Veterans Alliance is privately owned and operated to serve veterans. We are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Alliance — Veterans Alliance
← All California benefits
vehiclesstate

Former POW and Medal of Honor Plates — Registration and Licence Fees Waived

Former American prisoners of war and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients receive special recognition plates and an exemption from registration and vehicle licence fees on one passenger vehicle, motorcycle or commercial vehicle under 8,001 lb unladen, not for hire. A surviving spouse who retains the plates keeps the exemption. You may hold only ONE fee-exempt plate type — not both.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

Former American prisoners of war and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients receive special recognition plates and an exemption from registration and vehicle licence fees on one passenger vehicle, motorcycle or commercial vehicle under 8,001 lb unladen, not for hire. A surviving spouse who retains the plates keeps the exemption. You may hold only ONE fee-exempt plate type — not both.

What it's worth: Registration and vehicle licence fees waived on one vehicle, plus the recognition plates

  • The exemption covers ONE passenger vehicle, motorcycle, or commercial vehicle under 8,001 lb unladen and not used for hire.
  • California's vehicle licence fee is a percentage of the vehicle's value, so the saving scales with what you drive and repeats annually.
  • A surviving spouse who retains the special plates keeps the fee exemption.
  • You may hold only ONE fee-exempt plate type. A person who qualifies for both the Medal of Honor and the POW plate must choose.
  • Duplicate certificates, plates and stickers are still charged.
  • This is the same section that exempts disabled veteran plates, reached by a different route and with no disability rating involved.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are the recipient, or their surviving spouse.
  • You are in one of the two groups these plates cover.
  • The veteran was a former American prisoner of war.
  • The veteran holds the Congressional Medal of Honor.
  • You register a vehicle in California.
  • You are in California.

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. 1Apply to the DMV with proof of prisoner of war status or of the Medal of Honor.
  2. 2Ask for the fee exemption under Vehicle Code 9105 explicitly. The plates and the exemption are separate things and the plates are the visible half.
  3. 3Choose your vehicle deliberately. The vehicle licence fee is value-based, so the exemption is worth most on the newest vehicle you own.
  4. 4If both plate types are open to you, pick one — only one fee-exempt type may be held.
  5. 5A surviving spouse who keeps the plates keeps the exemption, and should say so at renewal rather than paying.
Form
DMV special plate application
File with
California Department of Motor Vehicles
Documents you will need
dd214
Renew annually

Sources

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