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The Word "Veteran" on Your Permit — Other Than Dishonourable, and Three Named Forms

An applicant for a District operator's permit who served on active duty and was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable may submit a DD Form 214, a WD AGO form or a DD256 form, and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall then display the word "veteran" in capital letters on the permit. The discharge test is deliberately wide — the statute does not require an honourable discharge — and the three named forms include the wartime-era paperwork many older veterans actually hold.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

An applicant for a District operator's permit who served on active duty and was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable may submit a DD Form 214, a WD AGO form or a DD256 form, and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall then display the word "veteran" in capital letters on the permit. The discharge test is deliberately wide — the statute does not require an honourable discharge — and the three named forms include the wartime-era paperwork many older veterans actually hold.

What it's worth: VETERAN in capitals on the operator's permit

  • No separate charge for the marking appears in the paragraph, and the Department publishes none. What the paragraph does not do is make the permit itself free, so asking outside a renewal usually means paying for a replacement.
  • The marking is available on a non-driver identification card as well as a driving permit.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served on active duty.
  • The paragraph asks only that the discharge was under conditions other than dishonorable.
  • Your home is in the District.

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. 1Take one of the three named documents. The paragraph names a DD Form 214, a WD AGO form, or a DD256 form certifying veteran status — and the Department repeats the same three on its own page.
  2. 2Do not be turned away over the words "honourably discharged". The statutory test is service on active duty and a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable. If a counter quotes a narrower rule, ask which subsection it comes from.
  3. 3The WD AGO form is the one that matters for the oldest veterans. It is the War Department discharge certificate that predates the DD214, and it is named in the statute precisely so that those records still work.
  4. 4Go in person. The Department directs applicants to a service centre with the documentation; the marking is not something the online renewal flow offers.
  5. 5Know what it does. It is proof of service at a counter and to a police officer. No District benefit in this corpus is gated on holding it, and it is not proof of a disability rating.
Form
No form of its own — the discharge document is the application
File with
Department of Motor Vehicles service centre
Documents you will need
dd214
At each renewal
Claimed again whenever the underlying licence or registration renews.
Worth knowingThe Department's page uses the phrase "honorably discharged" while the statute it implements uses "under conditions other than dishonorable". The statute governs. A veteran with a general discharge under honourable conditions who is refused should ask the office to read the paragraph.

Sources

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