Armed Forces, Veterans and Their Families

The UK government generally recognises somebody as a veteran if they served in the UK Armed Forces, whether as a regular or a reservist. Many people who served only briefly are included.

Individual services, charities and schemes may set their own eligibility rules, so one organisation may be able to help when another cannot. There is no single minimum length of service that applies to everything. Always check the eligibility of the particular service you are approaching.

Not every veteran served in combat, has a health condition or is older. Support is for anybody who served and needs it.

The Office for Veterans' Affairs runs the official government veterans-support directory on GOV.UK. You can search it by the type of help you need, such as health, housing, money, employment or family support.

VALOUR is the UK-wide veteran support system announced by the government and being rolled out during 2026. Official guidance describes VALOUR-recognised centres that help people reach several services in one place, regional field officers who join up councils, NHS services and charities, and an online route where you can select your region. Where a telephone route is available in your area, the official VALOUR and GOV.UK pages will give the current details — we have not repeated a helpline number here because we could not verify one published on an official page.

The original Veterans' Gateway ceased operating on 30 September 2024. Many council pages, leaflets and third-party websites still show its old description and contact details. Please do not rely on them.

Use the current GOV.UK veterans directory, VALOUR and Veterans Services instead. These are different things: Veterans UK and Veterans Services deal with welfare, Armed Forces pensions and compensation; the GOV.UK directory lists organisations that can help; and VALOUR is the newer UK-wide system of centres and regional support.

While serving, help is normally available through unit welfare staff, the chain of command, Defence Medical Services for health matters, and service chaplaincy for confidential pastoral support. Chaplains will talk to people of any faith or none.

The three services organise welfare differently, so the route is not the same in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, the Army and the RAF. Your unit welfare team or families federation can explain the correct route for your service.

If you would rather speak to somebody outside the chain of command, SSAFA Forcesline and other service charities offer confidential support to serving personnel and their families.

Reservists may need help with mobilisation and demobilisation, health care while mobilised and afterwards, employment rights and returning to civilian work, and the effect of service on family life.

Because reserve service is often part-time and combined with a civilian job, employers, civilian GPs and family members may not know what support exists. Official MOD and NHS guidance is the safest starting point, and your unit will hold the current arrangements for your own reserve service.

Planning early makes leaving far easier. It usually helps to sort out:

• identification, including a passport, driving licence and Veteran Card;
• a summary of your medical records and any ongoing treatment or medication;
• where you will live, and whether you will rent, buy or need housing help;
• employment, training and how your skills translate to civilian work;
• money: banking, budgeting, tax and the first weeks without service pay;
• benefits you may be able to claim once you are a civilian;
• your Armed Forces pension and any compensation claim;
• registering with a civilian GP and, where needed, a dentist.

The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is the Ministry of Defence's official resettlement service, delivered with partner organisations. It offers career guidance, training, workshops, job-finding support and help with civilian applications.

Support is not identical for everybody. GOV.UK guidance describes a Core Resettlement Programme for people who have served six years or more, and an Employment Support Programme for those who served between four and six years, with support generally available from two years before discharge until two years after. Check your own entitlement with your unit or CTP rather than assuming.

Tell your GP practice that you have served in the UK Armed Forces and ask for it to be recorded in your notes. This helps the practice consider service-related conditions and refer you to veteran-specific NHS services where they exist.

An HM Armed Forces Veteran Card can help you show your status, but not having one should not stop you asking for support. Practices can also accept other evidence of service, and you can still be referred while any card application is being processed.

Service can leave people with injuries, chronic pain, hearing loss, joint and mobility problems or other long-term conditions. Start with your GP, explain your service history and ask for an assessment and referral where appropriate.

In England only, Op RESTORE is the NHS veterans' physical health and wellbeing service for people with a physical condition believed to be related to their service. A referral from your GP is required — you cannot refer yourself.

People in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should use their own nation's NHS routes, described further down this page.

GOV.UK states that veterans in England, Scotland and Wales are entitled to priority access to NHS care for conditions associated with their service. This is always subject to clinical need, and it does not mean moving ahead of somebody with a greater clinical need.

The same GOV.UK guidance states that there are currently no such arrangements with health authorities in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland residents should use the Department of Health and Veterans Support Line NI routes below.

Priority treatment is not automatic. Tell your GP or consultant about your service and ask for it to be considered.

