The Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program provides death and education benefits to survivors of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders, and disability benefits to officers catastrophically injured in the line of duty. Benefits are not payable for partial or short-term disabilities.

The eligibility criteria for these benefits are entirely different from state benefits. It is possible for the state to deny like benefits, but PSOB approve them and vice versa.

The PSOB Program is a federal program administered by the United States Department of Justice. Eligible jurisdictions include local, state, tribal, and federal public safety agencies, and national organizations.

Physical injuries:

To qualify for coverage under the PSOB program, a public safety officer's disability or death must have been the result of a personal injury. The PSOB regulation defines an injury for the purposes of benefit eligibility as:

a traumatic physical wound (or a traumatized physical condition of the body) directly and proximately caused by external force (such as bullets, explosives, sharp instruments, blunt objects, or physical blows), chemicals, electricity, climatic conditions, infectious disease, radiation, virus, or bacteria, and (with respect to a WTC [World Trade Center] responder) a WTC-related health condition.

Presumptive coverages and eligibility:

Heart Attack, Stroke, or Vascular Rupture if an officer engaged in nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity as part of an emergency response or training exercise, and if the condition began during the physical activity, while the officer remained on duty after the physical activity, or within 24 hours of the physical activity.

PTSD/Mental Health Suicide or Attempted Suicide if a death or disability of an officer occurred after one of the following:

• the officer's exposure on duty to one of the types of traumatic events provided in the statute was a substantial factor in the attempted suicide or suicide, or
• the officer's attempted suicide or suicide occurred within 45 days of the officer's exposure on duty to one of the types of traumatic events provided in the statute and the attempted suicide or suicide was not inconsistent with a psychiatric disorder.

Cancer – on December 17, 2025, Congress expanded the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act for PSOB benefits to firefighters who have become disabled or die from certain occupational cancers. To be eligible for benefits, the firefighter must be diagnosed with a listed cancer at least 5 years after beginning public service and no later than 15 years from their last day of public service.

Cancers that qualify for coverage include:

* These cancers align with Washington State presumptive law.

Educational Benefits (Spouses and Dependents)

In addition to disability and death benefits, PSOB provides support for higher education to eligible spouses and children of public safety officers who died in the line of duty or were catastrophically disabled in the line of duty.

Spouses must have been married to an eligible public safety officer at the time of the officer's death or injury. A child is eligible for education benefits until the age of 27 which can be extended in some circumstances. Both spouse and child must be enrolled in an eligible institution.

PSOB Deadlines

• General Death/Disability: Within 3 years of the incident, or 1 year after the determination of agency-level benefits (whichever is later).
• PTSD/Mental Health: Before the later of:
  • Three years from the date of the trauma exposure.
  • One year from a final determination of workers' compensation or disability retirement.
• Cancer: The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act will allow for claims from deaths or disabilities incurred on or after January 1, 2020. PSOB is currently working on how they will be administering these benefits, but members can begin to apply for them now to ensure they don’t miss deadlines. Standard deadlines are three years from the officer’s injury or death. It is unknown at this time what the deadlines will be for allowable retroactive benefits since they are allowing for incidents more than 3 years ago.

Application Process

1. Survivors/officers/representatives create an online account and submit an application (Part A) in PSOB 2.0. The agency also submits its application (Part B) in PSOB 2.0.
2. PSOB reviews the applications for completeness and contacts applicants regarding any missing documents.
3. Once all required documents are submitted, a claim number is assigned, the case is reviewed, and a determination is prepared.
4. The determination and documentation undergo a Senior Benefits Specialist, PSOB Director, and legal review.
5. When a decision is final, PSOB mails a copy of the determination and notification letters to the survivors/ officer and to the agency.

Claim determinations can take one to three years.

For assistance with this application process, or answers to general questions, contact one of our Ombuds listed at the top of this page.