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Gold Star Family Plate — Free to Issue, Free to Renew, Free to Move

The plate for the family of a service member killed in the line of duty costs nothing at issue and nothing at renewal, and it is one of five plate types the motor vehicle division moves between vehicles without the usual transfer fee.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The plate for the family of a service member killed in the line of duty costs nothing at issue and nothing at renewal, and it is one of five plate types the motor vehicle division moves between vehicles without the usual transfer fee.

What it's worth: No initial price and no renewal fee, plus no plate transfer fee

  • The motor vehicle division lists the Gold Star Family plate at an initial price of $0 and a renewal fee of $0.
  • It is described as being for the family of a U.S. armed service member killed in the line of duty.
  • The proof asked for is documentation connecting the family member to the fallen service member, together with the Report of Casualty (DD Form 1300).
  • The division names five plate types that carry no plate transfer fee at all: Disabled Veteran, standard Disability, Gold Star Family, Prisoner of War and Pearl Harbor Survivor. Transferring any other plate between vehicles costs $5.00.
  • The plate is one of the types the division says requires physical documentation, so it is ordered through the application route rather than the ordinary online plate picker.
  • A separate state veterans office page describes Gold Star family plates as available alongside prisoner of war and Purple Heart plates but adds no fee or eligibility detail of its own.

Who is entitled to it

  • The plate is for the family of the fallen service member, not for the service member.
  • Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Get the Report of Casualty (DD Form 1300) first. It is the document the division names, and nothing you already hold substitutes for it.
  2. 2Assemble the second half of the proof separately — something that connects you to the fallen service member. The casualty report alone establishes the death, not the relationship.
  3. 3Submit through the special-request route rather than the ordinary online plate order. Plates needing physical documentation are held back from the self-serve picker.
  4. 4Do not pay a transfer fee if you later move the plate to another vehicle. This is one of the five plate types the division exempts from the $5.00 transfer fee — say so at the counter.
  5. 5Check the renewal notice the first year. The plate carries a $0 renewal fee, so a renewal billed at a specialty rate is worth querying.
Form
Form 803 — Special Request License Plate Application
File with
Division of Motor Vehicles
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingThe transfer-fee exemption is the part nobody mentions. It is worth $5.00 each time the plate moves, which is small — but it is also the only place the division treats these five plates as a class, and knowing they are a class is what lets a family push back when a counter charges anyway.
Known gapThe division page does not say which relatives count, and it does not say whether a remarried surviving spouse keeps the plate. The eligibility test is stated only as being family of the fallen, with the casualty report and relationship proof as evidence. Ask before assuming a grandparent or sibling is inside or outside it.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.