Op COURAGE is the specialist NHS veterans' mental health and wellbeing service in England. It is not a UK-wide service.

NHS information describes it as supporting people due to leave the military, reservists, veterans and, where applicable, their families. To use it you generally need to live in England and be registered with, or willing to register with, an English GP. You can be referred by a GP, a charity or a family member, or you can contact the service yourself.

Op COURAGE is not an emergency service. If somebody is in immediate danger, use the urgent help panel at the top of this page.

NHS inform explains the health rights of veterans in Scotland, including priority treatment for service-related conditions and how to raise your service history with your GP.

Veterans First Point services are run by some NHS boards in Scotland, but coverage is regional and has changed in some areas — NHS Lothian has announced the withdrawal of its funding for its local service. Please check what is currently available in your board area through NHS inform or your GP rather than assuming a service is running.

Veterans' NHS Wales is the specialist NHS service for veterans in Wales with mental-health difficulties related to their service. Its own guidance explains that you should be a veteran, live in Wales and be registered with a Welsh GP, and that you can refer yourself as well as being referred by a professional.

It is an out-patient service rather than a crisis service. For urgent mental-health help in Wales, call NHS 111 and press 2.

Northern Ireland has its own arrangements. The Department of Health publishes guidance on delivering healthcare to the armed forces community, and the Ministry of Defence publishes guidance for veterans and families in Northern Ireland.

Veterans Support Line NI can help with benefits, housing and finding support services, and Lifeline is the 24-hour crisis helpline for Northern Ireland. Do not use Op COURAGE, which is an England-only service.

Difficult or frightening experiences affect people in different ways, and they can surface many years later. Not every veteran develops post-traumatic stress disorder, and not every mental-health difficulty is caused by service.

Things such as broken sleep, nightmares, being easily startled, avoiding reminders, anger, low mood, drinking more or feeling numb are worth talking to a professional about. They are prompts to seek an assessment, not a checklist for diagnosing yourself.

A GP, a veterans' NHS service or Combat Stress can help you get a proper assessment and treatment.

Some people drink more, use drugs or gamble to cope with pain, sleep problems, boredom or difficult memories. Asking for help is not a disciplinary matter for veterans, and services are used to supporting people without judgement.

Our existing guides explain how treatment and support work, so we have not repeated that information here.

If service-related injury or illness affects daily life, help may include equipment, home adaptations, mobility support, a social-care needs assessment from your council, Blue Badge arrangements and reasonable adjustments at work or in education.

Nothing here is an entitlement. Assessments decide what is provided, and arrangements differ across the four nations and between councils.

There are three different things that people often confuse:

• an Armed Forces occupational pension, earned through service;
• the State Pension, which depends on your National Insurance record and is paid from State Pension age;
• compensation schemes for injury, illness or death caused by service.

You may be able to receive more than one of these. We cannot tell you which scheme applies to you or calculate an award — use the official guidance and Veterans Services for that.

Which compensation scheme applies depends partly on when the injury, illness or death occurred. In general the War Pension Scheme relates to earlier service and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme to more recent service, but the rules are detailed and there are exceptions.

Read the official guidance for each scheme, then apply through the official route. Veterans Services and the Veterans Welfare Service can help you understand what you have been sent. We cannot decide whether you are eligible or work out what an award would be.

If you disagree with a war pension or Armed Forces compensation decision, you can normally ask for it to be reconsidered and, if you are still unhappy, appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber). GOV.UK explains the current time limits and the separate arrangements for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Veterans Welfare Service can help you understand the decision and the process. Specialist advice from a service charity, an advice agency or a solicitor is often worthwhile for complex cases.

Veterans can claim ordinary benefits in the same way as anybody else, and this is separate from any Armed Forces pension or compensation. Some compensation payments are treated differently in benefit calculations, so tell the benefit office exactly what you receive.

Having served does not guarantee an award. Entitlement depends on your income, savings, health and circumstances.

Housing help can include homelessness assistance from your council, applying for social housing, help with private renting, mortgage difficulties and adaptations to an existing home. Councils across the UK are expected to take service into account under the Armed Forces Covenant.

Op FORTITUDE is the official referral pathway for veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. GOV.UK guidance states that you can refer yourself or be referred by another organisation, and gives the current freephone number 0800 952 0774. Please check the GOV.UK page before calling in case arrangements have changed.

