstanding section 22.2, subsection 1, such record shall be confidential and shall not be made available for examination or copying except as follows:
a. To the person who is the subject of the record, to a member of that person’s immediate family, or to that person’s agent or representative duly authorized in writing.
b. To a person requesting to examine or copy a record when the event that resulted in the record being made occurred more than sixty-two years prior to the request. However, the recorder shall redact any social security number included in a record made available pursuant to this paragraph.
c. To a person who is a funeral director licensed pursuant to chapter 156 and who has custody of the body of a deceased veteran.
d. When otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
e. When otherwise required by a department or agency of the federal or state government or a political subdivision. The recorder shall make these records available to the department of veterans affairs. The department of veterans affairs and its employees shall be subject to the same state and federal confidentiality restrictions and requirements that are imposed on the recorder.
7. If a certified copy of a record is required to perfect the claim of a veteran in service or honorably discharged or a claim of a dependent of the veteran, the certified copy shall be furnished by the custodian of the record without charge.
8. If the recorder periodically publishes notice of the services provided to military persons and veterans under this section, the recorder shall pay the cost of the publication in the same manner as other expenses of the recorder’s office.
9. As used in this section, “veteran” means a veteran as defined in section 35.1, who enlisted or was inducted from the county, resided at any time in the county, or is buried in the county. For purposes of records maintained for claims filed under chapter 426A, “veteran” also means a veteran as defined in section 426A.11, subsection 4.