You want more veteran applicants. You want the good ones to pick you over the company down the road. The HIRE Vets Medallion Award is one way to send that signal.

It is the only veteran hiring award given at the federal level. The U.S. Department of Labor runs it. Earning it tells veterans, recruiters, and your own staff that you are serious about military hiring. That is the brand payoff.

This guide is not about how to fill out the form. We have a separate piece on the application steps for the HIRE Vets Medallion Award. We have another on what a medallion reviewer looks for. This one answers a different question. Should a midsize company chase the medallion at all? And what does it do for your brand once you have it?

I am Brad Tachi. I am a Navy veteran and I built BMR after my own messy transition. I have watched a lot of companies try to hire veterans. The ones that win make it easy to see they want vets. A federal award does exactly that.

What Is the HIRE Vets Medallion Award?

The award comes from the HIRE Vets Act of 2017. That law told the Secretary of Labor to build a recognition program. It rewards employers who hire and keep veterans. The Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service runs it. You can read the full background on the official HIRE Vets Medallion site.

It is the only veteran employment award at the federal level. That is the part that matters for your brand. A lot of "veteran friendly" badges come from private vendors. This one comes from the U.S. government.

The program ran as a demonstration in 2018 with 239 employers. It went official in 2019 with 429. Since then, more than 2,000 employers have earned it. So it is real, it is established, and it is not a rubber stamp.

The Two Award Levels

There are two tiers. Gold is the standard level. Platinum is the higher one. Platinum asks for more on hiring, retention, and veteran programs.

The award also splits by company size. Small means 50 or fewer employees. Medium means more than 50 but fewer than 500. Large means 500 or more. So a midsize firm competes against other midsize firms, not against a giant defense contractor. That is good news for you.

Why Does a Federal Award Help Your Employer Brand?

Think about how a veteran picks where to apply. They scan a careers page. They look for signs that a place gets them. A government award is a strong sign. It is short, it is clear, and it is hard to fake.

The difference is simple. A private "veteran friendly" list is a marketing label. The medallion is a federal award with real metrics behind it. One you buy. One you earn. Veterans can tell the difference.

The veteran job market is tight too. The jobless rate for Gulf War-era II veterans was 3.6 percent in 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Good veteran talent has options. A real award helps you stand out when they are choosing.

So the brand value works on three fronts. It pulls in more veteran applicants. It builds trust with the ones you want. And it gives your own team a reason to be proud.

How Can You Use the Medallion Once You Earn It?

This is the part many employers miss. Winning the award is step one. Using it is where the brand payoff lives.

When you win, the Department of Labor gives you a certificate with the award year on it. You also get a digital image of the medallion. The rules let you use that image in an ad, a solicitation, a business activity, or on a product. In plain terms, you can put it almost anywhere.

The award is tied to the year you earned it. So the certificate says 2025, or 2026, or whatever year you won. Employers may apply each year. If staying current matters to your brand, plan to apply again so your badge stays fresh.

One more point. The award is also a tool with your own staff. Veterans on your team see that the company earned it. That helps them refer their friends. Referrals from veterans are some of the best candidates you will find.

How Does the Medallion Build Trust Beyond Recruiting?

The brand value does not stop at hiring. A federal veteran award helps your name in a few other ways too.

Customers notice. Plenty of buyers care who they do business with. A government veteran award is an easy, honest thing to point to. It works in a sales deck or on a bid as well as it works on a careers page.

It also helps if you sell to the government or to a prime contractor. Veteran hiring is something they value. The medallion gives you a clean way to show it. You do not have to explain it. The logo speaks for itself.

And it lifts the team you already have. Your veteran staff feel seen. Your non-veteran staff learn the company means it. That kind of pride is hard to buy. It shows up in how people talk about where they work.

What Does It Cost and How Hard Is It?

Let me be straight about the cost and the effort. The medallion is not free, but it is cheap for what it does.

The application fees for 2026 are set by company size. Small employers pay $120. Medium employers pay $250. Large employers pay $640. The 2026 fees are the first increase in the program's history. Check the current numbers on the HIRE Vets Medallion site before you budget, since fees can change.

The real cost is the data work, not the fee. To qualify, you report on a few things. Your team has to pull the numbers and show your programs are real.

The award looks at metrics in a few areas. The exact thresholds change by tier and company size, so do not treat these as fixed targets. Here is the shape of what gets measured.

For the full rule on which thresholds apply to your size and tier, read what a reviewer scores in our medallion reviewer guide. The Department of Labor also lays out employer resources on its veteran hiring page.

Is the Medallion Worth It for a Midsize Company?

My honest read? For most midsize firms, yes. But only if you plan to use it.

The award itself does nothing on a shelf. The brand value comes from putting it in front of veterans where they look. A logo on a quiet page that nobody visits will not move your hiring.

Run a quick gut check before you apply.

If you want to put the medallion next to other markers of a veteran friendly shop, see our guide on becoming a military friendly employer. The medallion is one strong piece of that picture, not the whole thing.

How Do You Hit the Numbers to Qualify?

The brand only works if you can earn the award. And you only earn it if your hiring and retention numbers are strong. So the brand play and the hiring play are the same play.

Two metrics drive most of it. How many veterans you hire. How many you keep for a year. Both come down to two things you can fix.

For the keeping part, read our 90-day onboarding plan for veteran employees and our breakdown of why veteran hires stay. For the measuring part, our guide to veteran hiring metrics that matter lines up well with what the award asks for.

The finding part is where many midsize firms get stuck. You cannot hit a veteran hire rate if veterans are not applying. That is the gap BMR fills.

Where Does BMR Fit In?

The medallion rewards companies that hire and keep veterans. To do that, you need veterans in front of you. That is the whole game, and it is the part BMR was built for.

BMR runs a growing pool of veteran talent. Over 1,000 new veteran profiles get added every month. We have helped build more than 60,000 resumes. So the supply is fresh, and it keeps growing.

A pipeline of veteran candidates is what lifts your hire rate. A clear plan to keep them is what lifts retention. Do both for a year and the medallion is in reach. Then you put the logo to work and pull in even more.

If you want to see who is in BMR's veteran talent pool, reach out to access BMR's veteran candidates. It is the fastest way to feed the hiring numbers the medallion measures. You can also benchmark where you stand with our guide to benchmarking veteran hiring against peers.

The award is a great signal. But the signal only works if the hiring is real. Build the pipeline, hit the numbers, earn the medallion, and use it everywhere. That is how a midsize company turns a federal award into a real recruiting edge.