Military experience often translates well into civilian work, but it needs explaining in civilian language. Practical steps include writing a CV without military abbreviations, getting qualifications recognised, arranging references, and asking employers for reasonable adjustments where a health condition or disability affects work.

The Career Transition Partnership, service charities and Jobcentre Plus or your nation's employment service can all help. Some employers have specific commitments to hiring veterans under the Armed Forces Covenant.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise that the armed forces community should not be disadvantaged by service, and that special consideration may be appropriate in some cases, particularly for the injured and the bereaved.

It is not an automatic entitlement to preferential treatment, and it does not override eligibility rules. It can, however, be a reasonable thing to mention when you ask a council, NHS body, school or employer to take your service into account.

The HM Armed Forces Veteran Card helps you show that you served. It can make it easier to access veteran services, tell a GP practice about your service and prove your status to organisations offering veteran support.

Applying is free. GOV.UK states that anyone with at least one day of UK Armed Forces service can apply, that people who left in December 2018 or later usually received a card in their discharge documents, and that a digital card is available through the GOV.UK One Login app once you hold a physical card.

The card is proof of service, not a general form of photographic identification for every purpose.

Veterans can request a copy of their own service records, and authorised family members can request the records of somebody who has died. GOV.UK explains what evidence is needed, what is held by the Ministry of Defence and what is held by The National Archives, and warns that requests can take a long time to process.

You can also apply for medals you were entitled to but never received, and pay for replacements in the circumstances GOV.UK allows. Fees and rules change, so read the current official page rather than relying on older information.

Family life around service can involve deployment, frequent moves, changing schools, childcare difficulties, isolation from friends and relatives, and interrupted careers for partners.

Each service has a families federation that gives independent, confidential help and raises issues on families' behalf: the Naval Families Federation for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, the Army Families Federation and the RAF Families Federation. Unit welfare staff and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity can also help.

Children in service families may change school often, miss a parent during deployment or worry about their safety. Schools can help: tell them about your family's service so they can give the right support, and ask what pastoral help is available.

Unit welfare teams, families federations and school pastoral staff can all help. Children and young people can also contact Childline free on 0800 1111, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or use its online one-to-one chat.

Deployment, injury, leaving service and money worries all put strain on relationships. Some couples find counselling or mediation helpful, and separation is sometimes the right outcome.

Couples counselling and mediation are not appropriate where there is abuse, fear or controlling behaviour. In that situation, safety comes first — see the next section.

Serving in the Armed Forces never excuses abuse. Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, financial or controlling, and it happens to people of every gender.

If you are in immediate danger, call 999. If you cannot speak, listen to the operator and press 55 from a mobile so the police know you need help. Our existing pages set out the nation-specific helplines for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and how refuges work.

If you look after a veteran with an injury, illness or mental-health condition, you can ask your council for a carer's assessment in your own right. That can lead to practical help, short breaks and support for your own wellbeing.

You should not have to carry this alone, and asking for help is not letting anybody down.

After a death there are practical things to deal with as well as grief: telling the Armed Forces pension and compensation services, arranging the funeral, sorting out money and understanding what a partner, child or parent may be able to claim.

Veterans Services and the Veterans Welfare Service can explain what to do about Armed Forces pensions and compensation. Service charities offer bereavement support to families.

What a surviving partner may receive depends on the scheme involved, the date of service or death, the type of relationship and individual circumstances. The rules are detailed and have changed over time.

Please do not rely on what happened to somebody else. Contact Veterans Services or the Veterans Welfare Service, who can look at your own circumstances. We cannot calculate entitlement.

Leaving service can mean losing routine, close friendships, rank, purpose and a shared way of talking. People often describe missing the community more than the job.

This is common and it can be helped. Veterans' breakfast clubs, Royal British Legion branches, sports groups and volunteering all rebuild company and structure.

Older veterans may need help with care at home, care homes, pensions, housing repairs, disability equipment, social isolation and filling in forms. Service charities are often able to help with grants, home visits and advocacy where councils and the NHS cannot.

Not all veterans are older, and not all older veterans need care. Ask for what you actually need.

Women who served may need healthcare that recognises both service-related conditions and women's health, and support that does not assume a male experience of service.

Some women need support after harassment, bullying or sexual violence during service. Specialist help exists, including services within the NHS and through service charities, and you can ask for a female practitioner. Reporting is your decision; support does not depend on it.

