H.R. 4663House115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Know Your Vets Act

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Updated April 15, 2026 at 7:35 PM UTC

The Know Your Vets Act aims to make it easier for service members who are separating or retiring to get help from local veterans service officers. It requires the Department of Defense to send the official DD‑214 discharge paperwork directly to the county, local, or tribal veterans service officer that the service member chooses, based on their mailing address. The law also calls for a shared database of all such officers, so the DoD and the VA can keep the information up to date.

Key Provisions

The Secretary of Defense must allow a separating or retiring service member to choose to have their DD‑214 form sent directly to the county veterans service officer linked to the member’s mailing address.
The Department of Defense, working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, must maintain a database listing all county, local, and tribal veterans service officers.
The bill defines a “county veterans service officer” as an employee of a county, local, or tribal government who meets the existing federal regulations for that role.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Military Personnel Subcommittee

January 10, 2018

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

December 15, 2017

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Armed Services Committee

December 15, 2017

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Military Personnel Subcommittee

January 10, 2018

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued December 15, 2017

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4663

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 15, 2017

Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York (for himself and Mr. Gallagher) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To improve the ability of separating or retiring members of the Armed Forces to seek services provided by county veterans service officers.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Know Your Vets Act.

Information regarding county veterans service officers

(a)

Provision of information

The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that a member of the Armed Forces who is separating or retiring from the Armed Forces may elect to have the Department of Defense form DD–214 of the member transmitted to the appropriate county veterans service officer based on the mailing address provided by the member.

(b)

Database

The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall maintain a database of all county veterans service officers.

(c)

County veterans service officer defined

In this section, the term county veterans service officer means an employee of a county government, local government, or Tribal government who is covered by section 14.629(a)(2) of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations.