I am a Gold Star parent. Is there anything for me?

Yes, and it is unusually broad. §258.0145(3) gives a free lifetime family pass to surviving spouses AND parents of servicemembers who fell in combat. Parents are named in the statute, which very few Florida benefits do.

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Free Lifetime Family State Park Pass for Veterans with a Service-Connected Disability

A lifetime family annual entrance pass at no charge. The statute sets no percentage threshold — any service-connected disability opens it.

Verified August 18, 2026

What this benefit is

A lifetime family annual entrance pass to every Florida state park, at no charge, for an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected disability.

Lifetime, so it is never repurchased. Family, so it admits a carload rather than one person.

What it's worth: A lifetime family annual entrance pass, free

It is a FAMILY pass, so it admits a carload rather than one person, and it is lifetime rather than annual — it is not re-purchased.

Who is entitled to it

An honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected disability.
At any rating. The statute names no percentage.

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.

The thing most people get wrong

There is no threshold, and the absence is the rule

Our coverage page carried this as an open question through two research passes, because the parks department publishes only the words "service-connected disabilities" with no number, and it was not clear whether a threshold existed somewhere we had not looked. Reading §258.0145(2) settles it: the statute sets no threshold either. A 10% rating and a 100% rating are worth exactly the same here, which is unusual enough in Florida law to be worth saying out loud.

How to claim it

1Bring a VA letter showing a service-connected disability and proof of honorable discharge.
2Ask for the lifetime military entrance pass by name — it is a different product from the discounted annual pass.

File with: Any Florida state park ranger station
Documents you will need: va benefit summary letter · dd214
No renewal needed

Common mistakes that cost people this benefit

Buying the discounted annual pass when you are entitled to the free lifetime one. Ask for the lifetime military entrance pass by name — it is a different product.
Assuming no rating means nothing. Subsection (1) gives any veteran or active duty member 25% off the annual pass, with no disability required at all.
Overlooking your county. Hillsborough runs the same two tiers on its own conservation parks and boat ramps, and the passes are separate.

CorrectionOur coverage page carried this as an unresolved gap for two research passes, on the grounds that the parks department publishes only the words "service-connected disabilities" with no threshold. Reading §258.0145(2) settles it: the statute itself sets no threshold. The absence is the rule, not an omission in the operating copy.

Worth knowingBecause there is no percentage floor, a 10% rating is enough. That makes this one of the few Florida benefits where a low rating and a high one are worth exactly the same.

Questions people ask

I am a Gold Star parent. Is there anything for me?: Yes, and it is unusually broad. §258.0145(3) gives a free lifetime family pass to surviving spouses AND parents of servicemembers who fell in combat. Parents are named in the statute, which very few Florida benefits do.

Sources

authority · statuteFla. Stat. §258.0145(2)

Why only one source type: The statute is the authority. The Division of Recreation and Parks publishes operating language that has not been captured and hashed.

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