Whenever a copy of any public record is required by the Bureau or the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to be used in determining the eligibility of any person to participate in benefits made available by such Bureau, the official charged with the custody of such public record shall without charge provide the applicant for such benefits or any person acting on his behalf or the representative of such Bureau or the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs with a certified copy of such record.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 34-15