Where Maryland Veterans Can Get Help With Debt

Sheereen E. McNair, Esq.
Jul 17
7 min read

Updated: Jul 25

Free help exists. Most veterans never use it.

You do not have to hire anybody tomorrow. But you do have to make one phone call.

I am a bankruptcy lawyer. Bankruptcy is not the right answer for everyone, and I will tell you that in the first fifteen minutes if it is true for you. What follows is the list I would give you either way.

Every number and link here was verified in July 2026. Where a program has changed or paused, I say so, because a resource list that sends you to a dead end is worse than no list at all.

Start here: free, accredited help with VA claims

Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families (DVMF)

The State reorganized the old Department of Veterans Affairs into this agency in July 2024. It employs VA-accredited benefits specialists who help you file claims for free.

Website: veterans.maryland.gov
Main: 410-260-3838 · Toll free: 866-793-1577
The Wineland Building, 16 Francis Street, 4th Floor, Annapolis, MD 21401

One correction to something you will read everywhere else: Maryland does not run a county-by-county veterans service officer system the way many states do. Maryland's service officers are state employees, and most of them sit inside MVA (motor vehicle) service centers. There are roughly seventeen offices, from Cumberland to Salisbury, and they are by appointment only.

Find the one nearest you here: DVMF service program offices

The Baltimore regional office is at 31 Hopkins Plaza, Room 3020, 410-230-4444.

Some counties do have veterans commissions. Those are advisory bodies. They do not file your claim. Carroll County is the one real exception, running its own program at 125 Stoner Avenue in Westminster, 410-386-3800.

Never pay anyone to file a VA claim for you. The State says this plainly on its own site and so will I. Accredited representatives do it for free.

Accredited veterans service organizations

These organizations have VA-accredited representatives who charge you nothing.

American Legion, Department of Maryland — mdlegion.org · Service Office: 410-230-4420
VFW, Department of Maryland — vfwmd.org · 410-752-6474 · 101 N. Gay Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
DAV — find your office through the DAV locator

To confirm anyone is actually accredited before you trust them with your claim, search the VA's official list: VA Office of General Counsel accreditation search. You can search by state. It is updated three times a week.

If you are still serving: base legal assistance

Maryland has a heavy military footprint. Fort Meade, Joint Base Andrews, Aberdeen Proving Ground, NAS Patuxent River, Fort Detrick, the Naval Academy, Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, and the Maryland National Guard.

Find your nearest legal assistance office through the DoD's locator: legalassistance.law.af.mil

Two things to know before you go. Base legal assistance generally does not file bankruptcy petitions. They advise, they review documents, and they refer out. And eligibility is normally active duty, dependents, and retirees, not veterans generally.

They are still worth the visit. A JAG office is a good place to get a straight read on an SCRA interest rate request before you send it.

Free civil legal help with debt

This is the section most veterans skip, and it is the one with the most in it.

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS)

MVLS explicitly handles Chapter 7 bankruptcy, collections, and consumer disputes. That is unusual and it is worth knowing.

mvlslaw.org · Intake: 410-547-6537 or 800-510-0050, Monday through Thursday, 9am to 12pm
Income must be at or below 50 percent of Maryland median income
They do not currently serve Allegany, Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, or Talbot counties, with some exceptions
No walk-ins, and they generally cannot help if your hearing is less than 30 days away, so call early

Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland (PBRC)

If you have been sued by a debt collector, this is the number to call.

Consumer hotline: 443-703-3053
Covers Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, and Prince George's County
probonomd.org
They provide day-of-court help in debt collection cases. They do not file bankruptcy.

Maryland Legal Aid

mdlab.org · Intake: 888-465-2468, Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 2:30pm
Handles wage garnishment, improper debt collection, repossession, medical debt, predatory lending, and foreclosure prevention
Income generally must be below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines
They describe what they do as bankruptcy support, meaning protecting your home, wages, and property. Do not assume they will file a petition for you.

Maryland Legal Aid never charges clients. They have an active alert about people impersonating their staff and demanding fees. If someone claiming to be from Legal Aid asks you for money, it is a scam.