LGBTQ+ veterans and serving personnel may want inclusive support, or help with concerns about how their service history was recorded or ended.

Fighting With Pride supports LGBT+ veterans, serving personnel and their families and can explain what help and official routes currently exist. Because arrangements in this area have changed and continue to change, please take current advice from them or from an official source rather than relying on general information.

For Commonwealth and other non-UK personnel and their families, immigration status, settlement, benefits and family rights can interact in complicated ways, and the rules change.

Use official government information, and get advice from a regulated immigration adviser or a solicitor before making decisions or paying anybody. We do not give immigration advice.

Some veterans come into contact with the police, courts, prison or probation. Specialist veteran support may be available, but it varies from area to area.

GOV.UK guidance describes Op NOVA, which supports veterans in contact with the criminal justice system, and gives the current contact details. Our existing guide covers prison, release and family support in detail.

Be careful about:

• websites or people charging to apply for a Veteran Card — the official application is free;
• companies promising compensation or pension increases for a fee or a share of an award;
• callers or emails pretending to be from Veterans UK, the MOD, the NHS or a charity;
• requests for your service number, records, bank details or one-time passcodes;
• pressure to decide quickly, or to move money to keep it safe.

Official organisations will not mind you ringing them back on a number you have found yourself on GOV.UK.

Serving personnel who feel they have been wronged can make a formal Service Complaint. The official guidance explains the time limits, who decides the complaint and what happens at each stage.

If you are unhappy with the outcome, the independent Armed Forces Commissioner can consider it. The Commissioner took over from the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces with a wider remit. This process is entirely separate from NHS or council complaints.

The right route depends on who you are complaining about and which UK nation you live in. NHS complaints, council complaints, housing complaints and complaints about a charity all go to different places, and each nation has its own health ombudsman.

Start with the organisation's own complaints procedure, keep dates and reference numbers, and ask for the escalation route in writing if you are not satisfied.

In England, start with your GP and tell them about your service. Op COURAGE is the NHS veterans' mental health and wellbeing service, and Op RESTORE is the NHS veterans' physical health service, which needs a GP referral.

Your council handles homelessness help, social care assessments, Blue Badges and school issues, and should take the Armed Forces Covenant into account. Many councils have an armed forces lead officer.

In Scotland, NHS inform explains veterans' health rights, including priority treatment for service-related conditions, and the Scottish Government publishes information about veterans and the armed forces, including the Scottish Veterans Commissioner's work.

Some NHS boards run Veterans First Point services, but coverage varies and has changed in some board areas — check what is currently running locally.

In Wales, the Welsh Government publishes guidance for serving personnel, veterans and families, including the role of armed forces liaison officers based with local authorities. Veterans' NHS Wales is the specialist NHS mental-health service for veterans in Wales.

For urgent mental-health help in Wales, call NHS 111 and press 2.

In Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Defence publishes guidance for veterans and their families, and the Department of Health publishes guidance on healthcare for the armed forces community.

The Veterans Support Line NI launched in May 2026. According to nidirect it is free and confidential for veterans and their families in Northern Ireland, helps with benefits eligibility, housing and finding support services, and offers a free needs assessment. Telephone 0800 158 5556, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, excluding public holidays. You can also text ADVICE to 07860 042576.

Veterans Services in Northern Ireland can be reached on 07387 050564. Lifeline remains the 24-hour crisis helpline for Northern Ireland.

• Am I eligible, and does my length or type of service matter?
• Which areas or UK nations do you cover?
• Is what I tell you confidential, and who else will see it?
• What evidence of service or of my situation do you need?
• How long is the wait, and what happens while I wait?
• Is there any cost to me, now or later?
• Is the building accessible, and can you make adjustments for me?
• Can you visit me at home or speak by telephone or video?
• Can my partner, carer or family member be involved?
• What happens next, and who will contact me?

• Is anybody in immediate danger? If so, call 999 first.
• Write down your single biggest concern in one sentence.
• Note the service, dates of service and service number if you have them.
• Note your discharge date if you have left.
• Gather any documents: discharge papers, medical letters, pension or award letters.
• Note your housing situation and anything at risk, such as rent arrears.
• Note your income, benefits and any urgent bills.
• Note health conditions, medication and whether you are registered with a GP.
• Note what your family or carer needs, including children.
• Decide how you prefer to be contacted, and when.
• Choose one organisation to approach first, and keep a note of the date and who you spoke to.