7-4-2614. Records of certificates of discharge from military service. (1) It is the duty of the county clerk of any county of this state to record, without charge and in a book kept for that purpose, the certificate of discharge of an honorably discharged person, regardless of sex, who served with the United States forces.
     (2) Military discharge certificates are confidential and are exempt from the provisions of Title 2, chapter 6. A military discharge certificate may be disclosed only to:
     (a) the service member who filed the certificate;
     (b) if the service member is deceased, the next of kin of the service member or a mortuary, as defined in 10-2-111, for the purposes of securing the burial benefits to which the service member is entitled;
     (c) a veterans' service officer or a veterans' service organization, as defined in 10-2-111;
     (d) the veterans' affairs division of the Montana department of military affairs; or
     (e) any person with written authorization from the service member or from the next of kin of the service member, if the service member is deceased.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 211, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 5654, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 5654, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 54, L. 1943; Sec. 77-801, R.C.M. 1947; amd. and redes. 16-2927 by Sec. 3, Ch. 94, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 16-2927; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 116, L. 2003.