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Free Driver’s Licence — for the Veteran, for a Spouse Who Drives for Them, and for the Guard
A qualified veteran gets a driver’s licence at no cost. So does the spouse of a veteran whose disabilities preclude driving, and an un-remarried surviving spouse. A serving Georgia National Guard member gets one free too, renewable while they serve — and at 20 years it converts to the veteran’s licence.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
A qualified veteran gets a driver’s licence at no cost. So does the spouse of a veteran whose disabilities preclude driving, and an un-remarried surviving spouse. A serving Georgia National Guard member gets one free too, renewable while they serve — and at 20 years it converts to the veteran’s licence.
What it's worth: No cost — veteran, honorary spouse and National Guard licences are all issued free
- The Department of Driver Services states that veteran, spouse and surviving spouse, and National Guard licences are all issued at no cost.
- The saving repeats at every renewal for as long as you hold the licence, which is what makes a small fee worth claiming.
- We do not publish the ordinary Georgia licence fee here because it changes; ask the driver services office what it would otherwise have cost you.
Who is entitled to it
- You are the veteran or the serving Guard member.
- Your discharge is of a character this licence is built around.
- The honorary licence reaches the spouse of a veteran whose disabilities preclude driving, and an un-remarried surviving spouse.
- Your home is in Georgia.
- The remarriage condition does not stand in your way.
- This condition only applies to a surviving spouse.
- You have not remarried, so the benefit carries over to you.
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
- 1Work out which certificate you need first, because the licence office will not issue without it. A veteran uses the Member 4 copy of the DD Form 214, or a Certificate of Eligibility DS-516B from the Department of Veterans Service.
- 2A spouse or surviving spouse goes to a Department of Veterans Service field office first, with documentation of the veteran’s disabilities, and the service officer completes the Certificate of Eligibility after verification.
- 3A serving Guard member gets a Certificate of Eligibility signed by their local commanding officer and takes that to the licence office.
- 4Take the full identity set with you: birth certificate or passport, Social Security card, two documents showing your residential address, and name change documentation if it applies.
- 5Prove Georgia residency. The Department of Veterans Service states that veterans must be current Georgia residents to apply.
- 6If you are Guard or reserve with 20 years of honorable service, ask for the veteran’s licence instead of the Guard one — it needs a certificate from the Adjutant General rather than your unit commander, and it does not have to be renewed against continued service.
- 7Ask about the medical designation while you are there. Senate Bill 419 permits a licence or identification card to be marked to indicate post-traumatic stress disorder or another medical condition, on request.
- 8A spouse should expect a vision test at the licence office as part of final issuance.
- Form
- Certificate of Eligibility — DS-516B for a veteran, DS-516 for a spouse, DS-318 for a Guard member
- File with
- A Georgia Department of Driver Services office, after the certificate is issued
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- At each renewal
- Claimed again whenever the underlying licence or registration renews.
CorrectionA medical discharge is inside this, and it is easy to miss. The Department of Veterans Service names an honorable discharge or a medical discharge as the two routes to a free veteran licence.
CorrectionThe honorary spouse licence is not for every spouse. It is for the spouse of a veteran whose disabilities preclude operating a motor vehicle — the point is that someone in the household still has to be able to drive — and separately for an un-remarried surviving spouse.
Worth knowingGuard service that only ever amounted to training does not make you a veteran for this purpose. The department states that activation for training alone does not confer eligibility for the veteran licence; 20 years of service, or active duty, does.
Worth knowingTwo offices, two visits. The certificate of eligibility comes from the Department of Veterans Service or a unit commander; the licence comes from the Department of Driver Services. Turning up at the licence office first is the commonest wasted trip.
Known gapO.C.G.A. §§ 40-5-36 and 40-5-103 are the authority and no official Georgia host served the statutory text to us this session. The two agencies’ own pages are what this record rests on.
Sources
- authority · published policyGeorgia Department of Driver Services — Military, Veterans, and National Guard (qualified veterans receive a complimentary driver’s licence on production of Armed Forces Separation Papers, DD-214 Mbr copy 4, or a Certificate of Eligibility DS-516B from the Georgia Department of Veteran Services; former Georgia National Guard or reserve members with 20+ years of service also qualify; spouses of disabled separated veterans without driver’s licences and un-remarried surviving spouses may obtain free licences on an original Certificate of Eligibility DS-516B approved by the Georgia Department of Veteran Services; active Georgia National Guard members in good standing receive free driver’s licences on a Certificate of Eligibility DS-318B signed by their local commanding officer, renewable during service or until 20 years of service qualifies them for a veteran’s licence; Senate Bill 419 permits marking a licence or ID to indicate post-traumatic stress disorder or other medical conditions on request; all such licences are issued at no cost)
- operating · published policyGeorgia Department of Veterans Service — Veteran Driver’s Licenses ("Only veterans with an honorable discharge or a medical discharge are entitled to a free veteran driver’s license"; National Guard members who served on active duty or completed 20 years of service also qualify, and activation for training purposes alone does not confer eligibility; veterans must be current Georgia residents; take the Member 4 copy of the DD Form 214, proof of residency, birth certificate or passport, Social Security card, two documents showing residential address and name change documentation to a Department of Driver Services office)
- operating · published policyGeorgia Department of Veterans Service — Honorary Driver’s License, Spouse (spouses of qualified veterans whose disabilities preclude operating a motor vehicle qualify; "The surviving un-remarried spouse of an eligible deceased veteran may also receive a free honorary veteran driver's license"; current Georgia residency required; documentation verifying the disabilities is necessary; a Certificate of Eligibility DS-516 is completed by a service officer after verification; a vision test is carried out at the driver services office at final issuance)
- operating · published policyGeorgia Department of Veterans Service — National Guard Driver’s License (members of the Georgia National Guard or Reserve in good standing with at least one year of satisfactory service qualify, at no cost, on a completed Certificate of Eligibility DS-318 from their local National Guard commanding officer; those with 20 years of honorable service become eligible for a veteran’s driver’s licence instead, on a Certificate of Eligibility from the Adjutant General of the State of Georgia)
- operating · published policyGeorgia Department of Veterans Service — O.C.G.A. References, listing O.C.G.A. 40-5-36 for the veteran’s driver licence and O.C.G.A. 40-5-103 for the veteran’s identification card
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.