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Initial Licence Fee Waived — Within Two Years of Discharge

An agency must waive the fee for an initial licence for an honorably discharged veteran discharged not more than two years before applying, and for the spouse of an active duty service member. Recognition of an out-of-state licence is a separate statute, and that one charges you.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

An agency must waive the fee for an initial licence for an honorably discharged veteran discharged not more than two years before applying, and for the spouse of an active duty service member. Recognition of an out-of-state licence is a separate statute, and that one charges you.

What it's worth: The full initial licence fee, once, on a first-time application in this state

  • Initial licence fees vary by agency and profession, so we carry no dollar figure.
  • The waiver is on the initial licence only. Renewals, and any recovery-fund assessment an agency levies, are not covered.

Who is entitled to it

  • You were honorably discharged — check the two-year window below.
  • You are the spouse of a service member, which is its own route.
  • Your home is in Arizona.

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

Deadline: Within two years of discharge
  1. 1Check the clock before anything else. The veteran route runs to an honorably discharged veteran "discharged not more than two years before application" — this is a transition benefit and it expires.
  2. 2Ask the agency for its fee waiver form and file it with the initial application, not afterwards.
  3. 3If you are outside the two-year window, check the other two routes in the same statute: the spouse of an active duty service member, and any applicant whose family income does not exceed 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.
  4. 4Do not assume the waiver removes every charge. Some agencies levy a separate recovery-fund assessment that is payable even where the licence fee is waived.
  5. 5If you are transferring an out-of-state licence, ask about A.R.S. §32-4302 separately — and about §32-4303, which lets education, training or experience requirements be satisfied in whole or part by substantially equivalent military service.
Form
The agency’s fee waiver request form
File with
The agency that issues your licence, with the initial application
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionUniversal licence recognition is not a fee waiver, and the two are constantly reported as one benefit. A.R.S. §32-4302 lists "the person pays all applicable fees" among its own conditions. The waiver lives in A.R.S. §41-1080.01 and has to be claimed there.
CorrectionAgency pages can understate the waiver. The board page we read quotes only the 200%-of-poverty-guidelines clause of §41-1080.01 and does not mention the veteran or military-spouse clauses at all. The statute contains all three. If an agency tells you the waiver is income-tested, point it at the section.
Worth knowingRecognition under §32-4302 also carries limits worth knowing before relying on it: a licence issued that way is valid only in this state and does not make you eligible to be part of an interstate compact, and an agency may still require you to pass an examination on this state’s own laws.
Known gapAgencies must report waived fees annually, but the statute as published does not set out a reimbursement mechanism, so we make no claim about how agencies are funded for the waiver.

Sources

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