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Free Veteran Plates — and the Base Plate Is Only One of Them

One veteran plate with no registration fee, no manufacturing fee and no annual fee — and the gate is being a veteran, not being disabled. It is also not the only free plate. The Department of Revenue issues the commemorative service, military medal award, prisoner of war, retired military, National Guard, reserve component and Gold Star plates on the same terms: no manufacturing fee, no registration fee, no annual fee. The Chosin Reservoir and Pearl Harbor Survivor plates are the exception, at a one-off $25 manufacturing fee with no annual registration fee.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

One veteran plate with no registration fee, no manufacturing fee and no annual fee — and the gate is being a veteran, not being disabled. It is also not the only free plate. The Department of Revenue issues the commemorative service, military medal award, prisoner of war, retired military, National Guard, reserve component and Gold Star plates on the same terms: no manufacturing fee, no registration fee, no annual fee. The Chosin Reservoir and Pearl Harbor Survivor plates are the exception, at a one-off $25 manufacturing fee with no annual registration fee.

What it's worth: One plate free of registration, manufacturing and annual fees — and several other military plates on the same terms

  • Additional plates cost $25 to manufacture plus $25 a year each — the free one is the first.
  • The commemorative service plate is issued to those who served during active military combat, which the department lists as the Second World War, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, the Global War on Terrorism, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
  • The military medal award plates cover the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal and others.
  • The prisoner of war plate covers the Second World War, Korea and Vietnam.
  • Retired military, National Guard and reserve component each carry one free plate.
  • The Gold Star plate is issued free to a spouse, a mother and a father — one each, not one between them.
  • The Chosin Reservoir and Pearl Harbor Survivor plates carry a $25 manufacturing fee and no annual registration fee, which makes them the two exceptions in the family.
  • This record covers the whole free-plate family rather than one plate. Which one you are entitled to depends on the service or the award, and more than one may apply.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served and were discharged under honorable conditions.
  • Your home is in Georgia.

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 the DD214 to the county tag office and ask for the veteran plate — the first one is free of all three fees.
  2. 2Renew with the revalidation decal; there is no annual fee on the free plate.
  3. 3An unremarried surviving spouse of a qualifying deceased veteran keeps the eligibility and can apply on the same form.
File with
Your county tag office
Documents you will need
dd214
Annual
Claimed once a year.
CorrectionThis is not a disabled veteran benefit — every honorably discharged veteran takes one free plate. Summaries that file free plates under disability leave most Georgia veterans unaware they hold this.
Worth knowingOne is the number: the second plate costs $25 to manufacture plus an annual fee, which is what makes putting the free one on the highest-fee vehicle worth a moment’s thought.
Worth knowingThere is a separate WOMAN VETERAN plate on the same terms and the same form. It is the same free plate with different lettering, so it costs nothing to ask for that one instead.
Worth knowingA veteran who retired from active duty, and a veteran who served during a named conflict, each have their own free plate on identical fee terms. Only one plate is free, so the choice between them is a choice of lettering, not of money.
Known gapBoth agency pages describe the free plate as running to the veteran and to an unremarried surviving spouse. Neither addresses whether the spouse of a LIVING veteran may hold the plate where the veteran registers no vehicle, and we no longer publish that as fact. Ask the county tag office if it applies to you.

Sources

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