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Gold Star Family Plate — One Per Person, and Your Name Must Be on the Title

One plate for a spouse, parent, sibling or child of a service member whose death the Department of Defense recognises. It needs the Report of Casualty plus a document proving the relationship, and the applicant must be an owner or co-owner on the vehicle title.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: One Gold Star Family plate per eligible applicant

The finance department states that it is authorised to issue one Gold Star Family special licence plate to an applicant who establishes on initial application that they are a family member of a deceased service member recognised by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Eligible applicants are named as a spouse, parent, sibling or child of the deceased service member.
No more than one Gold Star Family licence plate may be issued to an eligible applicant.
The applicant must present a copy of the Report of Casualty (DD Form 1300).
The applicant must also present proof of the relationship to the deceased service member, such as a birth certificate or a marriage licence.
The applicant must be listed as owner or co-owner on the certificate of title of the motor vehicle.
The department names Act 635 as the authority for the plate.
The department's page does not state a special plate fee for this plate, and does not state any remarriage condition.
Transfers of the plate are handled through a state revenue office rather than centrally.

Who is entitled to it

The plate runs to the family of the deceased 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

1Get the Report of Casualty first. It is the document that establishes the death, and the department names it specifically rather than accepting a death certificate in its place.
2Bring the second document that proves who you are to the deceased — a birth certificate for a parent, sibling or child, a marriage licence for a spouse. The casualty report on its own does not do that job.
3Check the title before you apply. You must appear as owner or co-owner, so a car titled solely to another relative will fail even where the family paperwork is perfect.
4Expect one plate and plan around it. The limit is one per eligible applicant, which matters in a family where several relatives qualify and only one vehicle is shared.
5Ask the revenue office what the plate costs at the counter. The department's own page states no fee figure either way, so do not assume it is free and do not assume it is charged.

Form: Special Gold Star Family License Plate request form
File with: A state revenue office
Documents you will need: dd214
Confirm with the office: We have not verified the renewal behaviour.

Worth knowingThe title requirement is the quiet disqualifier. Grief often rearranges who owns what — a widow driving her late husband's car that is still titled to him, a parent driving a car titled to a surviving sibling. Sort the title first and the plate follows; leave it and the application stops at the counter.

Known gapWhether remarriage ends a surviving spouse's entitlement was not established. The department's page is silent, and the plate is described as issued on initial application rather than as continuously retested, which points away from a remarriage bar without settling it.

Sources

authority · published policyDepartment of Finance and Administration — Gold Star Family License Plate
operating · formDepartment of Finance and Administration — Special Gold Star Family License Plate request form

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