Also free: Maryland Courts Help Centers offer limited legal help by phone at 410-260-1392 (mdcla.org), and the People's Law Library is the state's self-help resource.

If you owe the VA money

VA overpayments are their own animal, and § 5301 does not protect you from them. The VA can recoup out of future benefits.

VA Debt Management Center — 800-827-0648 (TTY 711), Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 7:00pm ET · va.gov/manage-va-debt

Three deadlines that matter more than almost anything else on this page:

Dispute within 30 days of the first debt letter and the VA stops collection while it decides.
You have one year from the first debt letter to request a waiver. The VA changed this, and older guidance says 180 days.
After 120 days the VA must refer the debt to Treasury, which can offset your tax refund, Social Security, and federal salary or retirement. Once it is at Treasury, stop sending payments to the VA.

The VA also has an active scam alert about a fake benefits overpayment scheme. If someone calls demanding immediate payment on a VA debt, hang up and call 800-827-0648 yourself.

Emergency money

The Maryland Veterans Trust Fund has temporarily paused new applications as of July 2026, because of application volume. The State expects to reopen it. Check the status before you apply rather than assuming: DVMF financial support · 410-260-3836

You will find other websites still telling you to apply there. They have not checked.

In the meantime the State points people to:

Operation Homefront Critical Financial Assistance
211 Maryland — dial 211 for immediate help with housing, utilities, and food
benefits.maryland.gov — state assistance programs
DHCD Help for Homeowners — foreclosure prevention
Maryland's Commitment to Veterans — behavioral health

American Legion members may qualify for the National Emergency Fund.

If you are in crisis

Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1. Text 838255. Or chat at veteranscrisisline.net.

Confidential, 24 hours a day. You do not need to be enrolled in VA care. It is also for Guard, Reserve, family members, and friends.

Debt is a leading cause of the kind of pressure that makes people feel like there is no way out. There is. Money problems are solvable and they are temporary, even when they do not feel that way.

Where a bankruptcy lawyer fits

Everything above is free. Use it first.

Call me when the free options have run out of room: when a garnishment is already taking your check, when a judgment has been entered, when a collection suit has a hearing date, or when you have been told you earn too much to file and you suspect that is wrong. That last one is common among veterans, because VA disability is excluded from the means test and a lot of people never had the number run correctly.

Frequently asked questions

Does Maryland have county veterans service officers? Not in the way most states do. Maryland's veterans service officers are state employees of the Department of Veterans and Military Families, and most work out of MVA service centers. County veterans commissions exist but are advisory and do not file claims. Carroll County operates its own program.

Is there free legal help for veterans with debt in Maryland? Yes. Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service handles Chapter 7 bankruptcy and consumer debt for people at or below 50 percent of Maryland median income. The Pro Bono Resource Center's consumer hotline at 443-703-3053 helps with debt collection lawsuits in Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, and Prince George's County. Maryland Legal Aid handles garnishment and collection matters for people below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

Can I still apply to the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund? As of July 2026 the fund has temporarily paused accepting new applications due to volume. The State expects to reopen it and posts updates on the DVMF financial support page. Check current status before applying.

Will base legal assistance file my bankruptcy? Generally no. Military legal assistance offices advise and refer but do not typically file bankruptcy petitions, and their services are usually limited to active duty members, dependents, and retirees.

How do I check that someone is really VA-accredited? Search the VA Office of General Counsel accreditation database at va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation. You can search by name, city, or state. Accredited representatives do not charge for filing VA claims.

How long do I have to ask the VA to waive an overpayment? One year from the date of your first debt letter. To stop collection while a dispute is pending, dispute within 30 days.

Talk to someone who knows this part of the law

Sheereen E. McNair, Esq. · Middleton Legal · Greenbelt, Maryland. Call 240-896-3253. Free 15-minute consultation. You will talk to me.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

This page is attorney advertising and general information. It is not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Middleton Legal is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, or any State agency, and does not endorse the organizations listed here. Contact information was verified in July 2026 and can change. Middleton Legal represents clients in Maryland.

Part of Middleton Legal's guide to Bankruptcy for Veterans and Military Families in Maryland.