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Veterans Alliance — Veterans Alliance
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The Veteran Designation on Your Licence — Free, and It Gets You Into the Parks

Maryland adds a veteran designation to a driving licence at NO CHARGE, for a veteran with an honorable or other-than-dishonorable discharge. Proof is a DD-214, an Honorable Discharge Certificate, or a verification letter from the Department of Veterans and Military Families. The natural resources department names the marked licence as accepted proof at state park gates, so it does a second job.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

Maryland adds a veteran designation to a driving licence at NO CHARGE, for a veteran with an honorable or other-than-dishonorable discharge. Proof is a DD-214, an Honorable Discharge Certificate, or a verification letter from the Department of Veterans and Military Families. The natural resources department names the marked licence as accepted proof at state park gates, so it does a second job.

What it's worth: The veteran designation added at no charge

  • The designation is added at NO CHARGE.
  • The discharge test is wide: honorable or other-than-dishonorable.
  • Proof is a DD-214, an Honorable Discharge Certificate, or a verification letter from the Department of Veterans and Military Families. The verification letter route helps where the DD-214 is lost.
  • The natural resources department names the marked licence as accepted proof for the state park admission waiver — so it does a second job at the gate.
  • Once it is on the licence you stop having to carry discharge paperwork about.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge was other than dishonorable.
  • You hold a Maryland licence.

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 a DD-214, an Honorable Discharge Certificate, or a DVMF verification letter to the Motor Vehicle Administration.
  2. 2If your DD-214 is lost, ask the veterans department for a verification letter — it is accepted in its place.
  3. 3Once it is on, use the licence at state park gates instead of carrying military documentation.
  4. 4There is no charge, so there is no reason to delay.
Form
Applied at the Motor Vehicle Administration
File with
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.

Sources

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